Heartland on FIRE

Blazing a Trail Towards Financial Independence

Blazing a Trail Towards Financial Independence

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Financial Independence

Patience is the Smoldering Heart of the FIRE

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The flames of the FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) movement can spread rapidly.  Just like a campfire stacked with kindling, the flames are tall, flickering, and bright at first, but over time, these flames subside leaving the dull glow of smoldering coals.

But you don’t cook on the flickering flames.  This short blast of high heat would scorch the outside, leaving the inside raw.  You do your cooking on the coals,  sustaining just the right level of heat over a longer time.

Having an open mind, self evaluation, and taking bold action are critical to igniting the FIRE and the bright dancing flames of the initial burn.

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Over 50% of Americans Don’t Use Their Vacation. Don’t be one of them!

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***Extremely Mickey Mouse voice*** – Hi Kids! Today’s Mousekatool is Paid Vacation

I am fresh off of our first full week vacation in 2 years.  While we’ve taken a few long weekend trips, we haven’t had a full week off during this time.  We took our daughters to Disney World (geez… could you tell?) and we all had a great time and created many memories that won’t soon be forgotten.

My wife and I have already started discussing our next vacation!  I think we can all get behind more vacation, right?

Well, the answer is apparently a big fat NO.

As I have been reflecting on the week gone by, I recalled an article I had read that stated that roughly 52% of Americans don’t use their paid vacation.

Let that sink in.

Your boss is willing to pay you money… to not show up for work.  And we say, “No Thanks” more than half the time!

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Our Money Missteps: The Lost Decade

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As a personal finance blogger, specifically an advocate of the Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) movement, you might assume that the Heartland on FIRE family has a spotless past when it comes to money decisions.  You might think we’ve rarely, if ever, paid interest on credit cards, purchased only used cars, and made flawless house purchasing decisions.  I mean, if you look at our net worth progress, we are in better shape than many (most?) families in their early- to mid thirties.

You would be sorely mistaken

In this post, I am going to air out our dirty money laundry.  To come clean, as it were.  To demonstrate how, even after stacking poor decision on top of poor decision (FOR OVER A DECADE!!) you can still find yourself on the path to FIRE.

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Seeing the Opportunity in Adversity

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Photo by Johannes Plenio from Pexels

“When one door closes,another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” – Alexander Graham Bell

When you are on the path to Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) you need to be looking for every edge.  This way of thinking allows FIRE seekers to uncover opportunities for savings and growth in everyday activities.  Whether it be house or travel hacking, biking over driving, or making delicious home-cooked meals for pennies on the dollar, the FIRE lifestyle is centered around creative thinking for everyday issues.  Housing, transportation and food are predictable everyday facts of life.

However, one facet of everyday life is not so predictable:

Adversity

How can FIRE thinking take advantage of that?

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