As our net worth and Incomes have grown, it takes larger and larger amounts of money to get my attention. Our latest Net Worth report showed a $35,000 jump and I would be really pissed only getting a few thousand dollar raise each year (sounds terrible, but true). A few years ago a $10,000 jump […]
Is DIY Worth It?
We are typically a DIY household. We saved thousands when we built our house 4 years ago by rolling up our sleeves and doing our own tile floors and landscaping. I have built furniture, painted nature scenes on my kid’s walls before they were born and am an amateur furnace repair man. You can save […]
Downturn? What Downturn? Q1 – 2019 Net Worth Update
Time for a quarterly check in! This makes 13 quarters in a row I have tracked our net worth. Last quarter was the first drop, and in Q1 it came back with a fury. Seeing that happen really makes the long term investing strategy feel right. Hard to market time with a bear market false […]
Two Paths to Doubling Your Income
Classic debate. Should you change companies frequently to make more money or stick it out with one employer for a long time to cash in. I have wanted to venture down this road for a long time but I am one of those rare millennials that haven’t switched employers yet (approaching 8 years). Thankfully, my […]
Common Investing Mistakes that BURN Money
My current investing philosophy is pretty simple, like many others in the Financial Independence community I stick to low-cost index funds (not just VTSAX, that is too boring) and am in it for the long haul. Based on our net worth progression and the fact that I run a finance blog you might think we […]
The Steps I took to Max Out My 401k
The very thought of maxing out my 401k was laughable about 6 years ago when I first heard people actually did it. I Thought it was limited to doctors, lawyers, or corporate directors and above. I am none of those things. I actually decided to stay out of the management track and wouldn’t last a […]
Ignore Market Bumps, Protect your C.F, E.F and D.J.
In the personal finance and financial independence space, we talk a lot about risk. Risk of a market crash. Risk of another 2008 type recession that cuts portfolios by 50%. The sequence of returns risk that can kill the 4% rule. We even have some quotes on deck from the investing greats on stomaching the […]