Transparency: On occasion, I scrounge five minutes from life to read other blogs. It’s not easy to keep up with the blogging joneses, not when you work full time and have a family to pay attention to. But I will, at a minimum, scan my Feedly…
READ MOREPersonal Finance 101
Learn how to make the best decisions when it comes to your hard-earned money. When you make smart money decisions, you tee yourself up for goals including early retirement. Learn how to invest, how to avoid keeping up with the Joneses, and how to raise kids without breaking the bank!
Why You Should NEVER Buy a House
It may not be Wednesday, but personally I find waffles a worthy breakfast treat ANY day of the week. Today’s post is brought to us by blogging friends from way out west: Waffles on Wednesday! Fetch yourself some of Canadia’s finest organic maple syrup, tighten that…
READ MOREHow to Build Your Team of Financial Experts
Going it alone. It’s a familiar thing. We think we know what we’re doing until a light bulb goes off. Sadly and so often, that bulb doesn’t illuminate until we’ve failed at X, Y, or Z. That’s why you need to build your team of financial…
READ MOREHow to Pay Off Your Mortgage in Five Years
Pay Off Your Mortgage in Five Years? For Reals??? Now we’ve been pretty aggressive with our mortgage pay down since we started making extra payments around this time last year. The goal was to have it paid off fully by January of 2019. BUT… Things inevitably…
READ MOREPRK Recovery Stories: One Blogger’s Journey to 20-20 Vision
Zap! Perfect vision. That’s what I’d thought would happen. Instead, I’m biding my time in recovery for 11 weeks since my PRK (photorefractive keratectomy) laser eye surgery. Among the annals of several PRK recovery stories, here lies my tale of a long and somewhat grueling ordeal……
READ MOREPaying off Debt Is Not Rocket Science
Look at the latest articles on the wire about paying off debt and you’d think we’ve stumbled across the greatest discovery since Einstein declared that e=MC2. How I paid off $XX,XXX in debt is now a headline worthy read? How about about this one? Paying Off…
READ MOREHow I Diversify Our Investments With Index Funds
Here’s some dry tinder to start a bonfire with: How I invest my money (specifically, invest in index funds). Maybe, just maybe, you’ll come away with a bit more knowledge on the topic of investing. How cool is that? But ultimately, I hope to convey how…
READ MOREThis Is the Year I Put My Financial Life in Order
Every so often, a book comes along and I actually find the time to read it. A harmonic convergence, if you will. I was fortunate to get an opportunity to read (and review) a book that I think you’ll dig: “This Is the Year I Put…
READ MOREThe True Cost of Raising Kids
We see an awful lot of success stories of young couples who have buckled down, saved a good chunk of coin, and retired early (some while raising kids!) They’re everywhere nowadays, it seems. Understanding the true cost of raising children is key for any young couple…
READ MOREHidden Costs of Home Ownership (Radon Mitigation and Friends)
Brace yourselves for another yarn from Cubert today. A trip down memory lane, where I share a tale of home improvement woe so YOU can avoid the same mistakes. The hidden costs of owning a house are often a cascade of comical events… Drain tile? Radon…
READ MOREWhat is a Money Map?
You know you need a budget, right? If you don’t know where to start, drawing a money map is a simple and useful means to get there. The money map simply lays out your inflows and outflows, with your financial accounts “stitching” it all together. The…
READ MORECash Flow Index: A Great Way to Prioritize Debt
I’ve given up on using interest rates to dictate which loans to pay back first. I use cash flow index instead. Why? Several years back, before I got hooked on all things Mustachian, and consequently got the itch to retire early, I read the book Killing…
READ MOREStudent Loans Suck! But Action Equals Freedom
Welcome back to work, everyone! Oh yes, the day after Labor Day marks the beginning of a long slog to winter, complete with darkening days, chillier winds, and moodier moods at the office. I know you fine readers didn’t come here to get a bunch of negativity…
READ MOREHow We Paid Off $75,000 of Student Loan Debt FAST
$75,000 in student loan debt can put a major dent in any plan to retire, much less retire early. A couple of years back, we were sitting on roughly $135,000 in student loan debt. Here’s how we paid off that frightful sum relatively FAST… This post…
READ MORECash Flow vs Net Worth: Why Cash Flow Wins Every Time
One of the fairly ironic aspects of “early retirement” (read, “aspires to lazy?”) is the hard work, dedication, and sacrifice required to reach the goal. Your company doesn’t want to see its best and brightest walk away unexpectedly. Even the one’s peeking at his or her…
READ MOREDoes It Make Sense to Pay Off a Mortgage Early?
Part of the journey here at headquarters is removing obstacles to a life of freedom and choices. If you own a house, or have owned one in the past, you know all about the stress of having a mortgage (or two) hanging over your head. Let’s…
READ MOREThinking About Owning a Cabin Up North? Think Again!!
While walking the halls at work just before the July 4th holiday weekend, I overhead more than a few colleagues talking about “going to the cabin.” Here in Minnesota, it’s not uncommon for families owning a cabin or second home “up north” to head up to…
READ MOREWhy Small Cars Are Better Than Big Cars
A few years out of college I had my mind made up that I would buy an SUV. Not that I needed an SUV, as I had smooth-paved roads where I lived, plus I didn’t need any hauling capacity. I just thought SUVs were cool. Let’s…
READ MORESave a Fortune with Credit Card Hacking
Avoiding big expenses and unnecessary upgrades, like fancy cars and large homes, is key for gaining the freedom to choose your field of work, or even retire early. But sometimes big expenses are hard to avoid. Enter Credit Card Hacking… One of our big expenses is…
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