February 2020 Financial Update

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Oh where to begin on this one? In our January update we talked about the end of the month impact on the financial markets from the Coronavirus. At that time we had some panic selling that turned the markets negative for the month and wiped out some nice gains. I was tempted to buy into the market, but ultimately decided to hold off which turned out to be a good decision.

Then came February and the panic took full hold with massive irrational moves to the downside. For me, it was time to move once we passed the 10% correction threshold. I half jokingly tweeted on Friday the 28th as the market closed that I thought we were near the bottom. Continue reading “February 2020 Financial Update” →

Full-Time RV Finances

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In our last blog I discussed that we are moving forward with going full time in our RV later this year. As you will recall we didn’t expect to have to make plans so far in advance, but it became quickly apparent after a visit to one of the resorts that we were actually almost too late. Since then we put down deposits for November and December to reserve a space.

While this is a current unexpected expense, it is refundable if we don’t meet our timeframe goal and need to cancel. It also gives us some much needed flexibility by booking two months instead of one. Additionally if we do meet our November 1st goal, the deposits go toward the space and the out of pocket cost will be lower at that time. So there really is no risk of losing any money by making this move and it gives us peace of mind. Continue reading “Full-Time RV Finances” →

Reality Bites

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As we inch closer to March it has quickly become clear that we need to start making some plans and decisions.

We were at our favorite campground recently and stopped by the office to inquire about their extended stay rates for when we decide to go full time in our RV. They gave us the rate, which is just below our budgeted amount 👍🏻, and then the young lady said we had better book it soon as October is already getting full. Wait, what? October is getting full already? Are you kidding me?

This comment thrusted us into a situation of needing to better understand how this whole process works as we were not planning on making a decision until after the College Road Trip 2020 in August/September. It turns out now there is no way we can wait that long if we hope to have a place to live after our house sells. What we thought would be a smooth glide until the second half of the year is now turning out to be a sprint to a goal date. Continue reading “Reality Bites” →

January 2020 Financial Update

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As goes January so goes the year. Well, that’s the old Wall St. adage at least. If that holds true we are in for a down year I guess. But wait, wasn’t January was flying high until the dreaded Coronavirus started spreading across the globe. So are we now saying a week of panic selling is now indicative of the entire month and in turn the entirety of 2020? You see how ridiculous old adages and knee jerk panic selling and buying can be. Continue reading “January 2020 Financial Update” →

Healthy Life, Happy FI

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It’s been a couple of weeks since I posted our last blog. I didn’t know if it was writer block, burnout or just sheer laziness. But I didn’t feel like writing or doing much of anything for that matter.

It’s interesting because just when things are going well and excitement for our future plans should be building, I seemed to have hit a funk. Business has been great, the markets have been great and we have a couple of small weekend trips booked. We also started mapping out our college road trip and even have a preliminary itinerary for getting to the university on time. Planning these trips is one of my favorite things to do, but I’m finding it hard to enjoy it this time. What the heck is going on? Continue reading “Healthy Life, Happy FI” →

December 2019 Financial Update

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Goodbye 2019! What a year for the markets as well as personal change and direction. And if everything goes as planned for 2020 this ride will not stop.

The month of December unexpectedly proved to be the busiest month on the business front. It seemed like there was a mad rush to close out real estate deals before the end of the month so bookings were up and so was revenue. Because of this I expect January to be slow as the pipeline reloads. However, I am very new to this industry so this is just a gut feeling and hopefully I’m wrong. Continue reading “December 2019 Financial Update” →

2019 Year In Review

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2019 was a year of change and planning for our future.

After stumbling onto the F.I.R.E. movement and realizing we didn’t need to work into our 60’s, or even mid 50’s as we had always planned, we started taking our finances more serious. We cut back quite a bit on our spending and increased our savings rate nicely. We have never been able to accomplish a 50% plus savings rate because we have always had a sizable lifestyle and also took on the equivalent of a second mortgage with our RV. However, we did manage to move the needle in the right direction after cutting some costs and scaling back on frivolous spending.

On the downside, sort of, when I decided to move on from my job and start our business our savings rate went down to almost nothing for the last quarter of the year. Hopefully this is just a small set back as the business grows and contributes more to our finances. Continue reading “2019 Year In Review” →

Financial Independence and Mortality

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Sometimes little things occur and bring a renewed focus and a reminder of why we work to achieve financial independence and the life of freedom that comes with it.

I have had several of these moments over the last few years. They usually occurred in the corporate setting where I was just plain tired of the daily rat race. Many times I realized I was missing important events our son was involved in exchange for being miserable at work. It’s never a good feeling to have to choose work over family because financially you have no choice.

Recently I had another one of these moments, but this one was different and much more emotional. Maybe the holiday season had some additional influence but it hit me hard. Continue reading “Financial Independence and Mortality” →

November 2019 Financial Update

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Here we are, heading into the final month of 2019. It’s amazing how time flies by when you are busy and focused.

Business continues to pick up and there were only a few days in the beginning of November where we didn’t have any appointments booked. Since that time we have received a steady flow of business and increased billing for services. On paper we already have enough revenue in billed services to cover all of the start up costs and expenses up to this point. So after a little more than two months we are at break even which is a nice accomplishment.

Another positive was actually receiving our first payment for services. And just in time too, because the business account we opened was getting very low on funds and I didn’t want to dip into our personal account again. We wanted to do the old frame and hang your first dollar tradition, but how do you do that with a check? I just made a copy and quickly deposited it so we had some funds in the account. Continue reading “November 2019 Financial Update” →

Happy Thanksgiving!

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We would like to take a moment to wish all of our readers a happy Thanksgiving.

We appreciate your support and taking time to follow our journey.

Joe