Tag: lifestyle

Life On Hold

Published on by RV-on-FIRE.com8 Comments

Well, this sucks to write. Our plans to go full time in our RV starting in November are officially postponed until further notice. To say we are disappointed is an understatement. Add this to the Motley Crue, Def Leppard & Poison concert that’s also “postponed”. In two weeks we have had two thirds of our plans for Summer and Fall wiped out. Thank you Coronavirus, I hope you die!

Our plans to go full time were contingent on the college our son is attending moving forward with normal operations and class attendance. All communication sent out to students and families indicated that they were planning to do just that and an official decision would be released in mid-June. Continue reading “Life On Hold” →

May 2020 Financial Update

Published on by RV-on-FIRE.com1 Comment

Hello there! Yes, it’s been awhile.

There are good problems to have in life. One of those good problems when you are the owner operator of a business is too much work. Now when I say too much it really means enough that you are consistently busy and are not sitting around hoping for something to do. This is where I currently find myself and I can’t complain. The only downside is that this blog is suffering from neglect.

May was a record month for our little business and we couldn’t be happier. We are fortunate to be in an industry that continued through the pandemic and as long as interest rates stay low we should continue to be busy. Financially I’m not making the same money I did in the corporate world but I also do not have the negativity that comes with that life. There is no boss to report to, no deadlines that have to be made and no office politics or fear of losing my job. Because of this there are also no sleeplessness nights or anxiety. To me the trade off is well worth it. Continue reading “May 2020 Financial Update” →

April 2020 Financial Update

Published on by RV-on-FIRE.com6 Comments

Another month in the books and one month closer to full time RV life. In our last blog we talked about how we are sticking to the plan and not wavering despite the uncertainty in the world.

After taking a step back and reevaluating the situation and seeing the big picture it’s clear nothing for us has really changed through all of this. Sure the markets dropped and our savings is a little lighter, but that’s what markets do. If it wasn’t coronavirus now it would have been something else later. We have already been down this road before.

Speaking of those markets, how about that rebound? (Rant Alert 🚨) As an avid viewer of financial channels and stock market news one of the things that always annoys me are the wishy washy pundits. Now, I’m no expert. I don’t get paid to be one nor do I get paid to give my opinion, but these people do. And what I have seen are people who’s opinions change with the wind. It begs the question, are they all afraid to be wrong and risk a credibility hit rather than actually give an opinion right or wrong, good or bad? Or are they playing the game and talking moves up or down on TV while doing the exact opposite with their portfolios? Continue reading “April 2020 Financial Update” →

Unwavering Determination

Published on by RV-on-FIRE.com4 Comments

In many ways it feels like life has been put on hold. We haven’t had a weekend RV getaway for over a month now. We haven’t seen any friends or family for weeks. Our son is home all day every day and his life has been turned upside down. These are difficult and strange times for everyone.

I often wonder how others are managing their lives through this crisis. Are people just sitting back and waiting to the government give them the all clear? Are they using this time and experience to review, fix or shore up their their financial strategy if they were lacking in some areas or overexposed in others? Or the worst thought, have people given up and think they will just figure it out later?

Having been through recessions and uncertain times before our strategy, for what it’s worth, is unwavering determination. For us this is a time to reassess, reevaluate, regroup and forge ahead. History teaches us that this will pass. How we come out of this crisis and what we learn from it is up to each of us. There is no better time than now to look at the big picture and make adjustments. It’s even a good idea to look farther into the future and prepare for tough decisions that might need to be made. Doing this could benefit you later and you might even discover that although you are reeling at the upheaval of your normal everyday life you are actually in better shape than you feel. So what have we been doing? Continue reading “Unwavering Determination” →

March 2020 Financial Update

Published on by RV-on-FIRE.com2 Comments

Deep breath………………Ok here we go.

Let’s just get the obvious out of the way. March was a disaster for the markets, the country and the world. People are losing their jobs, their savings, their friends and their family members. It has been a pretty dire situation for the last month as we all try to cope with this reality. Bottom line, it sucks!

One thing I love about our country is that we tend to pull together during big events and do what’s best for the greater good. I think MMM hit the nail on the head with his write up about the situation. You can read it here. For the most part people are doing what needs to be done to get us past this horrific moment in history and back on track as a society. This is encouraging to see and we will be successful. Continue reading “March 2020 Financial Update” →

Mid-Month Update

Published on by RV-on-FIRE.com1 Comment

I’ve started and stopped blog posts a few times this month. Mostly because these are unusual times and what more can I lend to the conversation that hasn’t already been said.

Looking back at our February update I have to say that I severely underestimated the impact and fallout from the Coronavirus. Past viruses came and went with little to no economic impact. The Coronavirus has spread rapidly and forced society as we know it to come to a screeching halt. This in turn is leading to a global economic shutdown and the financial markets reacting wildly due to the unlimited uncertainty. Continue reading “Mid-Month Update” →

February 2020 Financial Update

Published on by RV-on-FIRE.com3 Comments

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” →