December 2023 Financial Update

Welcome to our December 2023 financial update blog! We are a little late getting this blog published. The new year has started off with a bang and there hasn’t been any spare time to dedicate to writing. 

Our first task of the new year was a planned trip back to California. This trip had been planned for awhile but turned into a dual purpose trip. The main objective was to visit Mrs. RVF’s side of the family as we haven’t seen them in quite a long time. However, in light of our purchase of a nice plot of acreage in Texas we also needed to break the news to them. Yes, we really meant it when we said we are not going back to live in California…….EVER! The conversation went much better than we expected. It’s great to have support from family and friends when big decisions are made.

Continue reading “December 2023 Financial Update”

Can’t Buy It? Build It!

Now we are cooking with fire, figuratively and financially! Looking for our forever home has been a bit of a grueling process. We are happy to say that things are now progressing as we have changed direction from buying to building. If you are new to our blog and need to catch up on the developments then start here and here.

In short, we discovered a great home in a very nice area. One that checked off all of the boxes and then some. So we decided to put in an offer despite it being out of our price range.

Continue reading “Can’t Buy It? Build It!”

November 2023 Financial Update

Welcome to our November 2023 financial update blog! There have been so many ups and downs this month it’s hard to know where to start. So let’s just jump on in and let it rip.

If you have been keeping up with our adventure you know that we thought that we found our forever home here in Texas. Read about it here if you need a refresher. You also know that after some negotiations it became clear that we were not going to be able to make a deal. So we walked away. That really sucked, but it was definitely for the better.

After losing out on the bidding we had resigned ourselves to just enjoying what we have. Maybe taking a break from the grind of looking and researching was what we needed to do. The whole thing was just stressing us out anyway. That’s not what we live this lifestyle to do so we stepped back. Well, that lasted about a week.

Continue reading “November 2023 Financial Update”

November 2023 Dividend Portfolio Update

It’s time for our November 2023 dividend portfolio update and it was a pretty exciting month. After three consecutive months of losses the markets reversed course in a big way. This run up, along with our decision to purchase a share of SCHD at each pay period of our work-camping jobs, helped propel our little portfolio to new highs.

Of course we couldn’t have a good month without a little bit of frustration to go along with it. During the month our dividend portfolio account transitioned from TD Ameritrade to Schwab. Due to the timing of the transition some of our divided payments could not be automatically reinvested. It also appears that Schwab doesn’t reinvest dividend immediately. With TD dividends were reinvested on the same day they are received. Due to this one day lag dividends received on the last day of the month look like they will be reinvested on the first trading day of the following month.

Continue reading “November 2023 Dividend Portfolio Update”

October 2023 Dividend Portfolio Update

It’s time for our October 2023 dividend portfolio update and unfortunately there aren’t many positives to report. The markets continued to sell off for the third straight month and our dividend portfolio continued to take hits on all fronts. If there is a silver lining for investors it’s that there are buying opportunities everywhere as we have entered correction territory.

We arrived at our new location and started our winter work-camping gigs. This has made it hard to keep up with the markets and any news. Additionally, our investable income has really slowed which has limited our ability to add to positions. The timing couldn’t be worse in that respect because now is the time to take advantage of opportunities.

Continue reading “October 2023 Dividend Portfolio Update”

Campground Review – Sunrise Ridge Campground

In this edition of our campground review series we will be reviewing Sunrise Ridge Campground located in Hot Springs, SD.

Sunrise Ridge Campground is located off of highway 385 just outside of the historic town of Hot Springs. We booked a one month stay in the month of July 2023 and chose this location because we needed to be within driving distance of Rapid City. We prefer a quiet small town over being in a city. And quite honestly there’s not much to choose from that are decent and have a reasonable price in South Dakota.

Continue reading “Campground Review – Sunrise Ridge Campground”

Is The End Near?

As athletes age there naturally comes a time when the conversation turns towards trying to determine how much one has left in the tank. Eventually, athletes begin to ponder life after their sport. This inevitably leads to public statements which then leads to questions being asked. It’s the common progression in sports that points to the fact that the end is near.

The old adage in sports is that if an athlete is talking about retirement then they have already retired. At least in a mental capacity.

The hardest part for the athlete is recognizing when the line has been reached so they can walk away gracefully. Everyone wants to find that most opportune time to bow out with their head held high. And no one wants to overstay their shelf life only to be mocked because of it. It can be a fine line to walk.

Continue reading “Is The End Near?”