FreedomFIter

Debt is so tied up with shame for me. For everyone? "I'm debt free except for a mortgage!" people say. "Is it good debt or bad debt?" they'll ask. "The average American household has $8,000 in credit card debt," the judgment is pointed and laser-like, directly into my soul. I think it was Planet Money that explained… Continue reading Debt leverage: no guilt

I applied for the new Marriott Bonvoy card through American Express, step 2 of our plan to get to Disney World for free, and the system was kind enough to tell me, before running a credit check, that I wasn't going to be eligible for the bonus. I called to find out why, and they… Continue reading Travel hack rejection

Do you give your kids an allowance? Do you pay them for chores? Do you hand them spending money? Do you tell them to just freaking start a YouTube channel already and make us all rich? As with all things parenting, there are strong opinions for and against every option, most boiling down to "because… Continue reading Using allowances to teach kids about money

Last year, we got carpenter ants. I say that in the same way you might say "I got syphilis," and it's exactly how it felt. Like we had been living large and now it was time to pay the price, and if we didn't manage them, soon we would go blind. There are things I… Continue reading Bye bye Orkin guy

This one comes in from a reader*. At the local grocery store, the baked potato bar is $5.99 for "a potato and whatever you want to put on it." The salad bar is charged by the ounce, and is typically around ten bucks for a salad. The difference is that one container includes a potato… Continue reading Cheap trick Friday: baked salad bar

When I learned of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, I was already 2 years in to my qualifying job, but...I didn't have the exact right kinds of loans. I spent a lot of time on various phone calls trying to learn as much as I could, and in the end, I consolidated my loans,… Continue reading Public Service Loan Forgiveness: an exercise in faith

For the first time in my entire life, I am getting a refund for taxes. It's not so much a refund as a rebate from getting our solar panels, but whatever, I feel like Richie Rich. Remember that kid? Jeez he was rich. We've been holding aside money to redo our bathroom, which is literally… Continue reading Tax refund

I'm pursuing FI. I'm also uncomfortable with many of the ideas and opinions that go along with that. To try to marry those two ideas, I built a pledge; I'm not perfect at it and like everybody, I'm a work in progress. With that in mind, I pledge to: Be aware of, and open to,… Continue reading Financial Independence Pledge

For years and years, and years and years, I hated paying bills because it felt like an empty bucket that was just getting emptier. Now that we're making more money and paying things off, well, I still hate sending money to people that aren't me, but I'm also excited. I haven't been using Dave Ramsey's… Continue reading Bring on the bills

A bit over two years ago, when I was just about to have our third baby, I thought, "we need more life insurance." I got the forms and had them ready to submit, when I actually had the baby, and then oops got a brain tumor and after I took care of that (and by… Continue reading If one of us dies