FreedomFIter

We have two swings next to each other in our front yard. One is more-or-less Amelia's height, one is more for Viv and Sonya. The other day, Amelia got up onto the higher one, swung her heart out, attempted a dismount, and dropped, hard, flat onto her back. Her sobs were familiar to me: pain… Continue reading Letting kids fall

A colleague of mine lives in one of the best school districts in the region. We decidedly do not. Based on conversations with him, I think our lives are kind of like two paths that diverged in the woods. We likely make comparable money, have similar school loans for similar degrees. We both have three… Continue reading The LCOL village it takes to raise a child

Oh, it's not good. My spreadsheet says I need to make $3300 at Company A, and $500 at Company B. For the first weekend of the month, I had a surprise job at Company B that took me every free moment, so I couldn't do anything with Company A. Then I had surgery on May… Continue reading Mid-month freelance check-in

(There are some affiliate links below, because why not?) We bought our house six years ago, and we did the decidedly not-FI thing of buying way outside of our means. At the time, I was pregnant with Viv, my husband had just finished his associate's degree and was doing a "paid internship" that cost us… Continue reading Enticing kids outdoors

My life would be a bit easier if I just automated my bills - one less thing to have to worry about. Except if I stop worrying about it, I stop worrying about it, you know? And the next thing you know, I've got 750 subscription services that I never use, we have a toilet… Continue reading Cheap trick Friday: resisting automation

A year ago, I switched to Boost Mobile. I had spent years on AT&T with a flip phone, but switching to Boost with a data plan was cheaper than my flip phone service on the family plan. Also, I was very tired of pushing the number buttons multiple times just to get one letter for… Continue reading Discount cell phone dilemmas

All the other moms on the dance team got shirts that said "dance mom squad" and their kid's name. They were adorable. They were $22. I opted out. I told them the truth: I don't have extra money for that stuff and I am keeping my wardrobe to a bare minimum. At the dance competition… Continue reading But how can they afford it?

I sprint into class, glasses askew, hair pulled back into a hasty ponytail, dried cereal on my shoulder. As I skid to a stop, I tell my students, “I’m so sorry I’m late. My daughter missed the bus and I had to drop her at school. Pretend like I’m a man right now, so instead… Continue reading The motherhood penalty

We put solar panels in last year, which seemed super-FI because it generates electricity and also super-not-FI because we financed them. Our first month with them was in November, and I don't know if you've noticed this, but in November, the days are about 15 minutes long and half the time the stupid things were… Continue reading Negative electric bill

My kids love singing at the top of their lungs in the car. This beats fighting over the iPad, so while I occasionally scream "YOU ARE MAKING MY BRAIN TUMOR SCAR HURT," I generally let it go. Even when the song is Let It Go, which I have been listening to on repeat for a… Continue reading Cheap trick Friday: this is the greatest show