My FIRE Journey: Progress

 

A lot has changed in my life over the past couple of months, particularly since I decided to pursue FIRE. The most obvious change is how FIRE has given me a focus and a sense of purpose that has been lacking in my life for a while now. Instead of half-wandering and trying to determine what my future looks like, I walk through life knowing exactly what I'm doing and where I'm going.

Another big change I've made is to pick up a second, part-time, job. I work three shifts a week making extra money that I'm using to pay off debts. I figure in a little over three years, I'll be debt-free. To that end, I paid off my car loan this past week and almost completely paid off another debt. I'm tackling my smaller debts first on my way to the bigger ones - student loans, then, will be last.

I've also begun selling off or giving away personal items that are just taking up space. This includes nostalgia and tears as I've said goodbye to things like my 40-year old dollhouse* that I loved and cared for all these years. I got a good price for it, as it's a collectible, and will put that in my fund to buy housing upon my early retirement. So, my little house will help me buy my big house one day.

I quit my automatic savings plan, opting instead for an automatic investment plan. This means that instead of having money automatically drawn from my account on payday and into a savings account, I have money automatically drawn from my account on payday and into my investment account. I've rebalanced my investment accounts as well*.

I've gone full-throttle into credit card churning*. I use a couple of strategic credit cards to pay my bills and buy my groceries in order to gain the points/rewards that these cards will give me. I will use these points/rewards on future travel plans.

 While I still have a lot to learn, I'm well on my way to achieving my FIRE goal. The other day, my daughter and I were eating dinner at the dining room table, and she took my hand and said, "Mom, I'm proud of you." It brought a tear to my eye and reminded me of how far I've come over the past couple of years. More than that, it made me realize that I'm finally on the right path. 

*These topics will all have their own posts in the months to come.

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