I started off after college with no debt, and have been in debt in some manner ever since. And it's completely my own fault (well, the husband hasn't put any feet down, so he gets a little blame too), but I'm primary on the money in our house, so I'll take the blame.
Together we make a really great income. There's no reason for us to have debt, unless we're using it smartly (hint, we're not right now).
In 9 years of marriage, we've paid off about $80k in student loans (in 3 years, thank you very much), 2 cars, $80k in house improvements (both rental and main), and a timeshare loan. We're currently paying off another timeshare loan (turns out I'm pretty susceptible to sales pitches) and the expense of starting a real estate business that is about to enter it's 2nd year with no income. Every time we get off the hamster wheel we decide to get back on.
And I know we're not alone in this. Part of my delving into the real estate arena and learning about various strategies have exposed me to financial independence blogs & podcasts. Things I had been very interested in a few years ago and then we had kids and we always seemed trapped by more and more expense (read choices).
But that is changing. I don't want my kids to live the life of a cubicle dweller unless they CHOOSE to. Because that's what FI is all about, choice. Having the freedom to live your life exactly as you want to and not be beholden to a job.
This blog is meant to be a record of the journey to FINALLY be free and get off the debt cycle (except when it's smart...but that's a different post). It's to hold myself accountable to making progress. I will be (mostly) full kimono about what the numbers are and how they are changing each month.
I'm hoping that someday my journey can be a lesson for my kids in how to choose a different life, not the American dream that's been prescribed to us, but the true ability to be exactly who they want to be when they grow up.
The following will be letters to my kids in the hope that they'll read this and pick a different path.
