Financial Independence

2017 was a big year financially for me.  Change was inevitable but I had been procrastinating for some time.  I was relatively conservative with my money over the last few years in all but one category: food!  Those that know me are aware that I love good food.  Not married and no kids, I didn't have the discipline to buckle down on my eating out before this year.  Breakfast consisted of diners for bacon, eggs, hash browns, pancakes and coffee.  Lunches were places I hit up with the guys from work like Mexican restaurants, Five Guys, establishments with wings and burgers.  Dinner was usually a Fatz Café, Applebee's, J Peters or Coopers that offered steaks, potatoes, macaroni, steamed vegetables and dinner rolls. I purchased a home in June of this year and quickly saw my accounts draining.  So I went back for a 12 month analysis of my food spending.  On a conservative month, I was spending no less than $1,000 a month on food.  Most mont...

It's a huge debate in modern society whether renting or buying is best.  Endless financial experts bomb you with statistics and financials supporting or debunking each method.  Today's savvy spender is just looking for a reasonable answer.  What about a compromise? Over the course of the past 3 years, I started and edited endless spreadsheets depicting outcomes based on a wide range of scenarios.  RV living, building a mini-warehouse, a livable garage, renting, building new and buying a fixer-upper were among the possibilities.  I wanted to find a suitable option that wouldn't have me married to a mortgage or endlessly in debt.  And so, I began a research project on debt.  A recent publication estimated a person in the US to pay $279,002.00 in lifetime interest.  Credit card interest, mortgage interest, and more piled on and on.  That's not to include costs of insurance for your health, home and even your money (If you have enough to warran...