Tag Archives: swimming

Getting Wealthy By Swimming to Shore

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Getting Wealthy By Swimming to Shore.

Yesterday’s post: Defend Your Financial Fortress Against Spending Temptations!, prompted Sandy from First Gen American to ask the following question:  “I’m interested which budget categories you beefed up since your mortgage got paid”?  So in this post, I attempt to explain my position and answer Sandy’s question!

Originally, I wrote: Stop Drowning in Debt, Start Swimming To Shore.  In that post, I compared being deep in debt to being underwater trying to breathe.

When you are underwater, you only focus on one thing, and that is to get our head above water so you can breathe again!  In the financial world, you try to get out of debt so that is your goal and what you primarily focus on!

When you are deep underwater, it’s a battle to get to the surface to breathe air!  When you are in massive debt, your primary goal is to claw yourself back to the financial free air.

I broke the surface of the water, but instead of getting wealthy by swimming to shore, I’ve been treading water, trying to catch my breath, and then determine which direct to swim.

 

Getting Wealthy

Now that I’ve caught my breath, I’m going to start to swim towards the financially independence island/goal by going after the expenses that are like debt!

So I decided to start swimming by buying stocks with dividends, so someday the dividends could cover my Real Estate taxes and homeowner’s insurance payments.  I think the key is to start swimming and stop just treading water!

I’m going to start to research which stock(s) to purchase, and then in a later post, I’ll identify which one(s) I have chosen.

 

The Decision

While I haven’t saved a lot of money since paying off my house, I still have a few thousand to play with, and that enough to start to swim towards shore. 

So to answer Sandy’s question above, I’ve been putting the extra money from the payment from my former mortgage into cash, fixing things and a mild lifestyle inflation spending.   I’ll probably purchase the investments partially through a Roth IRA and partially through my regular online brokerage account.

Other than retirement, what ways are you planning on using to getting wealthier?

-MR

My Perfectly Frugal Fathers Day

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As a father of 2 children (9 year old boy and a 6 year old girl),  I always thought that “Fathers Day” was about me!  Ordering the kids around on Fathers Day … “Hey son, get me the paper” or “Daughter, get me my slippers” almost seemed like that thing to say.  Afterall, it’s my day and I’m in charge (imagine my evil laugh… Mwahahahaahhaha).  Of course, I’ve never do that, but I can see where Dads could easily assume that’s what Fathers Day was about.  But yesterday (much like when the Grinch’s heart grewing 3 sizes that day), I’ve come to realize that Fathers Day is about my kids and the memories we can create together.

I want my kids to look back and think of me with fond memories someday, and if I do this parenting thing right, I get to enjoy the experience along the way too ;).  So from now on, Fathers Day will be about me trying to create some great memories on that day with my kids.  And that is what I did this Fathers Day!

Here is my list of our frugal Fathers Day activities.

  • Opened my Fathers Day present, which was a new portable Fire Pit (Dad acted reasonable excited)
  • Went to pickup McDonalds breakfast for the kids
  • With help from the entire family, we moved our old furniture back into the Family Room, letting my son and daughter help with moving and decision making
  • Packed up and went swimming at the grandparents.
  • Swam as certain monsters (shark, blob and Orca).
  • Was an Orca Daddy to my younger daughter.  And let the kids ride on the Orca
  • Watch Kids play as a trainer and dog trying to learn to swim.
  • (Helped Grandparents with some manual labor, digging and moving dirt took at least an hour… yuck)
  • Let son take 2 small wheelbarrows of dirt to dirt pile.
  • When home and kept an eye on my son while he started up the fire pit (we got the wood for free from grandpa)
  • My wife made pizza pies to cook over the fire pit.
  • Daughter and I weeded and water the flower bed (from mother’s day)
  • Son cooked the pizza pies over the firepit
  • We all at the pizza pies and toasted marshmallows.
  • Son and Daughter threw the ball for our dog to chase (until the dog got tired and stopped).
  • The kids and dad went on a lightning bug (or firefly) hunt.  We caught about 15  lightning bugs and put them in a bug container for my daughter to watch at night.
  • Played with kids right before they went to bed.

And that was my Fathers Day, other than the McDonalds meal, it was a very frugal Fathers Day, but one filled with fond memories.  Its funny how watching my kids playing or working reminds me of Normal Rockwell scenes… except better! 

In my mind, I took so many great photos of the kids doing various things today!

 This was by far the greatest Fathers Day I ever had!!!

-MR