Photo by Aditya Saxena on Unsplash
We paid off the mortgage. We thought we’d be done in December of 2025 but managed to get it knocked out 9 months early. We did this by working overtime, putting every bit of overtime towards the mortgage and reinforcing the age-old budget. I am ecstatic to finally be out from under that loan. Logically, it is exciting to think about how easy it will be now to change our retirement contributions and max everything out. Emotionally, I expected it to feel a little different.
I came home from work and sat outside, enjoying the sensation of wind, fresh air, the birdsong, and activity of all the fauna in our tiny domain. It felt calm and peaceful but it feels unreal. I am sure things will move forward very differently with the newfound freedom to make choices based on the much lower living expenses. But in this moment, I expected to feel more elation, more emotional. In reality, everything feels much the same.
I am glad we’ve taken some time along the way to share in memory making with the kids, family, and good friends. This reiterates the sneaking suspicion I had that reaching a goal doesn’t mean a ‘missing piece’ will necessarily fall into place. I think we are meant to toil towards something and I have a bad habit of always looking towards the next goal, the next project, the next activity. This is a good reminder to slow down and live life for now, find contentment in this season of life. It’s always good to remember all the blessings in our life, the loved ones, the safety, and health that we are lucky enough to have. I will recommit to gratitude and fostering it with the kiddos as well.
What’s the plan now?
Next up, I’d like to rebuild our savings to a more comfortable 6+ months of emergency funds. We could pull from our Roths if needed but since the economy seems to be taking a poop, that doesn’t seem like the wisest decision. We will replenish those funds, then fully max our 401ks, Roth IRAs, and any left over will be put into the HSA. I think we might change our HSA strategy and start to pay for medical expenses with cash, invest the HSA in the market, and obtain reimbursement at a later date. We can use this as another lever for retirement. I have to do my homework to figure out the ins and outs of this strategy but think this could be a good plan for us.
We just became aware of FI in November of last year and read ‘The Simple Path to Wealth’ around the same time. Intellectually, we knew that the market would have downswings. It has been a hard pill to swallow as a newly aware investor. I am trying to have faith in the plan and remember that this is part of the process. It’s taking everything inside not to make changes or sell, but I know that’s not the answer. Reading this concept has been very different than experiencing its effect on my portfolio.
Photo by Luca Bravo on Unsplash
Travel
We plan to do more local exploration now that we’ve got a bit more freedom. Yesterday, we went to a local historical site and were able to learn some things, spend time outside in nature, and connect with the resident animals. It was a blast and I’d like to incorporate more of that into our lives. Less vegging on the couch and more time with the family connecting over new experiences. We’ll be taking a family vacation with my parents this year and I plan on enjoying that downtime with my family and taking time to smell the roses. In general, I’d just like us to spend more time living in real life rather than watching others live their lives on TV. It’s so easy to be annoyed by someone chewing with their mouth open 2 centimeters from your ear, when you spend all of your time cooped up indoors worrying about things that may never come to pass, and putting a great deal of mental energy into things that don’t matter. Once you get outside and get active and share laughter and communicate, there is suddenly a lot less to be annoyed by.
The Home Front
This year, we will take the time to clean up the garage and our yard, and get everything to a state of order. These are more labor-intensive projects than money-intensive but they will still require a small investment for building garage shelving and potentially some tools to get our garden beds back under control.
Car Conundrums
Art’s car is on its last leg, we have to keep this in mind as we do everything else, with the expectation that it will need to be replaced in the next 1-2 years. The plan is to wait as long as possible and squeeze every bit of functionality out of the Altima that we can. Once we can’t wait any longer, or if we come across a great deal, we will need to take the plunge into car buying. It will likely be financed but we won’t spend more than $15,000 to allow for us to keep our resources fluid. In general, we like to keep our cars till they stop serving us. The last car we dumped, I bought when it was 10 years old and sold a decade later as a beater, only because we were looking for something we could take on long car trips and carry the whole family. This strategy has worked well, and we plan to carry into the future.
I am excited to see where we will go from here and am hopeful for our future despite the uncertainty that comes from external conditions. I plan to make meaning in my life through the things that matter to me, my faith, my family, my friendships, and my creativity. The mortgage didn’t define me and even though the goal to pay it off made up so much of my energy for almost a decade, the payoff doesn’t define me or come close to capturing who I am or what my life means. All of the things that stressed me out prior to this goal are still there waiting for my stress. Likewise, all the things that bring my joy are right here waiting for my attention.
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