Negotiating Closing Costs: The Easiest Ways to Save

Are you buying a house in 2021? It’s been a wild ride for us. But, thankfully, after facing limited inventory, ridiculous bidding wars, all-cash offers, and nearly purchasing the wrong place, we finally found a home we love. So what comes next? A race to the settlement date, which includes applying for financing for the first time … Read more

What is Time Freedom? How to Get Freedom In Life

In America, we traditionally measure success by the amount of stuff we accumulate and own. We admire bigger houses, luxury vehicles, and extravagant vacations, and spend our days earning money to pay for all those treasures. But, in doing so, we disregard the most valuable resource: our time. What if we stopped using stuff to measure … Read more

Appreciation for All That We Own

The last time I prepared to move, I was an eager, twenty-three-year-old with a station wagon’s worth of belongings. Two decades later, I need a moving truck and a three-person crew.  Moving is tough. Gathering boxes, packing our belongings, and lugging heavy containers around the house is back-breaking work. As I yank piles of possessions … Read more

Buying a House in 2021

Last June we had a wild idea. After nearly twenty years of living in the same house, we decided it was time to move. Despite limited inventory and wildly escalating prices, we vowed to find a new place. With flexible work options, we can finally move out to the countryside. How hard could it be … Read more

A Letter to My Future Self: Will I Be Happy?

Many of us get trapped by the day-to-day monotony of our lives. We’re not happy, but we’re not miserable either, and in this state, we are often unwilling to change. But if we are reluctant to create a new path, our future is guaranteed to remain the same. So here’s the question: If nothing changed, and … Read more

money blocks

Remove Money Blocks to Achieve Your Financial Goals

Do you think money is evil? Do you struggle with a scarcity mindset or believe that you will always be in debt? Have you convinced yourself that you are unlucky or that you can’t achieve financial success? If you assume any of these beliefs, a money block may be to blame. What is a money … Read more

living stingy

Living Stingy: How to Stop Being Stingy With Money

The English language includes more than four dozen synonyms for the word stingy: tightfisted, cheapskate, selfish, uncharitable, curmudgeonly, iron-fisted, miser, selfish, penny-pinching, tightwad, and greedy all make that list. While we often think of saving money as a noble goal, these words reflect the negative aspects of building wealth and keeping it all tied up. … Read more

Making a Cash Offer on a House Without Contingencies

Last summer, we decided it was time to move. The global pandemic created new work from home opportunities for my husband, and the desire to move to an area with more green space was suddenly too hard to resist. Moments after making the decision, I hopped online and created watches on Zillow, Realtor.com, and a … Read more

I Want to Be a Stay At Home Mom: Should I Quit My Job?

The emails trickle into my inbox. “I want to quit my job to stay home with my kids,” one reads. “I want to be a stay-at-home mom so badly,” another begins. Each email tells a unique story, and while the details are different, the resulting question is almost always the same. Should I become a … Read more