December 2019 Progress Update
BY Ms. Vine
Monday January 13, 2020 0 Comments Blog, Progress Update
December was a strange month. I typically write these monthly updates in pieces. Once a week or so, I’ll edit the draft with an update on what we did over the past week. Some months, we have so much going on that I choose what to include. December felt slower, but it wasn’t. It helped... Read More
Planning for a South Florida Holiday
BY Ms. Vine
Monday January 6, 2020 0 Comments Blog, Travel, Uncategorized
Our South Florida vacation was about a year in the making. We prefer to use our timeshare when we travel over Christmas. Even though points are at a premium during this week, there is no cash outlay. We do pay our annual maintenance fees, which equate to a similar cost with a one week stay... Read More
Year in Review: 2019
BY Ms. Vine
Monday December 30, 2019 0 Comments Blog, Lifestyle, Personal Finance, Progress Update, Uncategorized
We had a pretty great year in 2019 in many respects. The market gave us some nice boosts and we were able to maintain a higher savings rate. We achieved this primarily through decreased spending. We paid off our last car loan! It’s nice to know that’s something we’ll never need to have again. During... Read More
20 Goals for the 2020s
BY Ms. Vine
Monday December 16, 2019 0 Comments Blog, Lifestyle, Personal Finance, Travel, Uncategorized
I’ve never made “decade goals” before. But now that the 2010s are coming to an end, I realized how much we accomplished over the last 10 years. I thought it might be fun and useful to set some intentions for the decade to come. So by the time it’s the end of 2029, we hope... Read More
November 2019 Progress Update
BY Ms. Vine
Monday December 9, 2019 2 Comments Progress Update, Uncategorized
This month was a haze of career-related stress for me. We had a lot going on, both personally and professionally. Life was so busy, too busy, and I had a hard time finding enjoyment. For a short month, November seemed to hang on forever.  Mr. Vine started a new job this month, which threw our... Read More
Writer’s Block and Focus on Travel
BY Ms. Vine
Monday December 2, 2019 0 Comments Blog, Lifestyle, Travel
Lately, I’ve suffered from writer’s block. Since February 2019, I’ve done a great job of meeting my once per week posting goal. But this blog has had a bit of an existential crisis. What is its true niche? We are pursuing financial independence and early retirement (“FIRE”), but I often feel like we don’t have... Read More
Five Ways We Save on Groceries
BY Ms. Vine
Monday November 25, 2019 0 Comments Blog, Cooking, Personal Finance, Uncategorized
Did you know the USDA publishes the average cost of eating at home for a variety of family sizes? Based on this data, Mr. Vine and I spend right around the “thrifty plan” amount when our annual grocery costs are averaged on a monthly basis. At home, we eat plenty of locally grown, organic, seasonal... Read More
Destination Ambivalence: How we are traveling now
BY Ms. Vine
Monday November 18, 2019 0 Comments Blog, Travel, Uncategorized
Our travel planning process has evolved over the years, and we imagine that will be the case for years to come. Neither what we hope to get from travel, nor what we can afford to spend on travel has been constant. It probably won’t be in the future, either.  We knew from the beginning that... Read More
October 2019 Progress Update
BY Ms. Vine
Monday November 11, 2019 One Comment Progress Update, Uncategorized
The first half of October whizzed by before we even knew what happened. We had more social activities planned than ever it seemed. For some reason, October always seems like an exceptionally busy month for us. We had a football tailgate--this one that we planned. Like camping, tailgating is a lot more work when you’re... Read More