Good morning! I’m Dee, a personal finance enthusiast and blogger dedicated to living a frugal lifestyle, eliminating debt, and creating multiple income streams. My goal is to inspire others to achieve their financial goals by sharing my journey on my blog, Color Me Frugal.
Our path to financial independence began in 2010. We had always dreamed about it, but 2010 was the year we got serious and wrote our goals down. This marked the beginning of our journey as we finally had a clear destination in mind.
I’ve been with my husband for over ten years, married for eight. When we first started dating, we lived in a small town near a mountain range we adored. We spent summers mountain biking and hiking by streams, and winters renting snowmobiles. It was our special place, where we got engaged and later married in the foothills.
Sadly, we had to move for our jobs after two years in that town. Even after leaving, we constantly missed it. By 2010, we were determined to return. We wanted to buy a small piece of land near the bike trails, build a home, and someday teach our kids to ride bikes there. That would be our forever home.
There was just one problem: finding jobs in our fields there was tough. It would be easier for my husband, but nearly impossible for me. Giving up the dream wasn’t an option. We realized we needed multiple income streams to achieve this. Even if I never found a “real job” there or my husband worked part-time, we could still live our dream by becoming financially independent.
We documented this goal in 2010, making it real for us. We decided that investing in rental real estate was a good start. In April 2011, we bought our first rental property. The mortgage approval process was a nightmare because we lived 20 hours away from our desired location. Banks didn’t understand our choice. After countless hours of paperwork and phone calls, we finally closed on the property. It’s been a great source of cash flow since 2011, managed by a close friend since we don’t live there yet.
Realizing one rental property wasn’t enough, we started maxing out our retirement accounts, including 401(k)s and Roth IRAs yearly. We even opened SEP IRAs from side jobs. We drastically reduced our expenses to save more, funneling all my paychecks directly into our savings for five years. We also diverted part of my husband’s paycheck into savings. This fund is used for down payments on properties. Now, we own three homes, two of which are rentals. We’re aggressively paying off the mortgage on our current home, aiming to rent it out mortgage-free in the future.
The journey hasn’t been smooth. A few years ago, we faced the reality of fertility challenges, leading to costly treatments. Thankfully, our aggressive savings habits helped cover the costs. Now, we’re pursuing adoption, another expensive endeavor, but one we’re excited about. This has slowed our property acquisitions, but it’s also pushed us to be more creative, cutting costs and seeking other income sources like blogging. I found that I love blogging, and the best part is that it can be done anywhere— even in a small town near cherished mountains.
While we’re not yet financially independent or back in our mountains, we’re making progress. We don’t know how long it will take, given the many unknowns, especially the costs related to starting our family. But we have hope, plans, and determination. We will get there.