Beginning of a New Era, What Have you Bought?, Free Events

Beginning of a New Era

What Have You Bought?

I saw a post in our Facebook group over the weekend that got over 500 comments and I thought it would be perfect for the FI Weekly:

Anna posted, "What is something you have bought that was absolutely worth the price for the amount of time it has saved you?"

I think it’s important to focus on how money can be used as a tool to make our lives better, and not merely looking at the sole goal being the cutting of expenses to get us to our FI Number more quickly.

I think you’ll benefit greatly from reading through the post, but some common answers were:

• Roomba robot vacuum cleaner
• Home services such as cleaning and lawn mowing
• Instant Pot
• Lasik surgery

Fun Free Events

As Liz from Frugalwoods educated us all the way back in Episode 12 of the show, it’s astonishing how many free events there are if you’re looking for them!

My brother and his wife knew of a series of free 5k races called "parkrun" from their time spent in the UK.  Parkrun is in 22 countries and thousands of towns & cities and their principles are "weekly, free, 5k, for everyone, forever."

I attended my first event this past Saturday and walked the 5k race with my brother and mom and it was a lovely group of people and a great time.

This is obviously just one example of a free event going on here in Richmond, but more of an example to inspire you to find something you can do in your own town or city that might be just a little bit outside of your comfort zone!

ChooseFI Community Taking Action This Week

• Heather said, "This week we downgraded our car! We decided to buy a van to convert into a camper (as part of our FIRE goals). We weren't able to do the renovations as quickly as we wanted due to budgeting and made the decision to sell our nice (paid off) car we use to commute to work and buy a 20 year old good enough car (from family so we know it's history) for $2,000 to commute and then put the rest of the money toward our van renovation. As we readjust to not having a backup camera and radar cruise control we keep repeating "we can have anything, just not everything" and we choose a FIRE future instead of a cozy commute."
• Jennifer said, "My 1% this week is that I'm checking out the free 5 day Salesforce challenge. I heard Bradley Rice on Episode 117 before but for whatever reason it didn't click with me. But then I heard Anita's Episode 297 and started to think about it. I wasn't even considering another job, but then one day I decided I should at least look into it a little more. I looked up Talent Stacker and that led me to the podcasts that Bradley and Anita do (Salesforce for Everyone). After listening to a few of those I realized I was crazy not to give the free 5 day challenge a go. It's not like I already make $70k a year now. We'll see how I take to it and go from there. I have to keep telling myself I'm not too old to change careers."
• Cameron said, "Our 1-year promotional rate ran out with our internet provider and I got an email yesterday stating my new bill would be $20 higher per month without the deal. Reading the FI Weekly email this morning motivated me to reach out to my internet provider instead of dragging my feet. After a pleasant (no, really) 10-minute conversation with a live chat agent online, my promotion got extended another year, saving us $240 over the next 12 months! Great ROI on that 10 minutes this morning."
• Daniela said, "I was able to continue applying for a healthier job and work environment, consolidate my brokerage accounts, and do an audit of my finances! This will be super helpful for me to prepare for my next chapter."
• Ashley said, "My 1% better this week is more life focused than money. I have been serving in an interim director position and was offered the full-time director position, which would be a promotion, a raise, and a ton more responsibility. Because we have our finances in order and our priorities straight, I was able to turn the promotion down and stay in my faculty position that allows me to have summers, evenings, weekends, and holidays off to spend with my family. This might not sound like a FI win, but it was such a personal win to know what I wanted and be able to stay the course."
• Abby said, "My 1% better is buying an I Bond this week. The concept seemed confusing at first but the Treasury Direct website made it simple to open an account. I made sure to note my account info and passwords in my emergency binder to help remember down the road. Thank you for the inspiration to get in (financial) shape!"
• Alex said, "This week I finished reading The Simple Path to Wealth, started reading Quit Like You're a Millionaire, learned more about my wife's double retirement accounts since she works at a university and gets both a 401(a) and a 457 account, and had a conversation with a friend about my journey thus far!"

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