Live ‘Year End Wins’ Event Tonight

Jonathan and I are hosting a Facebook Live event tonight (12/8) at 7:30 pm EST and we’d love for you to join us!

We’ll be chatting with 20+ community members sharing their 2020 wins with the ChooseFI community. This will be inspirational and a great way to encourage us all as we move into 2021.

ChooseFI: Friends of the Library

In response to my “free events in your town” section last week, Jami wrote in:

“Hi Brad - regarding the low-cost and free family entertainment options, also inquire at your local library. A number of them have passes to museums and exhibitions that you can "check out," allowing you to visit a place charging admission for free.”

Next time you visit the library, approach the librarian, and ask if they have any interesting or unusual items available to check out. You might be surprised at what you find!

Here’s a list of 200 unusual items available at libraries across the country:

Tiny Habits to Change Your Life

Gavin sent me a really interesting email about small habits that can dramatically improve your life:

“I just read this article and really think it's applicable to getting 1% better. Some examples of small things to improve one's life are below:

• Place items that are frequently lost in the same spot
• Remember people's names
• Eat the rainbow (fruits and vegetables)
• Drink more water
• Go to bed at the same time every day

I have incorporated placing my phone and laptop in the same area each day and this has helped me so much.”

ChooseFI Community Taking Action this Week

• Ahmed said, “I signed up my sister for The Simple Startup Winter Challenge! I also took the first step in starting my own side hustle and formed an LLC to start a blog! I also received a little startup money from a grant from a nonprofit since it helps the mission of the organization, so wins all around!”
• Emily said, “Not sure about 1% but wanted to let you know I've been listening to the show for two years as of this week! And as they say, correlation does not equal causation but my net worth on 12/1/2018 was 372k and after I deposit today's rent check, I will officially hit 700k. I'd say I am doing quite well :)”
• James said, “I got a quote a while back for someone to refurbish my deck for $2,150 with standard spindles, etc. I watched some YouTube videos and came up with my own design and went and bought the wood for $600. I then paid one of my son's friends to help me and we knocked it out in 2 days. Totals costs ended up being $1,100, or almost half the quote and my deck turned out way cooler because of the unique design.”
• Kelda said, “We've been putting off painting our house for the last couple years, knowing we paid $8,000 to have it done about 15 years ago. With more down time from the Covid situation, we ordered all the paint and supplies online for about $1000. Then my husband and I each took off 3 hours each morning while the kids were in zoom classes and got the whole thing done over a two-week period. Not only did we save a fortune, we earned the satisfaction of completing it ourselves as well as teaching our kids a bit about DYI.”
• Jenn said, “Just have to share a FI win (well, a few)! My husband and I just bought our first house (downsized, even!) in order to decrease our monthly expenses and move closer to work. Even with budgeting extra for home maintenance and such, we're saving several hundred dollars a month and we'll be able to save more if my husband gets to work remote and we can finally sell the extra car! Choose FI was part of what prompted the reevaluation that led to this move, so thank you. We also opened up a traditional IRA at Vanguard for my husband and are contributing everything above his employer match that we had been contributing to his 401(k) into Vanguard now because the 401(k) provider has RIDICULOUS fees. On top of that, I'm transferring my old Roth IRA to Vanguard and even just opened my individual 401(k) at Vanguard, in large part due to the great episodes you guys have had on the topic! Thanks for being part of such big, positive changes in our FI journey.”

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