Every FI journey has a set of factors that make it unique. Here are a few of ours.
Married DINKWADs
In 2013, the FI Value Engineer met at the office and started hanging out. Two years later, we moved in together. Then on 6-9-2018, we made it official in front of all of our family and friends. That makes us Dual Income (DI). We also have No Kids (DINK). But our lives have been made so much happier With A Dog (DINKWAD).
House Hacking
When my partner bought what is now our house in 2012, he was able to secure a larger mortgage since the property had a one bedroom basement apartment. It’s currently home to a good friend of ours, who is super easygoing, and occasionally watches our doggo.
Mental Health
Both my partner and I have lived experience with mental health issues. He has the dubious honor of having survived shootings at school, work, and home. We lived through the last two of that trifecta together. I’m also currently under treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, thanks to surviving childhood abuse. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 1 in 5 adults in the United States experience mental illness. It’s an important part of our story and it expresses itself in our financial life in unexpected ways.
High Cost of Living in Denver, CO
I was part of the population migration that catapulted Denver from a great place to recover from heavy student loans to one of the most expensive metros in the US. We love it here, but it’s something we are continually made aware of.
Real Estate Investing
On October 31, 2019, we became the proud owners of an upstairs/downstairs duplex in a Western Kansas college town. Both are two bedroom units, with the added benefit of a one room hair salon, that operated for nearly 50 years. We plan to renovate the bits that need renovating and then rent it out. Renovations are proving to take longer than anticipated.
Solar
In 2019, we also committed to installing rooftop solar on our home. We are still waiting on the power company to connect the meters to see how it pays off.
Inheritance
Unfortunately, both of my partner’s parents have passed away. It’s not something you expect to have happen in your 20s. He and his siblings each received a moderate chunk of money. For us, he invested the majority of it in low fee index funds.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness
I went to graduate school for a Master’s degree in Public Administration. It was one of the best choices I could’ve made, but it came with $50,000 in student loans. Since I planned to make my career in the nonprofit sector, it made sense at the time to go on an income-based repayment plan, and theoretically, I would pay about $30,000 for my Master’s and have the balance forgiven. Currently, I’m on target for an August 2022 forgiveness date. By my estimates, that will shave at least 3 months off our FI Timeline.