Here is a quick summary of our situation;
- Paid for home in CT
2 kids (4 and 2 yrs old), and 1 due in August
Wife is an RN, and I work at a health insurance company.
$0 debt, and no credit cards.
Savings Rate target 50%+, but generally I don't keep track of every cent anymore. We just try to live by the ERE philosophy, and only buy what we need.
% to FI: 48%
Our family recently shifted our mindset to live debt free, and having no credit cards which I know differs from the current culture. Moving at the pace of cash can be frustrating at times, but it slows down and improves decision making which I find very comforting.. Right now we are in a small cash crunch having paid off our home aggressively in the last year. One of my goals for this year is increasing our cash and investments significantly to avoid these issues in the future especially when pressed with having to make a large capital expenditure.
Our FI number is slightly higher due to a chronic medical condition, and the high cost of healthcare in the US. We are due to have our third kid this summer so there will be a lot of posts related to these topics. We currently save/invest in an H.S.A., and pay medical costs out of pocket. I need to spend more time figuring out how to lower medical costs.
My family relies heavily on DIY'ing most projects/issues around the home typically with the assistance of my Dad (renaissance man). I am trying to absorb all his knowledge that I neglected to appreciate as a kid so I can one day pass down those skills to my kids. Recently we snaked our clogged septic drain pipe, replaced a clutch on our 2008 Subaru Impreza, repaired the engines on our snowblower & log splitter, cleaned our own chimney before the burning season started. We have always had a garden. Sometimes small sometimes big. This year I plan on dedicating a lot of time to this endeavor to really improve our results. I also want to spend more time outside so camping will be a big part of this summer's adventures. (An ideal day would be rolling out of my tent to water the garden with a warm cup of coffee).