12 Major Decisions and How We Feel About Them Now

Morning!

Got a notification that it was my anniversary on a couple things this week (picking up my Lexus from Carmax (3 years), switching to Republic Wireless (5 years!)), and thought it might be helpful to see how we feel about it years later now 🙂

Do I wish I could go back on any of them?! Did any of them completely change my life??!

Here are updates on those, as well as other events that popped in my head when I sat down to write these out…

Fun exercise to do!

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1 month anniversary of… buying a house! And so far so good, although we have still yet to move in! Haha… (probably why it’s going so good – the realities haven’t set in yet ;)).

1 year anniversary of… turning into a stay-at-home daddy blogger! One of my first goals when we found out my wife was pregnant again and I’m happy to report that everyone is still alive! Most especially my boys! There are days that are a real struggle and those I’m not proud of, but by and large I feel exceptionally fortunate to be able to watch them grow up each and every day and I’m slowly remembering what it’s like to live in “the real” world again vs online all the time… And I’m hopeful that my kids are enjoying it just the same! (Although I swear, as soon as Mommy comes into the picture she becomes the Queen and all of a sudden no one wants anything to do with me! Haha…)

1 1/2 years anniversary of… selling Rockstar Finance. Something that allowed me to have this better life/work balance and enjoy such things as above! So definitely wouldn’t ever go back and undo this one, though it is sad to see it slowly trickle out/stop?, now that it’s on its 3rd owner… I def. miss connecting with all the newer bloggers out there and spreading the love around. There were a lot of great things about that project.

2 year anniversary of… not working on the weekends! One of the top 5 decisions I’ve ever made in my life! I can’t tell you how beneficial this has been for me/my brain/stress levels over the months… It’s just so nice to have that *cut off* from things when so much of our lives seem to be mushed together by the internet and Go-Go-Go mentality of modern times… And when you put limits like that into your life it better helps balance things out and you STILL manage to get everything done you need to! Because there’s no pushing it off until the weekend when it’s no longer an option!

3 year anniversary of… quitting my podcast. Which is still rockin’ with Paula at the helm as she heads into episode #200 already! Work it!! But similarly to my feelings with leaving Rockstar, it’s hard to regret opting out of projects when it frees up so much extra time and opportunity for other things in life. Even if it seems crazy leaving a project that’s well on its way to success! I did recently hop onto the show just for fun though, and you can check out our reunion again here if you like 😉 A helluva lot more fun on this side of the mic than the other, I’ll tell you that much! #199: The Three-Year Reunion with J. Money

3 year anniversary of… swapping my hooptie for a Lexus. Now this change out of all of them so far I get sad about every now and then… Not that my newer ride is horrible or anything (it’s one of the most comfortable, and reliable, cars I’ve ever had!) but I 100% miss my Caddy and wish there was a way I could have saved her 😦 There was just something about rollin’ around in that beat up ride, windows down and blaring hip-hop music without a care in the world…. She was great!! And even made me money at times! Haha… But such is life… Perhaps one day I can get a replacement when I’m no longer playing chauffeur 24/7 with my kids….(“BUT NOT BEFORE I GET MY MINIVAN!!!!” <— Wife)

4 year anniversary of… waking up at 5 a.m.! Another move I’ve made over the years that continues to pay dividends! Still very much waking up early and enjoying it (week days only), and definitely helps with the “getting everything done” during the week mission too. Though I also like to use part of the mornings to just reflect a little and soak in all the peace while everyone’s down and sleeping as well – including the sun 🙂 It’s one of the only times I get 100% ME time!

4 year anniversary… of cutting cable!! And can’t even tell you what I’m missing! Haha… One of the easiest transitions over the years, and like others wish we had only done it sooner 🙂 We still pay for internet and thus connected to cable companies for life (ugh), but it’s a helluva lot nicer not having to battle them every 6 months when they jack up those rates! I don’t think we’ve had to call in yet over the past 4 years – it’s been magical… (And we still get lots of shows too using a cheap $16 antenna from Target, including all Redskins games – woo!!)

5 year anniversary of… giving up my iPhone and switching to Republic Wireless! And now over $6,000 total saved which is enough to max out a Roth IRA!!! 🙂 So def. still happy with this one, haha… And not surprisingly, Android phones do pretty much the same thing as iPhones or really any other smart phones for that matter these days… You can call/text/snap photos/download apps/get internet and pretty much anything else! So why not keep going and pocketing that free $100 every month?!

7 year anniversary of… having my first kid! And going so well I had to buy two more! Haha… Although my wallet doesn’t appreciate it nearly as much 😉 Anyone remember that time I tried tracking every last penny they cost back in the day?!

8 1/2 year anniversary of… getting fired from my day job and becoming a full-time blogger! It’s hard to remember what life was like back then, but I do succinctly recall that initial excitement and anxiety all rolled into one and not knowing what the outcome would be… Promised my wife I’d go back to a 9-5 if I couldn’t figure out a way to make it work in 3 months, and now here we are almost a decade later! Hasn’t always been rainbows and sunshine, and I’m definitely tired of calling the shots on everything that a business requires, but it’s been an incredible experience so far and will keep going until something more exciting comes along. Even if that’s a 9-5 again! I’ve long since realized happiness comes in many forms, and will consider anything that makes life better for me or my family 🙂

And finally, it’s our 10th year anniversary of… hitting our first $100k. Which was not only the turning point of feeling more stable and secure, but also of the compounding growth since it really starts snowballing from there!

Here’s how long it’s taken to reach each additional $100k:

• $100,000 net worth: 7 years, 11 months
• $200,000 net worth: 1 year, 5 months
• $300,000 net worth: 1 year, 2 months
• $400,000 net worth: 1 year, 8 months
• $500,000 net worth: 2 years, 7 months
• $600,000 net worth: 7 months
• $700,000 net worth: 10 months
• $800,000 net worth: 1 month (when I sold Rockstar Finance)
• $900,000 net worth: 1 year’ish (been going in and out of $900k lately)

So basically it took 8 years to get to that first $100k (from when I had my first “real”job), and then every year since we’ve averaged an additional $100k to the pile, due to both hustle and a variety of fortunate events. But it really was that first one that was the hardest to hit!

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So that’s been my life condensed in a few paragraphs! Haha…

How about you guys? Any major events in your life change you for the better or worse lately? When was the last time you really stopped to think about it?

Give it a shot now if it’s been a while… so much changes over the years!

 

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from Finance https://www.budgetsaresexy.com/12-major-decisions-and-how-we-feel-about-them-now/