I have always been a big fan of hard work and I believe there is no greater thing than hard work. I was brought up in a household that required me to do chores on a daily basis and I learned a lot from these chores. I learned that I needed to do them or I would get in trouble. I learned about how much time it takes to keep a house clean. I learned how much sweat is involved in weeding the garden and mowing the lawn. These were all things that were taught to me by my parents. I sometimes feel that our society is losing the hard work gene.
As I was sitting at my computer, brainstorming ways to write a Thanksgiving article, I went back and reread every Thanksgiving article from my website. I really enjoy this time of year and believe it is good to look back and be thankful for a multitude of reasons. You may be having the worse year of your life, but you can still find something that gives you great meaning and thankfulness.
I can imagine driving on that mountain road. I can imagine the sound of the gravel under my tires. I can imagine crawling up the incline. Despite the slow speed, we still make that climb. We are more than happy to make that slow climb, because we know that an amazing view awaits us at the top.
It has been over 3 months, since my last savings goal update article. Things have gotten pretty crazy as my wife and I booked a full fall. It has been great, but exhausting at the same time! With our busy fall, I gave myself permission to not focus so much on new articles and just be fully present all the time. Now, I have found time to sprinkle some articles in over the past 4 months. I found the time to write those articles while I was on flights by myself. I just edited and added to these articles as it came time to post. Now, that I dug into our busy schedule and lack of posting, what have we been doing?
My wife and I have been pursuing Financial Independence for about three years. We still have a long way to go, but our large savings rate has us ahead of most of America. While at FINCON 2019, I attended many sessions that constantly made me think and gave me many ideas for the blog, but two sessions in particular asked two profound questions. One of these questions is the title of the article.
I don’t know if any of you have ran into this situation, but medical companies are asking for you to prepay for upcoming surgeries. According to my research, this trend has been happening more and more, because of the increase in deductibles with insurance plans. Prior to this new trend, someone would have a surgery scheduled. They would go in for the surgery. The hospital would then file a claim with the insurance company. Once the insurance company processed the claim, then you would get a bill. This still happens today, but the hospital and medical providers are trying to jump the gun by having you prepay.
Americans have grown accustomed to car loans. It just seems normal to buy cars that are brand new and finance them for $300, $400, or even $500 a month. This is a culture with a mindset that $300 or $500 a month is affordable. However, I just want to say: “Paying a car payment every month is just insanity.” Just invest that car payment every month and you will completely your financial position. Instead of just using the money to pay for a car, you would be investing for your future.
Just eight days ago, I returned from a trip to Washington, D.C. I spent 4 days in Washington, D.C. at a financial conference called FINCON. I have wanted to go for the last three years, but never pulled the trigger. The event occurs over the school year and I just couldn’t pull myself away from my students.
Above photo was taken at Mount Rainier National Park in Washington.
