<\/p>\n
Financial independence and retiring early… seems like an incredible idea… but is it achievable?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
YES. <\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n What if you have children?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n YES<\/strong>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n We did it, now we\u2019d like to help you do it too.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n We recognize everyone’s situation is unique so our goal is to help educate and inspire you to reach your own financial and lifestyle goals by sharing some of our experiences.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n As a family we\u2019ve set out to regain possession of our time and prioritize our family values, to ultimately lead the happiest version of our lives as possible. For us, this means achieving financial independence, living life with intentionality, and choosing where and when we work.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n We find our fulfillment through traveling, being outside enjoying nature, having in-depth discussions, reading, and finding creative ways to spend time as a family making memories without spending a boatload of cash. Consider this your invitation to follow along for insight, motivation, or just for the hell of it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Our little family unit includes four of us; Court, Nic, and our two kiddos Finn and Parker. We reached financial independence for our family of 3 in 2018 when our daughter was born and as of the end of 2020 we reached our\u00a0 family of 4 FIRE number and have a passive investment portfolio in the 7 figures.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Nic retired in 2018 to be a full-time stay at home mom<\/a> and Court transitioned to part-time shift-work in 2019<\/a>, as she enjoys her job and feels like she already retired at this point with her amazing work schedule.\u00a0 Now that Parker has entered our lives, Court is currently taking off work for 61 weeks as part of Canada’s generous parental leave program to test out the FIRE life.\u00a0 We shall see if she decides to return to the part time gig in September 2022 – as of this update, it’s unlikely!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n While we are very aware of the slightly unconventional makeup of our family, being lesbian moms<\/a>, the way we lead our lives and our interests don\u2019t tend to revolve around this. We are aware that being an LGBTQ+ family makes us unique, especially in the financial independence space, but we like to focus on much more exciting aspects of our lives \u2013 achieving financial independence, enjoying nature, and reclaiming our time and freedom from the traditional rat race.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n We both played Division 1 college Ice Hockey for competing schools in the States but didn\u2019t actually meet until after we graduated in late 2011 through a mutual friend. We\u2019ve lived together and separately in several areas of North America including New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Florida, and now reside in beautiful Alberta, Canada.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n While we received scholarships, we both ended up with student loans thanks to going on a term abroad and chasing multiple degrees (a Master’s for Court and a second Bachelor’s for Nic).\u00a0 Court started with $65,000 in student loans and Nic had $40,000 to her name.\u00a0 We each paid off our respective loans in 2.5 years.<\/p>\n Over the years, we’ve averaged a combined pre-tax salary of around $110,000 per year between the two of us. Work-life balance has always been a key component of our lives and we’ve never averaged more than 40 hour work weeks.\u00a0 It took us 9 years to go from over $100,000 in combined student loan debt to become millionaires. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Hearing that, you may immediately think that we did nothing with our lives and lived off rice and beans.\u00a0 However, this has never been a journey of deprivation for us.\u00a0 We’ve traveled to over 25 countries and all over the US and Canada.\u00a0 It’s really the exact opposite as we are always trying to find ways to gamify life while keeping enjoyment levels to the max.<\/p>\n Some examples include:\u00a0<\/p>\n None of these adjustments limit our quality of life and rather it frees us up from the hedonic work-spend treadmill.\u00a0 It makes no sense to us to go broke just to look rich.\u00a0 Instead, focus on YOU and what makes you genuinely happy.\u00a0 Chances are, you’ll realize it really doesn’t cost much.\u00a0<\/p>\n We’ve escaped from the crazy consumeristic world we live in and realized that a happy life does not have to be expensive.\u00a0 We currently spend around $25,000-$30,000 CAD per year for our family of 4.\u00a0 We are valuists in that we spend our money on things we truly value and cut out the fluff.<\/p>\n Our goal at the beginning was never to retire early.\u00a0 Rather it was to have enough saved to feel comfortable and confident to quit our jobs in Florida, travel around the world for a year, and end up in Canada with the future a complete unknown.\u00a0<\/p>\n Once we started our family, our focus has shifted from travel to spending time together as a close family unit (although traveling and travel hacking remains a close second).\u00a0 That is our WHY behind all of this.<\/p>\n Court is a planning and budgeting fanatic, she compulsively tracks spending in excel spreadsheets and has done so for years \u2013 well before we met and even before she discovered FIRE. Nic, on the other hand, tends to live life more spontaneously, involving less planning, tracking, and WAY less excel. We balance each other out. Now that the kiddos have come along, they have certainly changed the game. Spontaneity isn\u2019t what it once was, while the fun still happens, it just takes more forethought!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n While Nic tends to plan less, she will admit to being budget-conscious prior to Court\u2019s influence. When Court presented her with the idea of financial independence not long after we met, Nic was easily convinced that it was possible, with some minor lifestyle tweaks that she was more than willing to adopt.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n This blog is a place for us to share what we\u2019ve learned over the years through our own research and experience. The information on our blog is from our point of view, we are not financial advisors or to be relied upon for any legal advice whatsoever. We don\u2019t expect everything we write to resonate with everyone, but we hope our readers can take pieces of information we provide and apply it to better their own lives. We ultimately believe that it doesn\u2019t matter how much money you make, it\u2019s about living a life of intention and enjoying the ride.<\/p>\n Be weird… and wealthy!<\/p>\n <\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\tWho are we?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
Why do you care?<\/strong><\/h3>\n