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Financial Independence, Retirement, Travel

How Financial Independence Changed Our Lives – Pandemic Edition

November 4, 2020 7 Comments

** NEW SERIES – Financial independence has far-reaching effects on our lives, and for many the pursuit of independence and the obtaining of it has impacted us in profound ways. I decided to start a series on how FI has changed the lives of people all over the world. Today, I’m launching this series with […]

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Expense Reports, Frugal, Intentional Living, Travel

How Much It Cost To Move Across the Country

July 15, 2020 11 Comments

We did it! We moved from the East Coast to the West Coast, from New York to Santa Barbara, from sea to shining sea. This included selling all of our furniture, shipping our car, packing our stuff, and — last-but-not-least — trundling our cat along for the ride. Are you curious how much it cost […]

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Expense Reports, Money Tracking, Spending, Travel

How Much I Spent in a Month Of Solitude – February 2020 Expenses

March 3, 2020 7 Comments

I’m so curious to see what a month of (mostly) solitude did to my spending in the month of February. 

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Intentional Living, Money, Travel

4 Ways I Traveled The World For Free

September 26, 2019 15 Comments

Four major trips have taken me across the globe, and I didn’t pay full price for a single one of them.

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Expense Reports, Money Tracking, Travel

Wait, I Only Spent $255 Last Month? – July 2019 Expense Report

August 3, 2019 3 Comments

June was the month of uprooting, as we packed and hefted and drove and ended our lease—and July followed quickly after, which I now dub the month of homelessness. The Apartment Situation If you recall from last month, I was sleeping on a pad in our empty apartment, living out of my suitcase. The reason: […]

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Money, Opinions, Travel

It’s Time To Skip The ‘Must-Sees’ And Do This Instead.

May 29, 2019 21 Comments

You have looked forward to this rare slice of time away from work for weeks. You have spent hundreds of dollars to venture across state, national, or continental borders. You have planned each day meticulously to make every minute count. And now you are waiting in a line. “Surely it will be worth it,” you […]

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Money Tracking, Spending, Travel

What To Do When You Only Have 7 Days In Colombia (And How I Only Spent $300)

May 27, 2019 6 Comments

South America has been on our minds for a while. I have wanted to go ever since I stumbled across a little shop in Spain run by a Colombian man, who sold me the most delicious fried ball of food that I have ever eaten. My partner likewise had it on his list of intriguing […]

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Money Tracking, Spending, Travel

Every Dollar I Spent Last Year

January 3, 2019 17 Comments

We began the new year in a deserted city. Storefronts were planked over as we walked alone down the streets of Antwerp, the most populous city in Belgium. Most people were sleeping off the night before, quiet calm descending after a night of reflections and hope for the year of 2018. I spent the first […]

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Background, Travel

Canoeing and Backpacking the Powell Forest Route

September 26, 2018 4 Comments

It is one thing to clock in to work every day, earning a paycheck and steadily working towards financial independence, but it is crucial to remember to enjoy life in the process. One way to avoid burn out is to make sure to intentionally take time off and unplug from the daily demands of work.

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Opinions, Travel

3 Steps to Decide Where to Live

September 1, 2018 5 Comments

We don’t get to choose where we are born. We don’t have a say where we spend our childhood. We make memories in our small corners of the world, our home chooses us. However, in adulthood, we get to choose our home. How does one decide where to live?

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The Mechanic

I'm a mechanical engineer turned programmer with a pretty big DIY project: save enough money to become financially independent. I write about frugality, career climbing, and investing.

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Recent Posts

  • Shredding Pow and Other January 2021 Expenses
  • 4 Ways Financial Independence Changed Our Lives (Work, Health, Time, Mentality)
  • How I Saved $580,000 By The Age of 27
  • The Sunday Sharies: Volume 28
  • Every Penny of $20,000 I Spent in 2020
  • A New Foster Cat And Other December 2020 Expenses
  • Self-care and other November 2020 Expenses

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