BC WildFIRE

I am 28 and I have written up my first solid budget. Wait, what? Really? Yes. Really. Over the years, people (particularly my dad) would ask me if I had a budget. My answer would be, "yeah, I'm budgeting." This actually meant that I have a loose idea in my head how much money I need to make ends meet, and I make enough money to cover that, so I'm good. I'm not spend much over my general ballpark figures in my head. I'm alright with money. And yet, like many people in the working world, I was never able to have money set aside for long. A vehicle would need repair, I'd buy a huge amount of vegetable seeds for next spring (they grow food, I'm saving money in the long run!), I'd eat out a little more than I meant to because I'm too tired when I get home to make dinner, and so on and so forth. You know this tune right? It might sound a bit like yours. Thousands of small poor decisions nibbling away at the bit of money that wasn't in you...

No one really teaches you how down life can get you. They might mention it, tell you about times they had where they struggled and felt depressed; but you never really think it will happen to you. It does indeed happen, and often. Sometimes it's just a little bit of a letdown; that job that you wanted went to someone else. Or it's the dying of a potential dream; that house you wanted is unobtainable. Or, if you're really lucky, all of that happens at the same time as your SO is quitting smoking. Ouch. I had a pretty disheartening week a little while ago. A temporary posting that would have allowed me to walk to work and save a lot of money went to someone else suddenly. I also love working at that location, so the effect was doubled. And my research into possibly getting a tiny home in my area to counteract the high rent prices revealed that my whole region is not friendly toward this small movement. Crushing. The tiny home discovery came because someone was selling...

Everyone knows communication is important, in life, in work, in love. But when do we actually learn what good communication looks like? Maybe our parents demonstrate it; however, we are not our parents, so what works for them might not suit us. Communication when pursuing FIRE with a partner is paramount. Scott Rieckens wrote about his concerns about approaching his wife; that she might think he's blaming her for their financial situation or become defensive when he mentions spending less. My partner is a bit of the opposite. He was already trying to come up with ways for us to save money; he didn't push them on me as I was still clearing my debt. Now that it's taken care of, he's very excited for our future. He's been talking about maybe moving into an old RV to live extra cheap, like other FIRE people have done, since rent is our largest expense. His aunt and uncle have a huge fifth-wheeler and they live comfortably in that most of the year. The problem was ...

I remember the first time I thought of myself as an adult. My mum and I were talking and I disagreed with what she was saying. That definitely wasn't the first time; I was a teenager once and I naturally contradicted my mother as a deranged rite of passage quite often. But this time, I honestly didn't think that she was correct, without any malice or spitefulness, and the thought occurred to me; my mum might just be wrong, and I may be right. This moment came with a wave of realization as that thought blossomed into an idea; just because one of my parents say something, that does not make it necessarily correct. Suddenly, the frame at which I look at people of my parents' generation shifted from rather omniscient guidance counselors to just people, like me. I realized that I didn't have to defer decisions to them just based on their elder status, and that I could confidently make my way in the world without permission. I was in my mid-twenties when this happened. It...