• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Start Here
  • Our YouTube Channel
  • Mile High FI Podcast
  • About Me
  • I ♥ Longmont
    • Cowork In Longmont
    • Live In Longmont
  • Stuff We Like
    • Tesla In Ten Years
  • Best Credit Card Offers
  • Contact
    • Media
    • Guest Post

1500 Days to Freedom

Think different and escape the rat race.

1500 Days to Freedom
  • My Investments! (REAL TIME!)
  • Bucket List
    • Anti Bucket List
  • All Posts
  • Best Posts
  • Guest Post Policy
  • 10 Questions
  • Tesla In Ten Years

Gratitude Guest Post: What Did You Do This Summer?

September 22, 2017 by Mr. 1500 Days 10 Comments

Today’s dose of gratitude comes from Pedals for Pennies. Mr. PfP has been kind enough to advise me on my workout routine. He’s infinitely more fitter than me, so he must know what he’s talking about. And he’s also a real-estate ninja, owning 6 rentals! Yep, I’m jealous!

But more than anything, I like his upbeat attitude/outlook which shines through in his writing. Thanks Mr. PfP for the great post!

Take it from here!


As I sit down to type, summer is within days of completion, which has no bearing on me personally.  The weather forecast is decidedly summer-like, and school has already started, the start of fall is merely a footnote on a calendar or the answer to a trivia question.  As I was already planning on writing a reflective post of my summer, fall provided me with a nice introduction. 

I once wrote a post entitled: Looking back can sometimes show us the way forward, so let’s check the mirror.

This past summer was devoid of the hallmarks of the season, but it was my best yet.  I didn’t swim in the ocean, or hike in the mountains.  There were no parties hosted at my residence, and I didn’t sleep under the stars, I barely even looked at them, unless you count the eclipse. 

The streets around my house were repaved, allowing for hours of excitement for my 2-year-old, as dump trucks and steam rollers beeped repeatedly.  After they finished we were left with smooth roads and the sweet smell of burnt tar tickling our nostrils as we tried to sleep each night.  A branch fell on my house, damaging the roof and costing me over $4,500 to have the remainder of the tree safety cut down and removed ($5,500 for sawdust?). My back yard went from a shady oasis, to a sun baked oven; most of my grass died (Mow your own grass).

My central air conditioner is wonderfully inefficient, costing a fortune to operate, and giving me a great excuse not to use it.  My wife was pregnant through all of June and July, it was hot.  Not good!

I had to replace a heating unit, repair leaky toilets, and complete minor electrical work at my rental properties (Leaky Toilets and Noise complaints, Why I invest in Real Estate).  Necessary repairs have a way of forcing one to learn new skills; I added several to my repertoire.

And yet this summer was my best yet.  On August 3rd, my wife gave birth to a healthy baby, which seals the deal all on its own.  But I once didn’t have kids either, so I realize this could be hard for some to understand.  Why would anyone be excited to bring home something that interrupts sleep, projectile vomits semi-regularly, and poops as if frequency is the main goal?  Babies are the best, and they grow to be even better.  In addition to being healthy, the baby is also a boy, matching the gender of my first son exactly.  I don’t understand why more parents don’t keep their kids to the same gender; simply recycling clothing will save a small fortune, not to mention numerous headaches on my part, as I now have many of his outfits memorized. (Dressing your kids, Thoughts from a color-blind Dad)

Amazingly, this past summer was great even before the baby arrived.  My other son and I went to the pool frequently, opening a summer pastime to me that I hadn’t enjoyed since childhood.  Community pools are off limits to single adult males, even as a father I was regarded with suspicion whenever my wife wasn’t along.  I had invaded some type of female / child sanctum, I would need to work to gain acceptance.  Luckily, my son showed no fear of the water and was quickly jumping off the side, holding his breath, and swimming short distances.  His little smile broke them, and I became part of the flock.

In the past, a productive summer day was one in which I managed to exercise, and complete one other thing, any other thing really.  At the age of 35, I finally developed some time management skills and had a productive summer.  I painted and prepped the former guest bedroom, turning it into my older son’s new room.  I built a brick patio which for the previous 11 months had been an excavated hole, a brick pile, and a figment of my imagination.  I refinished a dresser, and organized the garage, again (Would you share with me?).  I cleaned more messes then I created, receiving my first ever positive HAR (husband against replacement) score. 

I didn’t earn any side income, but I did enjoy lots of time with my family.  As a teacher, I already have the summer off, and with the baby on the way, my wife decided not to work starting in July, allowing us lots of time together both before and after the baby came.  It was a great little peak into the future as our financial preparations are allowing her to take off work from July through Nov (she works part time and has no benefits, maternity or otherwise).  Our savings not only have allowed her this time to be home with the baby (her choice), but they also allowed us to withstand some of the major expenses that occurred without losing any sleep, turning what could have been a rocky summer, into the best one yet!

Thanks Mr. PfP for the post today! Pay him a visit at Pedals for Pennies!

Join the 10s who have signed up already!

Subscribing will improve your life in incredible ways*.

*Only if your life is pretty bad to begin with.

Thank you!! Please check your email to confirm your subscription.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

Powered by ConvertKit

Filed Under: Guest Post Tagged With: Pedals for Pennies

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mustard Seed Money says

    September 22, 2017 at 4:35 am

    Great post!!! Time management is definitely something that I struggle with and weighing the balance of trying to earn more money vs. enjoy the things that I like to do, especially with family is are hard to balance at times. Sounds like you had an amazing and fit summer!!!
    Mustard Seed Money recently posted…How the U.S. Compares to the World with Savings RatesMy Profile

    Reply
    • PedalsforPennies says

      September 22, 2017 at 6:26 am

      I definitely haven’t mastered time management! Now that I have a family, trying to find ways to work from home are more appealing (although less profitable so far) then just getting a second job. Real estate is pretty hands off most of the time so that is working!
      PedalsforPennies recently posted…I mow my own lawn.My Profile

      Reply
  2. Mrs. Adventure Rich says

    September 22, 2017 at 6:12 am

    Congratulations on the arrival of #2! What an amazing opportunity you and your wife have during her time off (due to your diligent savings!). I really like the idea of taking time off both before and after your son arrived. Here’s to a great autumn season!
    Mrs. Adventure Rich recently posted…Five Awesome Perks of Working RemoteMy Profile

    Reply
    • PedalsforPennies says

      September 22, 2017 at 6:28 am

      Thank you! Having both available to prep for the babies arrival, and care for him after his birth was wonderful! It helped make the transition much less stressful.
      PedalsforPennies recently posted…I mow my own lawn.My Profile

      Reply
  3. PedalsforPennies says

    September 22, 2017 at 6:23 am

    Thanks for the kind words, and sharing my story Mr. 1500! And good luck with your weight loss challenge – survive the weekend with your diet intact!
    PedalsforPennies recently posted…I mow my own lawn.My Profile

    Reply
  4. Mrs. Picky Pincher says

    September 22, 2017 at 7:47 am

    I love this! I need to be better about reflecting after all the different seasons of the year. It’s funny how much we change in the course of just a few months. 🙂
    Mrs. Picky Pincher recently posted…Grilling Made Healthy, Easy, and Frugal!My Profile

    Reply
    • PedalsforPennies says

      September 22, 2017 at 2:00 pm

      Thanks! Reflecting a great way to see your progress!
      PedalsforPennies recently posted…I mow my own lawn.My Profile

      Reply
  5. Doll Hairs & Sense says

    September 22, 2017 at 8:25 am

    What a beautiful family you have! Congrats on the new addition!

    About why people don’t do a better job of planning to have multiple kids of the same sex… well I tried to do this too. I come from a family of all girls and planned to continue that tradition. The sex of our first born was left as a surprise. Of course I knew that “it” would be a “she”. It wasn’t. Number 2 was also a surprise. I planned for “it” to be a “he.” It wasn’t. Oh well. They’re keepers anyway 😉

    I love your humorous writing style and look forward to reading many more of your posts!

    Reply
  6. PedalsforPennies says

    September 22, 2017 at 2:02 pm

    Thanks you! We were surprised for both babies and really enjoyed it, I thought for sure the second one would be a girl, but really having a healthy baby was the main hope!
    PedalsforPennies recently posted…I mow my own lawn.My Profile

    Reply
  7. wendy says

    September 25, 2017 at 8:16 pm

    Thanks for the post, you had what sounds like a good summer of productivity and fun. And you seem to be mindful of the progress you’re making and journey you’re on – always a good thing.
    Congrats on the newest member of the family!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

Primary Sidebar

Follow Us!

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterFollow Us on RSSFollow Us on Instagram

Freedom!

My goal was to build a portfolio of $1,000,000 by February of 2017; 1500 days from the birth of this blog (January 1, 2013). And hey look, I’ve since retired!

Investments only (primary home excluded)
1/1/13 (The Start): $586,043
1/1/14 (1 Yr Later): $869,635
1/1/15 (2 Yrs Later): $987,351
1/1/16 (3 Yrs Later): $1,057,961
1/1/17 (4 Yrs Later): $1,257,128
1/1/18 (5 Yrs Later): $1,527,701
1/1/19 (6 Yrs Later): $1,549,440
1/1/20 (7 Yrs Later): $2,035,040*
1/1/21 (8 Yrs Later): $3,379,746**
1/1/22 (9 Yrs Later): $4,762,642
1/1/23 (10 Yrs Later): $3,112,821

2023: Investments only
1/1: $3,112,821

Overall
2023 investment gains: $0
Investment gains since 1/1/2013: $2,526,778
Net worth***: $3,342,821

* The big jump between 2019 and 2020 was partly because we bought another home, but kept the previous (much more expensive) one as a rental. We have since sold it.

** Tesla.

*** Includes our primary home equity in addition to our investment portfolio.

Finally, we still have about $290,000 in mortgage debt (which I love!). No regrets about the debts!

Featured in

Smiley face

Disclaimer

Investing is risky business. The information contained on this site is for informational purposes only. As with all matters financial, proceed with caution. Do your research and seek professional advice.

Get my annoying emails!

Join 1500 Days! (now 27% less annoying)

Subscribe to get great good pretty ok content by email.

Thanks so much! Check your email to confirm your subscription.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

Powered by ConvertKit

All Posts

Read all the posts ever published to 1500 Days of Freedom.

© 2023 1500 Days to Freedom · Privacy Policy · Contact