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Can you imagine that you can save for just four years and then take a career break?
Ashley of Kiwi & Keweenaw saved up for the past four years and is now taking a mini-retirement along with her husband who is pursuing his PHD. She lives in the midwest, grows her own food and is awesome.
You’ll love her story
We also chat about…
- Converting your friends to FI
- Saving & conscious consumption
- Growing your own food
- Her mini-retirement plan
- Being too cheap
She was an absolute delight to speak with! Enjoy this chat with Ashley, and please subscribe to us in iTunes if you enjoyed it!
Show notes and links from today’s episode
- Kiwi & Keweenaw – Ashley’s blog
- Ashley’s Instagram
- April Spending Report
- Ep. w/ Millennial Revolution
- Ep. w/ Marcus of Paychecks & Balances
- Ep. w/ Angela of Tread Lightly Retire Early
- Frugasaurus
- Cheapskate Things I’ve Done
Key takeaways from our chat with Ashley of Kiwi and Keweenaw
1 – There is a polite way to convert your friends to FI
Ashley had a friend introduce her to the concept of financial independence in a non-awkward way. 4 years later, she’s quit her job in a barista FI scenario.
2 – It’s OK slowing down your path to FI for a happier path
Ashley’s husband has chronic headaches so it was important for the two of them to find happiness now. That is why they both left their jobs that were no longer meaningful to them to pursue happiness now, even if that slows down their path to FI.
3 – Gardening can save you money
Ashley spends $50 per year maintaining the garden and it reduces her grocery bill at least $50 each month.
You can make gardening super expensive with all of the tools but Ashley has found that it is a huge budget saver.
Her grocery bill is ~$200 per month.
4 – FI gives you options (and so does living in the midwest)
Ashley is in the midst of a mini-retirement and her plan is to take 6 months off. She wants to start up a few passion projects and bring in small income streams and then re-evaluate where she is in 6 months. Her husband went back to school for a PHD so that he can take on more technical roles in his work as an environmental engineer.
J & Gwen talk about how living in the Midwest can give you options since the cost of living is so low. Gwen advocates for renting but J likes buying.
5 – Don’t be too cheap!
Ashley didn’t get her car’s brakes fixed and put herself in danger. J mentions that someone on Twitter fed their dog expired meat and almost killed it. There is a line that you can cross into being too cheap. Don’t do it!
PS – Thanks to everyone who came to our Meetup this week in Seattle!! We had a blast meeting you all =)
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