Well, I’m back on that kick (thanks to Mr. Money Mustache). It’s often accompanied by cravings to delve into the Tiny House movement and the Minimalist movement. The thing is, this year I feel like I’m in a stable enough position that I can go above and beyond the minimal.

So what am I doing? Not much yet: I’m continuing to invest money, I’ve paid off the rest of a student loan, and I’m now monthly putting money into three longer-term accounts. Oh, I also started a spending fast this month.

Investments:

With the stock market so wobbly right now, I’ve been striving to lock in gains while ensuring more for at least the duration of this current market. Not only have I shifted most of my investments into dividend paying stocks, I’ve also been able to buy low and somewhat buy high (I’ve held onto some while selling others). Likewise, I’ve learned to avoid stocks easily influenced by politics and stocks that are purely speculative.

Loans:

Back when I started college, I received some stupid advice: “you should get all the loans they’ll give you because interest is super-low right now and it’s only going to go up. It’s practically free money.” Except that it’s not free money. You have to pay it back.

I didn’t know I was going to drop out of school and not get a degree, but even with a degree, I’d regret obtaining student loans for any amount more than I outright needed. Truthfully, I probably didn’t need a penny in loans, but I bought into the idea that you should take on debt because rates were so low (they still are). You have to pay student loans back, and if you’re not already super-frugal, excessive student loans are more expensive than they’re worth. Grants are a different matter because they really are free (to you), but loans? Obtain what you need and don’t accept more.

I didn’t mean to go on a rant about loans.

I’ve paid two of my student loans off and have three more to go. Now I’m aiming to use the Avalanche method (instead of the Snowball method) to pay off my remaining loans. I don’t have to see immediate results like those who move from the smallest balance to the largest, and I enjoy the larger savings over the quick rewards.

I also have a car loan. Ever since my first payment went through, I’ve had my bank auto-pay above and beyond the monthly dues until I’m at the point where I can straight up skip a month’s payment without consequence if I have to. I’ve already paid off a huge chunk of that loan. Because it’s got a lower rate than all of my school loans, though, I’ve lately been shifting the extra money towards my school loans instead.

Long-term Savings:

A while back (wasn’t it over a year ago?) I broke down my budget. If I remember correctly, I mentioned how my money management methods change over time. They’ve changed again and I’m going to focus on one aspect.

I realized that some of my super-duper long-term savings should be broken down into three categories: emergencies (huge ones), yearly payments, and longer-term personal development. Each time I’m paid, I deposit money into my main long-term account and most of that gets divvied up into these three savings accounts (the rest is saving up for a house down payment).

Spending Fast:

Last, least, but hopefully the most impactful across the board, I decided shortly before this month to go on a spending fast. Any unnecessary purchase is out of my budget for the duration of this month. My intent is to break myself of the consumer mindset trap. I’m preparing myself to duplicate this goal for the month of July as well because I realize I’ve got a lot of money I unwisely spend that could go to bettering my situation instead. I tried a similar method to this many years ago when I decided I didn’t want to like soda pop. Over the course of time, I broke myself so thoroughly of pop that I couldn’t even stand it when I tried it again. That’s what I want to feel with wasteful purchases.

Summary:

So………….yeah……I didn’t mean to write more than half this amount of words, but I did. Obviously I like the promise that financial freedom is. These are not my only methods for trying to break free of the “rabbit race,” but they are the ones that have me on my current financial kick.

What methods have you especially liked for seeking financial independence? What good kicks do you habitually return to time after time?