My wife and I have have done all the “right” things. She went through school debt free to get a good job, I started a small business, we have a couple of kids etc. and it seems like we’re constantly in the same position. If we were making the amount of money we are now about 10-15 years ago, we would be doing very well. Thank god we bought a house nearly 10 years ago, because I’m not sure we could afford the same house at these prices and interest rates.
We have a modest home, a single paid for vehicle, and it seems as if financial independence creeps further away with the constant rising costs of everything. Grocery store prices are constantly going up, all the insurance costs are skyrocketing, property taxes going up. Then someone needs a doctor, or an appliance breaks, roof needs redone but that expensive ass insurance decides they don’t want to cover it. 10s of thousands of dollars down the drain. Work more, pick up shifts, and it disappears as soon as it comes in.
Our neighbor has been working his whole life to retire early. Finally retires and then gets cancer. Bye bye retirement fund.
It’s exhausting and my wife and I are about fed up. It literally feels like you’re a hamster on a wheel of constant stress and anxiety. I applaud those of you who have found the courage to leave the rat race. After the kids grow up, the best option literally seems like to sell everything and buy a camper, live frugally, and work as little as possible. It’s not worth all this effort if there’s hardly any reward.
Rant over