…begins with a single step” – Chinese Proverb

It’s a pretty true statement, too. It helps to know where we are taking these first steps from and where they are going. In an effort to be transparent with myself and you, I have to tell you that today is not my first day on the FIRE journey. I’ve been here a while.

This year, I am turning 40…ouch that hurts to say and admit! I started my FIREwalk when I was 26, though it didn’t have a name at that time. I was preggo with Froggy and living with family. I knew I would likely be raising Froggy on my own as their dad wasn’t completely thrilled at the idea of having kids. I didn’t know how I was going to feed, house, clothe, or provide for this new tiny human. I was lost, scared, and didn’t know what my new life would look like.

In our early years together, we lived in subsidized housing and utilized programs such as WIC, SNAP, and local food banks to get by. I am unsure how we would have survived without them, even though I was working full-time to support us. I was lucky to have the support of close family, and my Dad was an absolute rock during this time. He was my biggest supporter and taught me all the limited things he knew about finances.

When Froggy was 4, I bought my very first house. I used an Individual Development Program to help with it. I saved every penny I could from every area of my life I could. I was the crazy coupon lady at the store. I picked up empty soda bottles and turned them in. No penny was left behind. I leveraged my full-time job to buy four more houses, and by 2023 I am back down to one. There were hits and misses in there, and in the process, I learned I was not cut out to be a landlord. 

In 2021, I had the opportunity to take a hard look at what I wanted my life to look like. Of the houses I had, there was one in an area where my job was building a new location. This house was paid off, and I could set myself up for a great life financially. So I jumped at the chance. I sold my two remaining homes and made a profit of $120,000 on them. I moved my family to the middle of nowhere with this glorious notion that we would be set, and I would be FIRE!

Want the plot twist?

I got almost everything I could have wanted with this move financially. The house being paid off and the monthly bills being low should be a source of security, but it’s not. The family I moved to be closer to isn’t always around. The move to take advantage of higher education for Froggy may not even pan out. The peace of mind I was desperately searching for should have led me to this promised land. The Utopia I imagined has been riddled with depression, isolation, loneliness, and anxiety. Not where you thought it was going from the start of this was it? Me neither!

Fast forward to 2024, and here is the State of the Frugal Chicks:

See ya around!

-Chick