Category: Lifestyle Design

Finding Purpose on the Journey to Financial Independence

As some of you know, I was a speaker at the 2024 Slow FI Retreat, hosted by the Fioneers in early October. I had such an amazing time, for so many reasons. For starters, it was my first in-person FI event, something I had looked forward to for a long time. Meeting other like-minded folks with similar values when it comes to money is completely underrated. Even though I knew it would be wonderful, the impact of this still exceeded my expectations.

But what I want to talk about today is a topic that came up a lot at the Slow FI retreat: purpose. I finally got to meet Jordan Grumet (Doc G) at this retreat. Jordan is someone I have been following for quite some time now and whose ideas and beliefs around the topic of purpose have really resonated with me throughout my financial independence journey. He has a new book out on the topic as well, and I can’t wait to read it. Today on the blog, I’ll tell you more about some of Jordan’s thoughts around purpose, as well as share some of my own. I hope you’ll read on!

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Experiment Success Alert: an Update! 1 Year of Airbnb Hosting

It’s been a little over one year now since Mr. Dink and I embarked on our journey as Airbnb hosts. (Ok, it’s been well over a year by now – apologies for my lack of posting for the last 6 months!) Either way, in honor of this milestone (and because better late than never, right?), we thought it was about time to update the community on how this experiment has been going.

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3 Months Into Part-Time Work: An Update

These past 3 months since I shifted to an 80% work schedule have flown by. My sister-in-law recently asked me how I was feeling about it all on a trip I took to see her, my brother, and my niece. Then, I had a reader leave a comment on one of my recent posts wondering how it was going. The universe had spoken! I realized it’s about time I fill everyone in.

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Experiment “Failure” Alert: We Sold Our Boat

Today I bring you another installment of my experiment series on the blog, where I chronicle my “experiences with experiments” (say that 5 times fast) on my slow FI journey! This will be the first of the series that is a not-so-successful story. Although I had been refusing to call them failures up until this point, because I believe that there is no such thing as failure when it comes to experimentation, I couldn’t think of a word I liked better. And “failuretunity” just didn’t quite have the ring to it I was looking for. Hence, I landed on simply putting “failure” in quotation marks. Read on to hear more!

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It’s Time To Rock The Boat

Alright, friends. It’s big announcement time! Long-time readers may know that, since starting this blog, my big financial goal has been to eventually go down to part-time work. Well, it’s finally official. It’s finally time for me to rock the boat of the traditional 40-hour, 9-5 work week. I’m now officially on an 80% work schedule at my job, with Fridays off!

Read on to hear all about how I made the decision, the process of making it happen at work, and what I’m thinking about the decision now.

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Can Routine Fuel Creativity?

I think the jury is still out on this one. Part of me believes what author Elizabeth Gilbert writes in her book Big Magic, that we should strive to be as light and carefree as possible to maximize creativity. But as creatures of habit, where does routine fit in? Today I’m here to share some of my thoughts on this topic.

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Experiment in Progress Alert!

Hello, friends! I’m so sorry I’ve been away for so long. I have missed writing, and hearing from you, so much. But I’m here today to fill you in on what I’ve been up to in the month of April and to (hopefully) get back to posting a bit more regularly.

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DINKs on a Bus Turns Two!

I can’t believe it’s been 2 years since I followed my heart and started this blog. What a journey it has been!

In honor of the 2-year blogiversary of Dinks on a Bus, please enjoy this short post today with some reflections.

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What If We All Tried To Rest More In 2024?

Hello, friends! Happy New Year! I know, I know, we’re in February now, but I had to say it since I haven’t said it to you yet 🙂

I apologize for being away from the blog for so long. I did not intend for it to be this long of a break, but I’m back from what I’m calling my holiday hibernation. I had the week off between Christmas and New Years for the first time since 2020, and I was really psyched about it. I had planned to be so super productive. To get way ahead on the blog.

But, would you guess what happened instead? My body told me it needed to rest, and I listened. I let go of the guilt of not being productive and not posting new content, and it was freeing and wonderful. It was just what I needed. And that vibe definitely spilled well into 2024…

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The Best (Financial) Decisions I’ve Ever Made

As the end of another year draws near, I find myself doing what I always do around this time: reflecting. Reflecting on all that I’ve learned this year. Reflecting on the goals I’ve achieved, the places I’ve fallen short, all the activities I did or didn’t do.

In this spirit of reflection, I’ve been thinking about how grateful I am for where I find myself right now, happily living a slow FI lifestyle, and all the financial decisions I’ve made that have led me to this very place. So today, I’m here to share some of those decisions I’m most proud of and hopefully inspire you to reflect on some of the best financial decisions you’ve made on your path.

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