281 | End of Year Wins | Part 1

<ul> <li>It's the ChooseFI Christmas Edition where we hear end-of-year wins direct from our community members. During this live event, listeners shared the actions they've taken during the past year that have helped them to spend less, earn more, and enjoy the journey.</li> <li>This year, the year-end-win episode took place in a three hour live Facebook and YouTube event featuring around 20 members of the community.</li> <li>Despite how tough this year has been, many people were able to implement some of the strategies and tactics discussed on the show into practice and find more margin in their lives.</li> <li>The first featured win comes from <strong>Valerie</strong>. She purchased a condo a couple of years ago and has been working on renovating it. While not a financial win, <strong>Valerie</strong> says putting it behind her is her biggest personal win.</li> <li>Finally closing out the permits allowed her to refinance her mortgage, saving her $466 a month. She was also able to pay off her credit card renovation debt, saving her an additional $600 a month. In total, <strong>Valerie</strong> paid off $34,000 of debt.</li> <li>Besides the debt, <strong>Valerie</strong> also maxed out contributions to her HSA and because she now has an additional $1,000 a month, she increased her 401k contributions from 8% to 11%.</li> <li><strong>Valerie</strong> opened her first taxable investment account and rebalanced her portfolio, while her side hustles earned her $4,000, mostly from participating in focus groups.</li> <li>Due to COVID, <strong>Valerie</strong> wasn't spending as much money and it allowed her to focus on things she might not have had the time to do and she's now one-third of the way to her FI number and hoping to retire by 2030.</li> <li><strong>Brad</strong> comments that cutting $1,000 in monthly expenses is $300,000 less <strong>Valerie</strong> needs in retirement when using the 4% rule.</li> <li><strong>Valerie</strong> has been sharing her copy of <a href= "https://www.choosefi.com/read/books/blueprin