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July 2026 End of Month Update: Minor Side Hustle Income
July turned out to be a massive month for side hustles and passive income. By optimizing our FreeCash funnel, managing covered calls, and capturing extra dividend income, we pushed our year-to-date side hustle total past $11,000—while maintaining a 78% profit margin on mobile game offers.
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Frugal Friday July 31st 2026: When Spending Has to Happen
Between broken appliances, back-to-school shopping, and a steep bill for minivan tires, unexpected and seasonal costs can hit all at once. While dropping nearly $1,000 on car maintenance feels like a gut punch, stacking coupons on a pizza night reminded us that frugality isn’t about never spending—it’s about spending wisely when you have to.
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Is “Build in Public” Getting Dangerous With Personal Finances?
Balancing online privacy with authenticity isn’t easy, but bringing actual receipts matters. While it’s tempting to hide behind vagueness or an idealized persona, sharing real numbers, real losses, and honest progress provides the genuine proof people need to see that disciplined investing and living below your means actually work.
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Six Month Check-up: Investment Policy Statement
Updating my Investment Policy Statement (IPS) meant swapping my 10% bond allocation for REITs to capture higher long-term growth. Here is a look at my revised target allocation (50% US, 30% International, 10% REITs, 10% Dividends), how my actual portfolio balance compares today, and how close these passive income streams are getting us to our…
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Frugal Friday July 24th 2026: Yard Work, Utilities, and Comfort
Staying comfortable doesn’t always mean cranking the AC. By opening the windows during a week of great weather, we cut our electric bill and helped the family acclimate to the seasonal temperature. Sometimes frugality is as simple as turning off the lights and catching a natural breeze.
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To Dividend Reinvest or Not: That is the Question
Instead of letting every fund buy more of itself, directing dividends straight toward share goals in ARR and AGNC slashes my snowball timeline down to 29 months. Here is how optimizing dividend allocation gets the portfolio to $750/month in passive income much faster.
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Financial Education Series: Media Consumption and Fear Mongering
The internet is one of the greatest inventions of mankind, but it suffers from delivering information almost too quickly. Don’t panic, and don’t react to every single news story. Set it, forget it, and rebalance it annually.
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The Ultimate Honest Budget: A Gut-wrenching $138k vs $58k Retirement
I just did a full 2026 budget teardown and the number was shocking: $138k on paper. After removing retirement contributions, loans that will be gone in FIRE, and non-recurring expenses, my realistic FIRE budget is only $57,979. Here’s the brutal honest breakdown of where my money actually goes.
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Mental Fortitude is Vital to Financial Health
Market drops got you stressed? If you lived through the 2000s or 80s, this is nothing. Why the S&P 500 index beats 99% of gamblers long-term, how I actually invest, and why discipline > moonshots.
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