Using fewer fossil fuels is a goal that is increasingly popular. And it certainly helps if it is a financial benefit as well.
We have mostly weaned ourselves off of oil for transportation – We have an EV that is fueled largely from hydroelectric and other renewable sources. Our electric cargo bike has reduced car mileage even further.
Next up is optimization of our home. We now have some shiny new solar panels on our roof.
After a few months as a single car household, we have decided to add a 2nd vehicle to the fleet.
This time in the form of an electric cargo bike.
Debt has been called many interesting things… concrete shoes, shackles for the middle class, the greatest burden… there were many years in my own life where I was terrified of debt.
But when used wisely it can be an incredibly powerful tool. So powerful in fact, it is how I plan to fund much of our cost of living for the next decade.
(GCC: I am often asked, “Do you know any good CPAs?” and “What are some good tools for doing my taxes?” I never thought both questions could share a common answer – Kathryn from Making Your Money Matter is a CPA (who gets it) who has developed some very cool tools for doing taxes (and more) that cost less than an hour with a CPA. Disclaimer: links in this post are affiliate links.)
I remember the first time I found Go Curry Cracker and read one of Jeremy’s blog posts going through his tax return in detail. It covered his then-recently filed 2015 tax return, with over six figures of income and still no income tax due (only a small amount of self-employment taxes).
I’d like to say that I—a CPA—was intuitively able to do a quick review of the numbers and figure out pretty fast how this worked out. However, I had to pull out a pen and paper and calculate it by hand just to make sure it made sense.
Each spring since, I’ve looked forward to the annual tax return reveal. (GCC: 2021 tax return coming soon!)
If you have ever wondered, How can I optimize my taxes in the same way… without all the hassle of becoming a tax nerd first, well… have I got a tool for you.
We bought a house, paid in full with cash. Then I got a small mortgage to invest for fun and profit.
Most of this I put back into the market as a lump sum.
Here are all the details. I will provide updates periodically to track total return.
