Wow, I’m actually sad to be typing this on my birthday eve. Exactly a year after I originally intended to reach my goal of a $500,000 net worth, I’ve achieved and surpassed it. Considering life has “lifed” so much in these last years, it feels surreal to know that I’m well on my way to my first $1M.
This project — started in November 2019 — has been a lot of things:
- A labor of love (for myself)
- A chronicle
- Public accountability
- An exercise in keeping and tracking a goal
- A veritable magnet for comments that say some variation of “WhErE’s tHe TrAvEl InFo?”
Now I begin my next things
Well, tomorrow I’ll be 41, and I’ve already started my next big projects:
- Renovating an old house in Memphis
- Building a cabin in the woods of Arkansas (building permit approved!)
- Getting a construction loan for another old house
- Other renos, rehabs, ideas, and connections
Things have been working out so easily, I swear it’s divine alignment. Life is good, the kids are healthy, and I’m steadily working.
It feels good to make things and meet people. I have no doubt that all these things will build my equity and soon provide solid cash flow. Let’s get to this last Freedom update.
August 2025 Freedom update
- Link: Track your net worth with Empower Personal Dashboard
- Link: Join Points Hub — the ultimate points, miles, and travel rewards community — on Telegram!
Kinda unrelated, but I switched the Points Hub group from Circle to Telegram. It’s a group for points nerds to hang out and chat. I love Telegram with all the bots and chat functionality and Circle wasn’t as robust or successful as I hoped. BUT, if you joined there, I have access links and will send them out at the beginning of September. And if you didn’t, well, I dare say the Telegram group will be even more fun and vibrant.
This is what losing my mind looks like
I also lost my mind and picked up three new properties in Arkansas last month: a vacant parcel ALREADY CONNECTED TO UTILITIES with a clear, calm creek running through the back of it (pictured above), a crappy old house in West Memphis, and an abandoned commercial building on Broadway in West Memphis in dire need of a rehab and a structural engineer.
I am done accumulating things for a while. Now, as of right now — this second — I am shifting into stabilizing the current properties and getting them to cash flow.
There is no shortage of ideas. Fund, yes. Ideas, never. A couple of these will work out nicely. I’m already learning a ton as I renovate the new place.
In the last week, there’s been new floors and a new electrical panel, clearing of grounds, and in a few days, fresh paint, new fixtures, and window coverings. It still needs a lot more, but this will get it started in a really big way.
Financial ponderings
Financially, I’ve acquired quite a bit in 2025. I went from owning a few vacant parcels to a few houses and a couple of commercial buildings, all in various states of development and habitability.
Playing with colors
The next step is to stabilize and get them producing income. It’ll probably take a while to get them going, so I plan to get into that, although if an amazing deal comes my way, I’d have a hard time saying no.
I’ll be putting everything earned directly back into the properties, which will stay with them in the form of equity — particularly for the rehabs.
For example, estimates are coming in around $120K for renovations with a ARV (after-repair value) of $175K. That’s $55K of instant equity plus some monthly cash flow. I know, easier said than done and also… just an example.
This month’s progress
(Now September 1)
During the last month I:
- Closed on a house.
- Spent a huge sum on repairs (and also added equity)
- Picked up a few more pieces of land.
- Contributed $1,000 to my 401k via bi-weekly contributions.
- Continued building a cabin in Arkansas.
- Held the line with my credit cards and other monthly payments.
There are lots of next steps. I want to get the new house into a good state and begin renovating the others so they’re suitable to rent (thereby adding more equity in the process). I have a ton of ideas, so I keep reminding myself that it’s fine to do it all in pieces.
Spent some time here
And it’s all coming along. It hasn’t even been a month since we closed, and the house is already miles from where we started.
By the numbers
Here’s how it all looks in rows and columns.
| Current | Last Month | Change | 2025 Goal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASSETS | |||||
| Overall investments | $338, 334 | $324,840 | +$13,208 | As much as possible | |
| Roth IRA total | $54,620 | $52,539 | +$2,081 | ||
| Roth IRA 2025 | $631 | $207 | xx | $7,000 (in new contributions) | |
| Taxable brokerage + UTMAs | $4,678 | $4,527 | +$159 | $25,000 (total invested) | |
| Savings | $39 | $91 | +$49 | $30,000 | |
| Investment property #1 | $21,500 | $21,500 | xx | $20,000 in equity | |
| Investment property #2 | $180,000 | xx | xx | $20,000 in equity | |
| Raw land | $50,400 | $40,400 | +$10,000 | No goal, just including for completeness 🙂 | Haven't gotten 2025 assessments yet |
| LIABILITIES | |||||
| Car loan | $19,325 | $19,770 | -$289 | As much as possible | |
| Credit card #1 | $0 | $0 | xx | $0 | COMPLETE! |
| Credit card #2 (.99% APR) | $8,521 | $9,006 | +$8 | As much as possible | |
| Net worth in Empower Personal Dashboard | $600,000 | $382,213 | +$6,500 | $500,000 (overall goal) | Track your net worth with Personal Capital |
Short- and long-term goals still include:
- Pay off credit cards.
- Save $7,000 this year in my Roth IRA.
- Build up cash reserves for savings.
- Acquire more real estate.
- Develop my land for more opportunities.
Wowwwww
I went ahead and added my grandmother’s house, valued at $180,000 and one of the new pieces of land, valued at $10,000. Closing on the house netted me instant equity from the sale price vs. appraisal, and I’ve already made some serious upgrades, which adds to resale value.
I’ll be there pretty much every day next week, and the power should be restored by the end of the week. Painting will take about a week. Then I can turn my attention to various other projects. It’s really happening.
With all of this added to last month’s total, it’s well over $600,000. And with that, I have officially reached and exceeded my goal.
I’m feeling excited, energized, and ready for everything that comes next. Next stop: first million. I know I can reach it if I keep plugging away at these projects.
August 2025 Freedom update bottom line
It’s now September 1, and lately, it’s been taking longer to get these out the door. Some months I felt so exposed that I couldn’t read the comments for several weeks, thinking I’d revealed too much or not included enough. When I slipped up, I was sure I’d face criticism and for the months with large gains, I thought no one would believe me. It was an exercise in vulnerability, and it was what I needed to keep going.
At times, I’ve astonished myself. Others, had disappointment and felt like a broken record (especially when stocks were down for several months). But in person, kind folks have always mentioned they loved these updates and found inspiration in them. Much changed over the past 5+ years, and no doubt that’ll continue to be the case. I’m enjoying the real estate ventures and this next chapter — it really does feel like a new era of life is now unlocked.
What will I write about here? Of course, I always hope to return to my traveling roots. The kids are getting older, and we’ll be able to travel more. And points & miles is always on my mind throughout everything. I continue to earn & burn, so I can write about those adventures now.
I’m sad to “lose” these Freedom updates, but happy I trusted the process for so long. I don’t know why I’m doing a “goodbye” routine, as I’ll still be here in some format. But it was an era — a long one that’s now done. And also: I did that!
As always, thank you for reading and following my journey. Hope everyone is doing well!
Stay scrappy out there! ✨
-H.
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If you think you can live the rest of your life on $600k, you’re nuts! But, I hope it works out!
Priorities change in our lives or circumstances out of our control like health issues may prevent us from traveling but it doesn’t mean it’s over forever. The travel season just slowed down but it will happen again!
Loved reading all these updates!!
Great to hear that things are going well. I still think you’re juggling hand grenades by trying to do all this at once but once you reach a certain point, even if the real estate market tanks or has other issues you’ll still walk out intact. Props to you.