Talk about a recovery. As of today, I’m up $46,000 vs. last month and a hair’s breadth of 75% to my $500,000 goal.

Real estate stuff: The cabin isn’t happening. Update 5/16/25: Yes it is!

It’s not a “never,” but a “not right now.” Long story short, the zoning office was requiring that I pave a 20-foot road, complete with curb, gutter, and fire hydrant, and were throwing the book at me about it. Update 5/16/25: They dropped this requirement. Now all I have to do is get approval for the septic and well from the county. 

Now, I probably could’ve fought it, but, tbh… I have so many other things going on that I’ll just move on to another project.

Update 5/16/25: So I made one extra call an said, “REALLY?!” and they dug into it an found some old ordinance exemption and that was that. Permit fee is only $60. 

Home prices are dropping. It’s to the point where buying a house may be cheaper than continuing to rent, or at least a wash. I applied for a mortgage today and will look at a few houses over the weekend.

One way or another, I’m making some real estate deals happen within the current environment. But for now, I’m enjoying the progress and trust — I’m planning future moves. Maybe literally (within the same school district bc #suburbandadlife).

May 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 Circle!

I made it to CardCon 2025 in Florida earlier this month. It was an absolute blast to see people throughout the credit card industry. One of many highlights was getting to hang out with Dan and JJ from Dan’s Deals.

There were many moments of genuine connection and an overall well-planned event. It’s my favorite conference, and I’ll do my best to make it next year for the 10th anniversary. As you can tell from the feature photo, many of us credit card writers and editors know one another. This event promoted a feeling of togetherness that I haven’t found at other conferences.

While there, I was also coordinating plans about the cabin and keeping an eye on local listings.

Real estate ponderings

Home prices are coming dowwwn. I’m of two minds about it. They could keep falling, and then I’ll have a $350K house that I paid $375K for (just an example). But even then, if it’s less than my current rent, either way, I’m saving on monthly expenses. So there’s no reason to wait.

And that latter part appeals to me quite a bit. Home prices around here have held pretty steady, historically speaking, and we plan to be here for at least 5 more years, so… we’re looking at a few houses this weekend just to feel it out. I’ll know it when I see it.

It’d be the easiest move ever, and Warren wouldn’t have to switch schools (and we could move over the summer at a leisurely pace).

But then… owning a house and repairs and all that. I’d also be content to just keep renting for a while longer. Big ponderings.

Cabins?

Soooo the city zoning office in Arkansas is being real “by the book” about this cabin thing. They said I’d be responsible for paving a road, which costs thousands and thousands of dollars. On my building permit application, I estimated the cabin’s total build cost at $30,000.

Obvi, it doesn’t make sense to spend $100,000 on a road to a $30,000 cabin.

But Dear Reader, as I write this, they’ve called me back to say I could maybe get a special use permit. They are reviewing it. So I dunno. Mark this one as pending.

If it worked out, I’d be really excited. But also not getting my hopes up about it yet.

Update 5/16/25: By next update, I’ll hopefully have a start date for the framing! 

Other stuff

As I near a $400,000 net worth, I’m slowly taking stock of the house my grandmother will leave me, her life insurance, and whatever’s left upon her passing. Knowing I have that future rental income on the horizon makes me feel more secure about everything.

I hope she’s around for much longer, as I’d always rather have my people than any material things. I’m grateful I’ll have some padding, even if it’s years away.

I also now have the deed to the old tax sale dump, which is looking more like a teardown than a rehab. And tbh, that might be better for loan purposes, and also because I’m pretty sure it has asbestos siding and lead paint in there somewhere. But yeah, no urgency about that. I’ll get to it eventually. It ain’t going nowhere.

Between these projects, I’m assured of reaching my $500,000 goal one way or another. And the market has recovered a bit, although if 2025 has taught me anything, it’s to not depend on it in any way. That’s a big part of the renewed interest in real estate projects.

This month’s progress

During the last month I:

• Contributed $1,000 to my 401k via bi-weekly contributions.
• Applied to build a cabin in Arkansas… will it work? We’ll see.
• Kept making payments on my credit cards.
• Got preapproved for yet another mortgage (potentially my third house purchase).
• Did more cabin research than I’ll ever admit.

And in a week, I’ll officially have a first grader.

By the numbers

Here’s how it all looks in rows and columns. It sure was nice turning the minuses into plus signs this month.

	Current	Last Month	Change	2025 Goal
ASSETS
Overall investments	$301,863	$283,917	+$17,946	As much as possible
Roth IRA total	$49,226	$46,980	+$2,286
Roth IRA 2025	$0	$0	xx	$7,000 (in new contributions)
Taxable brokerage + UTMAs	$4,290	$4,128	+$162	$25,000 (total invested)
Savings	$64	$133	-$69	$30,000
Investment property #1	$21,500	$21,500	xx	$20,000 in equity
Raw land	$40,400	$40,400	xx	No goal, just including for completeness 🙂	Haven't gotten 2025 assessments yet
LIABILITIES
Car loan	$20,059	$21,399	-$1,340	As much as possible
Credit card #1	$0	$0	xx	$0	COMPLETE!
Credit card #2 (0% APR)	$9,291	$10,282	-$991	As much as possible
Net worth in Empower Personal Dashboard	$368,158	$322,270	+$45,888	$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 and to buy more real estate.
• Acquire more real estate.
• Develop my land for more opportunities.
  

  I love their art. So much.

May 2025 Freedom update bottom line

I’m feeling good and settled, like everything will work out and be OK. I’ve been reaching out to build my team, and the networking has been incredible. Between the rehab/teardown, cabin build, and potential new primary residence, I’m looking forward to big projects and throwin’ down some roots in my old stomping ground. We’re painting my grandmother’s house, trimming up the trees, and doing a bit of landscaping to get the exterior in tip-top shape. These upgrades should last a while, and the paint colors are going to look so good once it’s complete.

I’m also working a lot, doing dad stuff (our five-year-old graduated kindergarten this week), and staying busy with ideas. It feels good, and I’m in my element. I guess it sounds like a lot all written out long-form, but it’s manageable with spreadsheets and diligent todo lists (I still use Todoist and Evernote after all these years, but always open to new productivity tools. Does anyone like/use Notion?).

As always, thank you for reading and following my journey. Hope everyone is doing well!

Stay scrappy out there! ✨

-H.

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