Driving Towards F.I.R.E.

Traveling Healthcare Professionals On a Mission For Financial Independence Living and Working from our 5th Wheel RV!

Driving Towards F.I.R.E.
  • Our Story
  • Before RV Life
  • The RV Lifestyle
  • Careers
  • Our FIRE Movement & Debt Free Goals
  • Investing In Retirement
  • Nomadik Fitness: Fitness on the Road
  • Fulltime RV Life with Dogs
  • Campground Reviews
  • Places We’ve Experienced
  • Financial Clarity Coaching Blog
  • Our Story
  • Before RV Life
  • The RV Lifestyle
  • Careers
  • Our FIRE Movement & Debt Free Goals
  • Investing In Retirement
  • Nomadik Fitness: Fitness on the Road
  • Fulltime RV Life with Dogs
  • Campground Reviews
  • Places We’ve Experienced
  • Financial Clarity Coaching Blog
Financial Clarity Coaching Blog

Dave Ramsey-ish

Understanding our ‘why’ and how to make better decisions as it relates to what we spend money on. Financial Peace is more than just being at peace with your finances,…

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October 7, 2020
Our FIRE Movement & Debt Free Goals

6 Months Into 2020

At the very least this year has been completely new; Strange & maybe a little foreign. It’s definitely created struggle for everyone in some form or fashion. But as a…

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June 1, 2020
Places We've Experienced

Rainbow Row, Charleston, South Carolina

These historic homes were first constructed around 1740 and Unfortunately, after the Civil War, the shops and families that lived in this neighborhood were scattered, and the area descended into…

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September 25, 2020
The RV Lifestyle

Thinking BIG, Living TINY

By default, RV’ers and Nomads do not conform to this world. Every RV’er younger than retirement age or older than has a story about a past life & their reason…

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July 5, 2020
Careers

COVID-19 and the Lack of PPE

Nothing against business majors, but a hospital is NOT a business in my opinion. A hospital’s intent is to restore health, save lives, and improve the wellness of all individuals…

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April 9, 2020
  • Our Story,  The RV Lifestyle

    Day 854 of RV Life

    February 24, 2021 / 0 Comments

    Being a fulltime nomadic RV’er comes with so many pros it 1000% exceeds the cons, but let us tell you, after 28 months of fulltiming, the cons will test your patience.

    read more
    bshoemaker

    You May Also Like

    The Default System

    February 3, 2021

    Raising a Newborn on the Road: It’s Been One Week!!

    February 23, 2021

    Make Memories, Not Payments

    June 8, 2020
  • Our Story,  The RV Lifestyle

    Raising a Newborn on the Road: It’s Been One Week!!

    February 23, 2021 / 0 Comments

    People have said soak up each and every minute because they go by so fast. This must be true because it feels like we blinked and it was already a week since baby Eleanor joined our nomadic lifestyle.

    read more
    bshoemaker

    You May Also Like

    Happy Thanksgiving!

    November 26, 2020

    Don’t Mess with Texas…

    February 2, 2021

    Gone But Never Forgotten

    November 11, 2020
  • Fulltime RV Life with Dogs

    Happy Gotcha Day Blue!

    February 21, 2021 / 0 Comments

    In 12 months, this guy has landed a new family with doggy friends, received much needed medical treatment, and now is a protector of his newest human member of our pack, Eleanor! He’s given us so much love already and we’re all glad he’s apart of our family!

    read more
    bshoemaker

    You May Also Like

    Traveling with Big Dogs

    September 30, 2020

    Fulltime Travel and Exercise with Dogs

    October 1, 2020

    RV Life with Dogs

    July 5, 2019
  • Our Story

    Raising a Newborn on the Road

    February 20, 2021 / 0 Comments

    Not at all how we pictured it, but if life has taught us anything, you better expect the unexpected. Especially as fulltime nomads and RV’ers. We’ve done exactly what we always do when things get tough...we turn to each other and work as a team.

    read more
    bshoemaker

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    Gone But Never Forgotten

    November 11, 2020

    Happy Thanksgiving!

    November 26, 2020

    November 2020 FIRE Update

    December 14, 2020
  • Our Story

    New Beginnings

    February 19, 2021 / 0 Comments

    We wanted to say Thanks to so many of you that messaged checking in on us about the weather here in Texas. We’re are ok, frozen and without running water in the RV, but we have electricity and 2 space heaters that are working hard to give us some warmth.

    read more
    bshoemaker

    You May Also Like

    Turns Out 2020 Isn’t So Bad After All

    October 12, 2020

    One Foot In Front of the Other

    October 30, 2020

    Let’s Talk…Retirement and Loyalty

    August 29, 2019
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drivingtowardsfire

👩🏻‍⚕️👨🏻‍💻👼🏻🐕 🐕 🐕 Nomads
🚼Raising a Newborn on the Road
🚎RV’ing Our Debt Free & FI Journey
💵DEBT Paid: $181,580.19 (27 Months)
🔜DEBT Left: $61,734.01

Brett & Meredith | $Coach-CRNA
“Yeah, we love smoking that diesel, It screams o “Yeah, we love smoking that diesel, It screams out freedom like a big bald eagle”...

I’ll admit something, I love this truck.  Not because it’s a material thing, not because of the manufacturer, and not because of the story behind how we came to buy it (some of you know the story), but for the places it’s taken us and how it safely brought us home from the hospital over roads covered in sheets of ice and snow with baby Eleanor in tow.

Something you should know about us...

We love cars.  But we don’t love what they cost.  When we do decide to spend money on a vehicle, we typically keep them for a decade or more.  Age and high mileage doesn’t deter us, especially if we are fortunate to buy a one-owner that took great care of it.  We’ve had Meredith’s 2008 since 2010 with zero intentions of selling it.  Prior to owning our F-350 for RV Life, I owned and drove a 2002 Wrangler & a 1996 Ranger.  Both owned for over a decade.  Not only was it sad to watch the Jeep drive away with its new owner, it was equally sad to take on a new loan payment for the diesel truck.  Especially considering we haven’t made a car payment in over 7 years.

But that car loan payment only lasted 1 year...

We financed the truck for 5 years, but fortunately paid it off 4 years early.  Saving us thousands of dollars in interest payments and putting that money to work elsewhere.  We knew early on that financing it was our only option, but staying committed to our RV Geoarbitrage FI/RE goals allowed us to take every extra penny to immediately pay it off.  With the title now in hand and the freedom to hit the road for new experiences, this truck will likely be with us for many years. 

How long do you keep your cars?

#howtowinwithmoney
“You know you're in love when you can't fall asl “You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams”. —Dr. Seuss.

#livingthedream
2 Whole Weeks! Eleanor says, “This week I’ve 2 Whole Weeks! 

Eleanor says, “This week I’ve taught my mom and dad how to achieve maximum output on minimal sleep.  I also have them right where I want them...wrapped around my little finger”.

It’s true though.  I’m not sure Meredith and I have ever felt true sleep deprivation until now.  I’m usually pretty efficient with at least 4 hours of sleep, but for the most part we’re getting 3 or less. 

Despite the sleep...

She’s doing awesome.  Only gets upset a small percentage of the time and as of our most recent check up, she’s putting on weight!  Weighing in more this week than her birth weight!  #hellochunkythighs 

Raising a newborn in a RV...

Certainly presents challenges, however, truth be told many of the same challenges we face now would be the same even if we were in a traditional home.  We do miss a yard for our 3 pups though!
When is the last time you did something for the fi When is the last time you did something for the first time?

“Never be complacent about the current steps; don't agree and follow the status quo. Be determined that you are making an indelible impact with great change. Now, dress up and go to make it happen”! —Israelmore Ayivor

Complacency is a silent killer...

Complacency robs us from experiencing new things, seeing new places, learning new tasks, but it provides comfort.  Complacency is similar to buying a 5,000 square foot house with everything you could imagine with zero intentions of ever having to leave it.  As dark as it sounds, that’s like buying a very large (and expensive) coffin.  At the end of life you never hear anyone say, “man, I wish I spent more time at my house”.

Best enemy or worst friend?

“Our best enemy is the one who challenges us, and so doing, teaches us to set out to discover our potentials, while our worst friend is the one who is numbing us and lulling us into complacency, always being consenting or acquiescent”. —Erik Pevernagie

Sadly, this could likely even be a family member who holds you back.  In fact, I’d argue that many generations suffer from complacency at the hands of the generations who came before them.  This puts complacency with keeping the peace.  Keeping the peace eventually leads to resentment and resentment can take years off your life.

For the rest of 2021...

Get out of your comfort zone.
Seek new adventures 
Challenge your status quo.
Soak up some Vitamin D.
Do something new.
Run from complacency.
Make some noise.
Break some barriers.
Do you.
Live big
Smile more.
Coming to a bookshelf near you soon... We’re wr Coming to a bookshelf near you soon...

We’re writing a memoir!  But full disclosure, we’ve only had discussions at this point and we’ve never considered ourselves to be authors, but hey, we have a title! 

“Living Wild and Debt Free”
𝐷𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑇𝑜𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑠 𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝐼𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑎𝑠 𝐹𝑢𝑙𝑙-𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑅𝑉’𝑒𝑟𝑠

This memoir will highlight so much of our journey (even parts we haven’t shared on here), but it will also include the emotional moments leading into our nomadic journey for financial freedom.

Was it our intention to write a memoir?

Not really, But we found a love for writing and sharing our life experiences with the hopes it will reach others who found themselves in a financial rut & exhausted from living a life that might not be the most optimal path for happiness and are looking for an alternate path to take.

This will be a work in progress and will likely take us some time to complete, but we’re excited to put our story out there in the most raw and purest way possible.

How many of you have written a book?
Kindness... Something so rare it shocks you when Kindness...

Something so rare it shocks you when it happens these days.  Sometimes, even if true kindness occurs you almost want to believe there’s an motive behind it. Why do we do this?

Mark Twain says, “Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see”.

We’ve been so fortunate to experience true authentic kindness in the past week from someone we met virtually who we didn’t know previously.  This act of kindness might seem simple, but it’s felt so deeply.  They bought and brought us dinner so that we didn’t have to cook or run out for food.  This included driving through a severe thunderstorm to deliver it to us!  With a newborn and constant sleep deprivation, we were grateful for warm and delicious food.  As an added bonus, it was Italian food! 

That night, with our appetites satisfied and our hearts full, we were reminded that there are still great people among us that put kindness front and center. 

Adam Lindsey Gordon says,
“Life is mostly froth and bubble,
Two things stand like stone.
Kindness in another's trouble,
Courage in your own”.

As we head into a new week, we hope you find true kindness by either helping with others who need it or by giving  grace and the courage to be kind to yourself.  You never know, you could help change someone’s entire outlook including your own.

Eleanor says, have great week!
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Recent Posts

  • Running from Complacency

    Running from Complacency

    March 3, 2021
  • Living Wild and Debt Free

    Living Wild and Debt Free

    March 2, 2021
  • Authentic Kindness

    Authentic Kindness

    March 1, 2021
  • Top 3 Reasons to Invest in Real Estate

    Top 3 Reasons to Invest in Real Estate

    February 28, 2021
  • Putting the Leave in Maternity Leave

    Putting the Leave in Maternity Leave

    February 27, 2021
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