Category: Reader Case Studies

Kate and her husband Will lived the military life for the last decade. Will, who is currently an Army Officer, begins his transition to civilian life this summer. The couple–along with their cat Oliver–live in the Seattle metro area, where Kate works in higher education. With this huge change on the horizon, they’d like our help determining where they should move, what types of jobs Will should pursue, if they should buy a house and...

Matt lives in a suburb of Boston with his wife Laura, their three kids, and their yellow lab Waffles. Matt and Laura both work as engineers and share a love of outdoor recreation–skiing, hiking, kayaking and camping. Their oldest child is a freshman in college and his siblings–ages 16 and 14–will each be headed off to college in a few short years. Matt is concerned about their ability to afford college, plan for retirement and...

June and Daniel are young professionals living the DINK (dual income; no kids) life in Chicago. While they’re grateful for the higher salaries the city offers, they’re not loving the urban hustle. They have a number of near-terms goals, including celebrating their wedding, gender confirmation surgery for Daniel, buying their own home and eventually, achieving financial independence. But given the pandemic and their uncertainty about staying in Chicago, they’re not sure when any of these...

Nici lives on the West Coast with her cat and works as a journalist. She loves her job–and her 20-year-old Mustang–but doesn’t make a lot of money. She prefers renting an apartment over owning a house, but is concerned about future rent increases and what they might do to her retirement plans. She’d like our help today assessing her financial position as well as our advice on whether or not it’s time to put her...

Anne and her husband Michael live in rural Colorado where, until the pandemic, they worked as behavioral therapists for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Now, they’re on voluntary unpaid furlough and requesting our help deciding what to do next. They recently sold their behavioral therapy practice, have a five-acre homestead with dogs and farm animals and are wondering if now’s the time to transition to full-time homesteading. What’s a Reader Case Study? Case Studies...

Lily and her husband Robert are in their late 60s, have been married for 40 years, and planned to retire to a life of travel in 2022. Lily and Robert paid off nearly half a million dollars of debt in their late 50s and since then, have put themselves in a fabulous financial position. However, the pandemic has them questioning their readiness for this move. They’d like our help today determining what to do if Lily...

Sara Beth and Colt operate an 80-acre livestock farm in the Arkansas delta with their three dogs. They raise cows and goats, have chickens and ride horses. Running the farm is their dream. The only problem is that it isn’t profitable (yet) and so they’re both working full-time jobs in addition. They’ve asked for our help in figuring out how to make it work financially for Colt to quit his day job and manage the...

Zaria lives in Seattle, WA where she advises students and leads a graduate program at a local university. She’s done tremendous work over the years to pay off her debt, build up her savings and retirement investments, and create a frugal, sustainable, outdoorsy lifestyle. Now, at 52, she’s looking to the future and would like our help crafting long-term plans as well as assistance navigating our increasingly tech-dependent world (computer nerds, your help is needed...

Tara and Squash live on the West Coast and are about five years away from reaching financial independence. They would like our help crafting a contingency plan in case one (or both) of them loses their job in light of the pandemic and recession. What’s a Reader Case Study? Case Studies address financial and life dilemmas that readers of Frugalwoods send to me requesting advice. Then, we (that’d be me and YOU, dear reader) read...