ALMOST ready to start traveling…

While things may have seemed quiet, in reality, a LOT has been happening. I have had over a dozen people ask for an update which is why we wrote this post. We are planning to officially be on the road within the next week (on or before Sept 21). Although we are not sure what the exact start date for the trip is yet. We are almost ready!

Here are the high notes of what has been going on over the past few months:

June 2021

• On June 23 we accepted an offer to buy our house, which closed one month later
  • As part of that sale, we negotiated up to 60 days rent-free post-closing
    • This gave us up to September 21, 2021, to be in the house
  • This was a cash offer with no contingencies, which Brock negotiated since we did not have a realtor

Early July 2021

• On July 2, 2021, we purchased a 2007 Chrysler Town & Country Touring Edition Minivan
  • Our original intent was to
    • Have a low-cost vehicle we could use while in the United States
    • We needed to save money on insurance (only carrying liability coverage) and vehicle registration
    • We wanted a vehicle we were comfortable storing outside while we travel
  • Buying this minivan allowed us to sell our current nicer vehicles quicker to capitalize on high used car prices
• On July 13, 2021, we registered FIRE Travel Family LLC as an official business and all associated accounts were open

Late July 2021

• July 19, 2021, Brock closed his Innovative Dubuque LLC business which focused on consulting and business assistance
• On the morning of July 23, 2021, we closed on the house sale and officially became renters!
• In the afternoon of July 23, 2021, we learned that Brock should not leave US due to the medical treatment he is receiving. The doctor suggested he stay around for between 12 to 18 months from when he started the treatment in January of 2021
  • Interestingly, we had already mostly decided that we would not be leaving the US for this first trip anyway due to COVID-19 uncertainty
• On July 26, 2021, we sold our 2014 Chevy Equinox
  • That brought us back down to two vehicles again
  • It also allowed us to capitalize on the higher used car values which made us feel good about buying the minivan
• On July 29, 2021, Becky closed her Platteville Massage office.
  • It was a bittersweet day since she loved her clients and had built a great/successful business
• On July 31, 2021, Adam Rohn, Brock’s best friend from kindergarten through high school had funeral services held in Boscobel, WI

August 2021

• August 4, 2021, Kyra got her first haircut from her aunt Karen Hoffman
  • Kyra and her mom both donated their hair to kids in need
• August 14. 2021, Brock completes the Platteville Super Sprint Triathlon. He did so with a personal best time and gets first place in his age range
• August 20 and 21, 2021, Becky’s grandma Rose Heiderscheit has funeral services held and is laid to rest in Balltown, IA
• August 22 and 23, 2021, Brock, Becky, Kyra, and Verity go to Wisconsin Dells. This is our first overnight trip and stay in a hotel since having to return home due to COVID-19 in March of 2020.
  • There will be a future post detailing how we made this a cost-effective outing by utilizing one of our superpowers…frugality!
• August 27, 2021, was Kyra’s last day at the daycare she has been going to since 2017
• On August 31, 2021, Becky closed her Dubuque Massage office and cleans out her office. In just over a month she has gone from 2 businesses to being retired!

September 2021

• September 3, 2021, we learn that the place we were going to live while “back home” is no longer an option. So we have to find a new place to stay and store our bed
• On September 4, 2021, we had our final garage sale. We sold items left under $10 for 50% off and the items left worth $10 or more at 25% off, with the exclusion of about 12 items.
  • In total since starting to sell our items in August of 2020, we have sold over $14,000 and this does not include the house or vehicles
  • We estimate that we sold between 75% to 80% of everything we owned via garage sales and online Facebook Marketplace posts
    • To give you an idea of how much was sold for large furniture we now own only one item, a queen bed set
  • We kept a few items, otherwise, everything else was donated, consigned, or put on the curb. Although there are a handful of items we are still trying to sell
• On September 6, 2021, we had our retirement party with family and friends. It was the last celebration we hosted in the first house we owned as a couple and family.
• September 9, 2021, was Verity’s last day at the only daycare she has went to.
• On September 13, 2021, was Kyra’s first day of home school (world school) as a kindergarten student, she loves her teachers and is doing great so far!!
• September 15, 2021 is the day we have set to sell the 2017 Chevy Traverse to online car dealer Carvana.com. We hope everything goes smoothly with our drop-off meeting, which is set to take place in Monroe, WI.

Our Current Work

Other than this we are waiting for one piece of mail to arrive and these are the last items keeping us from leaving (once we have moved). As far as what we are doing now we are mostly:

1. Packing items to store while we are gone
2. Completing the electronic cleanup we need from owning 3 businesses that have been shut down
3. Determine what we need for our trip and get it bought/packed
4. Finishing the preparation we need to be away from home while traveling

Tired from reading all this? We are from getting it all done! The upside is the hard work is almost done and the fun is about to begin….

Brock Waterman

Written and posted 9/14/2021
Updated: 1/22/2022
*For FIRE Travel Family videos see our YouTube Channel!