How a Virginia family saved $ 1 million over 11 years

Laura Barrett from Richmond, Va., Found a very economical way to prepare a meal for a family budget, writes Money.

Photo: Brad Barrett, family personal archive

Every few months, she spends two to three hours in the kitchen roasting chicken cutlets. This preliminary and tedious work subsequently makes life comfortable for the whole family. The family always has food that can be quickly prepared.

In addition, buying a large amount of meat at once is cheaper. Barrett buys chicken for $ 1,79 per pound.

"You'd have to buy 6 pounds of chicken breast to get that price," Barrett, 39, said.

It freezes the excess meat, and then uses it in salads, sandwiches and other dishes.

This is one of the savings that allowed Laura and her 38-year-old husband Brad to save 1 million dollars in just 11 years and achieve financial independence before 40 years.

Brad in 35 years quit his job to focus on capital accumulation and developing his own podcast ChooseFi. Laura is an accountant by profession and has stopped working full-time after the birth of her first daughter. She works from home, fills out tax returns during the tax season. Income of a couple is enough to cover living expenses.

Barrett has two daughters, nine and six years old. This year, the family is planning a 24-day trip to Europe, which they want to pay with credit card bonuses.

Brad and Laura are part of the FIRE movement - these are people who strive for financial independence, prefer austerity, but the ability to give up a permanent job and focus on what gives their lives more meaning.

Below are some tips from Barrett on how to achieve financial independence.

Approach to food

Laura expects that dinner should cost no more than $ 2 per person, that is, only $ 8 for a family of four. Within these limits you can eat well, but the main thing is to plan everything accurately.

She thinks about what dish to cook before going to the store. Often she buys a little more food and freezes the excess for later.

“I love cooking, but I don’t love doing it every day,” she says.

According to her calculations, one dish that her family loves - chicken in tomato sauce with paprika and egg noodles - costs $ 1,25 per serving.

When grandparents come to visit, about once every six weeks, then Laura and Brad leave their children to guardianship and go to a restaurant together.

Insurance

Medicare usually begins to work for people in 65 age. In a country where health insurance is tied to a workplace, for many people it’s hard to afford to stop working early.

Barret family enjoy Liberty Health Share. This is one of the programs for individuals who share Christian beliefs and agree to help pay each other’s medical bills. Although it is not pure medical insurance, it functions in the same way.

The family has a card that they give to doctors, and they send bills to Liberty. The family pays $ 449 per month for this program.

car

Most Barrett friends drive new cars, minivans or sedans. Barrett has two cars Honda and Toyotabut these are the 2003 models of the year that the couple does not plan to update anytime soon.

This way of saving allows you to save money on obvious car payments, reduce insurance costs and taxes. The couple paid $ 140 for the last time for two cars, while their friends paid $ 1000 for new cars.

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