My Introduction to Travel Hacking:
Discovering the Secrets to Affordable Luxury TravelThe content on Surprising Wealth reflects my own experiences and opinions. It is not intended as financial, legal, or tax advice. Please consult a professional for advice tailored to your situation.
First Award Flight Redemption and International Business Class Flight
Transforming Dreams into Reality: Back History on our Ancestry Chasing Journey to Scotland
About a year ago, my mom and I decided to go to Scotland together. She was researching our ancestry and found out that we had family living on remote islands in northern Scotland in the 1700-1800s. Intrigued, she wanted to experience these islands firsthand. As soon as she mentioned it, I was ready. “Let’s go!” Travel is something that I highly value, but I often get caught in routine, question if I deserve to spend that kind of money on myself, or get overwhelmed by the sheer number of options to see in the world. Scotland was never specifically on my bucket list, but traveling with my mother definitely was. This was an opportunity to embrace my pesonal values and an enticing reason to go exploring.
Getting Started with Travel Rewards
I had been hearing about travel rewards for years but never took the time and effort to look into it. This potential trip to Scotland was the perfect reason to start learning about it. We set an intention to take the trip within the next year, so I began following travel hackers on social media, read through ChooseFI’s free course, and signed up for a new credit card (referral link) to start earning travel points.
The Hunt for Award Flights
I learned about tools for searching for award flights and set notifications for the dates that would work for me. Because nearly all flights from the US to Europe are overnight flights, I was hoping to find a a business class seat so I could try to rest during the red-eye flight. It took several months of checking and waiting, but one morning, I received an email about an overnight Business Class flight with lay-flat seats from my local airport to Edinburgh, around the time I was hoping to travel, for an amazing price of 66,000 Chase UR points + $274 in taxes and fees.
Evaluating the Costs
Many travel rewards fans say that their flights are “Free” with points, but since you can cash in your points for $0.01 per point, I treat points like cash. So, this flight cost me $660 in points + $274 in taxes and fees, for a total of $934. Similar flights usually cost $2,000-$3,000 to purchase with cash, so it felt like a great price. Due to some health limitations, including chronic back pain, it felt well worth splurging on the upgraded lay-flat seats so that I started my trip as rested and pain-free as possible.
Reflections on My First Travel Hacking Experience
This experience taught me the value of travel hacking and the possibilities it opens up. By opening just one new business credit card and meeting the bonus spend (*using only everyday purchases we were already planning), I was able to fly to Scotland in a lay-flat seat. Not only did I get to take a meaningful journey with my mother, but I also did so in a way that made the trip more comfortable and financially accessible. Traveling in business class on an international flight was a first for me, and it set a new possibility for how I approach travel planning and spending in the future.
Let’s get curious….
How can smart travel planning with points create opportunities for unexpected adventures and deepened family connections?
What does it mean to you to spend consciously on travel, ensuring each trip contributes positively to your overall wealth, both financially and experientially?
In what ways can you collaborate with family members to turn their dreams into reality?
These questions are designed to inspire reflection and action towards aligning your life with your values and goals. By exploring these questions, you can gain deeper insights into your financial journey and identify actionable steps to move closer to your goals. Financial independence is a personal and unique journey for everyone, and we hope these questions inspire you to take meaningful steps towards your own financial freedom.
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A Bit About Us
Our journey began with humble beginnings. We’ve navigated through the challenges of creating a life and a living we love, while earing low to median incomes. What started as a modest dream of being able to retire someday has turned into a concrete plan. We’ve been on the SlowFI path, consistently saving and investing for 20+ years. Our income over time has stayed roughly in the 50th percentile, so we are truely everyday Americans. We’ve achieved remarkable results through living below our means and consistently investing the difference. Now in our mid-40s, we are in the top 20% for U.S. household wealth for our age group. This has been possible through conscious spending, consistent saving, strategic investing, and a commitment to lifestyle design where we spend generously on things that bring us value and contentment, while cuting back on things we are ambivalent about. It can be daunting when you hear the stories of tech workers or doctors or other people with large income shovels. We want to share how an everyday couple with median US income has built wealth for the future, while also creating a life we love today.
Why Financial Independence?
Financial Independence means having the freedom to make choices that aren’t dictated only by the need for a paycheck. It’s about gaining control over your time and energy, and being able to pursue what truly matters to you. For us, it’s about creating time for friend & family, travel, and the experiences that bring joy and fulfillment.
Join Us on the Journey
In January 2021, I ran some calculations, projected our investment growth, and analyzed our current spending levels. After adjusting our spending assumptions for future inflation, I realized we were on track to replace our earned income (trading time for money) with investment income (our money making money for us) in approximately 10 years. With 89 months left to go, we’re solidly on that path and we want you to join us. Whether you’re just starting out or well on your way to financial independence, Surprising Wealth is here to support and inspire you. Together, we can make every month count and turn dreams into reality.
Thank you for being a part of our community. Let’s embark on this journey to financial independence together!
Disclaimer: All the tips and stories here are from my own journey toward financial independence. Remember, what worked for me might not work for everyone. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial, legal, or tax advice. Always consult with a professional before making any significant financial decisions.
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Months To FI
Recent Blog Posts
Discover the power of small actions and big dreams with Surprising Wealth. Through a blend of personal anecdotes, case studies, and actionable tips, we’ll show you how we’re navigating the complexities of money management, investment strategies, and lifestyle choices to achieve true financial freedom and fulfillment.
The Best Car I Never Bought
I thought I was saving for my next car. It turns out I was really saving for something much bigger. Here’s how an unexpected opportunity transformed a future car purchase into the down payment on a rental property… and one of the best lessons we’ve learned about opportunity cost.
The Anti-Upgrade Mentality That Upgraded Our Entire Life
Every major purchase asks the same question: What else could this money become? Years ago, we started asking that question before upgrading our home or car. The answers reshaped our finances… and our lifestyle.
65 Months to FI – Practicing Looking for the Opportunity
65 months to FI! Just months after deciding to slowly wind down our rental portfolio, life accelerated the plan for us. Three long-term tenants moved out in rapid succession, giving us the unexpected opportunity to sell three properties this year instead of one. Twenty years ago, we couldn’t have imagined how much rental real estate would shape our Financial Independence journey. Today, we’re learning to embrace the evolution of that chapter.
2025 Auto Cost: The Quiet Superpower of a Boring Car
Every year I calculate the true cost of owning my vehicle, including insurance, maintenance, taxes, and depreciation. The results remind me that one of the best ways to build wealth isn’t earning more… it’s spending intentionally on the things that matter most.
2026 Great Life Goals: Mid-Year Friendship Goal Check-In
One of the ideas behind SlowFI is that you don’t postpone living until you reach your financial number. This year’s visits with friends goal has been a wonderful reminder of that. Research consistently shows that strong relationships are one of the biggest predictors of health and happiness. So we simply keep saying yes to inviting friends over, attending bookclubs, and chatting with neighbors. Those tiny choices added up to 79 meaningful connections so far.
70 Months to FI – What Would You Want Less of in 6 Years?
70 months to FI! When you’re far from Financial Independence, you optimize for growth. When you’re closer, you begin optimizing for simplicity. This month’s decision to sell a long-held rental property marks a quiet but meaningful shift in how we’re preparing for the next chapter. As we approach FI, we’re realizing that what once energized us is now beginning to exhausts us. Sometimes the bravest financial decision is letting go of something that once made perfect sense.
Self-Employed Health Insurance: 12% premium increase for 2025
Our 2025 health insurance premium increased by 12%. Healthcare is now our second-largest expense as a self-employed couple. And unlike groceries or travel, this isn’t an area where we can optimize much further. High deductible. No subsidies. Shopping the marketplace every year. As we plan for early retirement, we’re treating healthcare differently than other spending categories.
2025 Great Life Goals: Year End Review
In 2025, my Great Life Goals told a story I didn’t fully expect. More time with aging parents. Fewer ocean days than I craved. Travel shaped more by service than adventure. This year, I tracked days with family, visits with friends, travel, ocean time, and walking habits. But what I really measured was alignment. 2025 became a year of proximity to the people who matter most, releasing pressure in hard seasons, and noticing where my spending isn’t yet representing my values. Here’s what my goals revealed about the life I’m building.
Tracking Our Lifetime Wealth Ratio: 2025 Update
For every $1.00 we’ve earned as income in our lifetime, we’ve built $0.93 of net worth, not by saving every dollar, but by investing regularly and letting time + compounding do the work to grow our wealth. Ever wondered how effectively you’re turning income into wealth? We’ve been tracking our progress for the last 5 years using the Lifetime Wealth Ratio.
75 Months to FI – Vulnerability Turns Connections Into Friendships
75 months to FI! This month brought a powerful reminder: FI is richer with friends beside you. By sharing a simple introduction before we attended a FI event, we found ourselves welcomed, invited, and connected in ways that made us . Taking that step towards being open and vulnerable by posting about ourselves led to car rides, meals shared, and new friendships that make this journey even more meaningful.
The One Percent Rule of Friendship Building – The ROI of Friendship #5
The 1% rule for friendships isn’t about grand gestures or life-changing moments. It’s about micro-moments of care that most people overlook but create the strongest bonds over time. Building wealth while living richly today means recognizing that your most valuable assets aren’t just in your investment accounts. They’re in your relationships, your memories, your support network, and your capacity to show up for the people you care about.
76 Months to FI – It’s Not About Convincing It’s About Finding Overlap.
Hello FIRE Family 🙂 This month, we consider how to turn a potential “no” into a “yes”: by connecting spending requests to what we care about.
The Compound Effect of Showing Up – The ROI of Friendship #4
Picture this: It’s late evening, you’ve just discovered your basement flooding during a severe tropical storm, and all the hardware stores are closed. This is exactly when you discover the true ROI of friendship wealth. Thanks to our network of friends who didn’t hesitate to answer late-night calls and lend us pumps and hoses, we turned a potential disaster into a manageable challenge. This is compound interest in action. Not financial, but relational.
My First CampFI – CampFI MidWest 2024 recap
What happens when you put 60+ financially independent (or aspiring) people in one place for a weekend? Speed-friending, midnight conversations about life purpose, and the realization that you’re not weird for prioritizing freedom over stuff. As a shy introvert, CampFI was well outside my comfort zone. As someone seeking genuine community in the FIRE journey, it was exactly what I didn’t know I needed.
Using Your FI Freedom for Relationship Wealth Building – The ROI of Friendship Series #3
Here’s the hidden superpower of living below your means: It creates space to make choices that aren’t motivated only by money, including the choice to prioritize your most valuable asset class, your relationships. When you’re not trapped by lifestyle inflation, you have the freedom to turn down higher-paying jobs for better work-life balance, live closer to people you care about, and take afternoons off when friends need help.
The Accessibility of Friendship Wealth – The ROI of Friendship Series #2
When we think about traditional wealth building, there tend to be real barriers. You’ll need capital to invest in stocks. You’ll likely need good credit to buy real estate. The more money you already have, the more opportunities typically become available to you. Friendship wealth operates by different rules. Research shows strong relationships protect your brain, extend your life, and create more joy than money alone. While traditional investments require financial capital, friendship wealth asks for something we all possess in equal measure each day: time and presence. This wealth is accessible to anyone willing to invest their time and presence. And it’s benefits go beyond what money can buy.
77 Months to FI – Practicing For The Life We Want Later
77 months to FI! This month’s focus is future planning for a time when we will want to simplify our weekly responsibilities. Practicing now for the life we want later, we are outsourcing property management for one of our rentals. We’ve started testing the systems we may want in the future. Small experiments like this help us learn, adjust, and build confidence in letting go of tasks that may not need to stay ours forever. We’re laying the groundwork for a simpler and more freedom filled future.
2025 Mid-year FIRE Goal Update
A Real Path to Wealth: SlowFI + Reflecting on Our 2025 Milestone Acheivements & What It Means – Hello FIRE community! It’s time for our 2025 mid-year update on our journey towards Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE). The countdown to full FIRE sits at 77 months. It’s still a journey, but we’ve mapped it out, and every month that passes reminds us how far we’ve come and how close we’re getting. Let’s dive into the numbers and what they mean for our path to financial freedom.
2025 Great Life Goals: Mid-Year Friendship Goal Check-In
When I set a goal to have 90+ friend visits this year, I didn’t realize I was actually building a different kind of portfolio. One that pays in health, longevity, and resilience. Halfway through the year with 45 connections logged, these simple gatherings have created compound returns that show up in stories, support, and shared laughter when life gets complicated.
The ROI of Friendship
This year, one of my ‘Great Life Goals’ was to have 90+ visits with friends. It wasn’t an arbitrary number. It was a reflection of the kind of wealth I want to build: the kind that can’t be counted in dollars but shows up in stories, support, and shared laughter when life gets complicated. At just over halfway through the year, I’ve already enjoyed 45 separate visits with friends, each one reinforcing a core truth of the Surprising Wealth journey: the assets that matter most for happiness aren’t always the ones you can measure on a spreadsheet. Money is just a tool for building a great life.