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2025: A Year of Peace, Purpose, and Planning

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Thanks for the kind comments on my last post. Unfortunately, only a few hours after that post was published, my dad passed away. It wasn’t a huge shock—I had just written about his transition to hospice care—but at the same time, he had seemed physically stable. I thought we had months, not hours, left. And as much as we try to prepare, nothing can truly ready us for the loss of a parent.

His passing has led to a lot of quiet reflection. Looking at my recent posts—about staying still amidst change and end-of-life planning—I see a clear theme emerging in my life: a need for grounding, peace, and intentionality.

 

Choosing a Word for 2025

Each year, I like to set a guiding word. For 2024, it was travel — GO and DO! But for 2025, I feel an overwhelming pull toward stillness. The word that keeps coming to mind is peace.

  • Peace in my heart.
  • Peace in my mind.
  • Peace in my soul.

Other words that resonate: Stillness. Reflection. Contentment. Happiness.

2025 is shaping up to be a year of emotional and spiritual grounding, but also a year of loss. In addition to my dad, my cousin’s wife is in the final stages of ALS. My uncle was just released from the hospital on hospice care. And with a couple of grandparents in their 90s, I know more difficult goodbyes may be ahead.

 

The Financial Connection: Peace and Preparedness

What does all of this have to do with finances? In short—everything.

Losing my dad has reinforced two key financial priorities for me:

  1. Don’t Delay Joy. I don’t want to put off experiences for some hypothetical “later” that may never come. Yes, saving for the future is critical, but life isn’t just about the future—it’s also about now.
  2. Retire Early. I do not want to “die at the desk” (a phrase I hear often about those who work until very old age). How incredible would it be to retire while my mom is still around to enjoy time with? To have flexibility when my kids grow up and start families of their own? Financial peace means having choices, and early retirement is a goal I want to take seriously.

Taking Action Toward Financial Peace

So while my word for 2025 is peace, that doesn’t mean passivity. It means taking intentional steps to create a secure and flexible future. First up: meeting with financial advisors to map out a realistic early retirement plan. What will it take? What adjustments need to be made now to get there sooner?

Amidst life’s challenges, I’m deeply grateful for the blessings we have. And I want to make sure we’re using our time and resources in ways that align with what truly matters.

 

What About You? 

Is early retirement a goal for you, or do you enjoy working to stay busy? What would financial peace look like in your life?

Want to make money taking surveys?

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You know I’m always on the lookout for a side hustle that actually pays money. I learned about User Interviews a few months ago from a social media couple I follow: thegoldenroad <-This is a link to their Instagram account if you want to check them out and this is their website. (Not an affiliate link.)

I signed up using their affiliate link and have since made several hundred dollars participating in random interviews, game playing, and other random activities, etc. So now that I know that it’s the real deal, I thought I would share.

This is my affiliate link. If you sign up and participate in at least one paid study, we both get $10!

If you have any real world experience with side hustles that pay actual money, please share them in the comments below. I don’t expect to make full time income from these types of activities, but I enjoy the variety and it gives my brain a rest from the other work I do on a regular basis.

I continue to wish I could make money making dog food. But there’s just no cottage license for dog food prep. And yes, I did research it again lately.

I hear a statistic the other day along the lines of the richest of people have at least 8 streams of income. Or something to that affect. That’s definitely a goal to work toward.

Obviously, primary job is one. Interest from a high yield savings account is two. Dividends from investments is three. Do activities like User Interviews could be four. What else?

How many streams of income do you have? Do you have any resources you would share with someone looking to add variety to their income generating activities?

 

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