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Saying Goodbye to 2025!

Yes, I know I probably should have done this last year, literally. But these last weeks have been so crazy. Kids flying in and out. Mom has had some concerns that required attention. And the holidays…need I say more?

In fact, I had a whole to do list for work that didn’t get touched over the last two weeks. And I’m normally super productive the last week of the year because it’s quiet. But not the case this year.

So let’s talk about all the change the happened and things that did get accomplished last year…and it was ALOT.

Personal Accomplishment

Big Move

I finally bit the bullet after years of wavering on what to do after all the kids had moved out and sold my home and moved half way across the country to live with my parents and become their caregiver. I never would have imagined it would go as well as it has. In fact, I didn’t really think this arrangement would last past the summer. But here I am and it’s going well, and really giving me some much needed stability and breathing room to get my financial and mind in order.

Paid Off a Ton of Debt

With the move and selling my house, I paid off a ton of debt. That in and of itself has been a HUGE load off my shoulders. And gave me the freedom to really dive into saving. I saved a nest egg of $10,000 within a few months and then turning my focus to my remaining debt – my student loans.

New Hearing Aids

Also during this time, I paid cash for a big, but necessary purchase – new hearing aids. This is an on going saga, but it really felt good to be able to pay cash for such a large purchase. This is a new world for me.

Family Changes

In addition to my personal accomplishments, my little family went through a lot of big changes.

Gymnast got his first apartment.
Princess graduated college and started her corporate career in finance!
Beauty & Redhead (what I’ve decided to call my new son-in-law here) got married.
Both the twins moved to new places, broke up with long time girlfriends, and continued to make adult decisions – new cars, back to school and so much more.

There has been a lot happening. And through it all, we’ve gotten together three different times this year – Princess graduation, Beauty’s wedding, and the holidays. I am so blessed. We are so blessed.

Hope

Don’t get me wrong, parts of 2025 were so hard. But when I look back, all I can see are the blessings.

And now…it’s time to look forward with intent! Happy New Year, everyone!

Hope

Hope is a resourceful, solutions-driven online business manager with over two decades of experience helping clients streamline operations, manage projects, and grow their businesses through digital marketing and technology.

But life has a way of rewriting your plans.

A year ago, Hope made the decision to move in with her aging parents full time – a season she wouldn’t trade, even as it came with its own financial and emotional weight. Earlier this year, she lost her mother, and is now walking the tender, disorienting path of grief while learning what “forward” looks like from here.

Hope came to the Blogging Away Debt community in 2015 as a single mom raising five foster and adoptive children. She’s written through job changes, financial setbacks, and the bittersweet transition to an empty nest. Her kids are finding their footing in the world now – and so is she.

Rooted in faith and fueled by the same perseverance she’s brought to every hard season, Hope is ready to face her finances with fresh eyes and an honest pen. She believes that clarity, courage, and community can change the trajectory of anyone’s story including her own.

She lives in Austin, TX with her dad, loves adventures with her dog Addie, and is figuring out, one step at a time, what this next chapter is meant to be.

Balancing Assets

by Ashley

As I’m thinking about things like the possibility of an early retirement (or not – see my last blog post), it’s gotten me thinking more earnestly about where all of our assets are located and whether we’re adequately diversifying our portfolio. For most of my working life, my investments have been categorized as “aggressive” which can be great for rate of return, but also leaves me open to increased vulnerability from market dips. And with the goal of retiring early (in what….10ish years? 15?) it’s made me think about getting more conservative with our investments. So…I turned to AI.

Incorporating AI into Financial Planning

I asked ChatGPT to tell me a recommended breakdown of what percentages I should be targeting in various savings and investment vehicles. I gave it categories of: retirement account, home equity, high yield savings account (HYSA), taxable brokerage account, and cash/checking account. *I forgot to include my Health Savings Account, which is technically an asset, so that’s not included below*

Here’s what it told me and how I matched up:

Retirement – AI recommended 50-55%. I’m at 63%.
Home Equity – AI recommended 25-30%. I’m only at 12%
HYSA – AI recommended 10-15%. I’m at 19%
Taxable Brokerage – AI recommended 10-15%. I’m only at 4%
Cash/Checking – AI recommended 1-2%. I’m at 2%.

My Thoughts and Reflections

I’m going to work from the assumption that AI gave me some pretty good recommended guidelines. It pulls from allllllll the internet, so it’s taking into consideration all kinds of financial experts’ opinions and advice. But that’s definitely an assumption and I’m genuinely curious how others feel about the recommended guidelines.

Assuming these are good goals to shoot for, two things really stand out to me. First, I have way less in home equity than is recommended. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot I can do to change that percentage (except potentially purchasing additional real estate….which we’ve talked about in the past but have not made movements on yet). So let’s say that is relatively “fixed” and it is what it is.

The second thing to jump out at me is that I am way under-funded in taxable brokerage accounts. This makes sense. I’ve always prioritized retirement funding (especially since I get a company match!) and have had less leftover for brokerage. ChatGPT explained to me that “taxable brokerage is your ‘bridge money’ during early retirement” since most people won’t dip into traditional retirement accounts until age 59.5 due to the possibility of early withdrawal penalties.

Chat also didn’t love that I have 21% of our entire assets in lower-yielding accounts (a checking account + HYSA). That doesn’t bother me too much though. I’m fiscally conservative. And I feel like the market is scary right now. I like the psychological safety of having a good sized cushion extremely liquid and safe from market volatility.

What do you think? Do you agree with the percentage breakdown from AI? What do you think about my percentages? What type of rebalancing would you recommend (knowing our goal is early retirement – so although we’re in our low 40’s, we don’t want to work another 20+ years)?

Ashley

Hi, I’m Ashley! Arizonan on paper, Texan at heart. Lover of running, blogging, and all things cheeeeese. Early 40s, married mother of twins, and working in academia. Currently working toward financial independence with the goal of (hopefully!) retiring early at 50.