Financial Life update – Q1 2026

Financial Life update – Q1 2026

I hardly know where to start with this Financial Life Update for Q1 2026. Seeing as its so long since my last update on this blog, and so much have happened since then. So whether you’re an OG Penny-reader or a newcomer, let’s just go straight into it!

Where are we now?

Well, right now, we are currently 2 adults and 1 young child, living in a home we bought last year. There is both a mortgage and a bank loan on our home, which we just about managed to buy. One of us is unemployed and the other got laid off recently but is starting a new part time position within the next few months. We basically plummeted our savings and investment accounts in order to buy the home we now live in, so really, we are in a bit of a tight spot right now.

However, our health is with us, we can afford to pay our bills and we try not to spend on unnecessary items in our daily life. We have been on 2 adult weekend getaways without our kid, the last 4.5 years. And it’s going to be a while before we can afford a “real” holiday.

Our situation is by no means aspirational right now. It is also not where we had envisioned ourselves looking back a little over a year ago. But here we are. Financially – maybe worse off?

Double unemployed going into 2026

Well, we had originally planned for one of us being able to go unemployed for a time and still being able to pay our bills without much trouble. We did not, however, expect to both suddenly be unemployed at the same time. Which happened when I lost my job due to organizational changes recently. It took a toll on my mental health as well. Since I hadn’t done the math on how to survive on potentially 2 unemployment benefit incomes, my stress levels went up. My partner was really great at then doing that math immediately and found out that we would still be ok for at least the entirety of 2026. Even with drawbacks on our buffer that we had managed to maintain at a decent level. I also had a “Garden Leave” agreement with my employer, which secured me a full paycheck for a few months after getting laid off.

So in short, we will be ok, provided we found more work/income during 2026. And I’m starting a part time position in a few months, effectively taking a paycut. But at least I have a job I’m looking forward to starting.

Buying a home vs. renting

Let me start out by saying that we have wanted to own a home for quite a few years. A couple of years ago, we relocated to our current city to get closer to work and cut down commute. Great idea! Then, when living at the rental place, mental health took a dive due to several factors. The apartment did not help, since the layout was cramped and not well suited to our everyday life. A lot of the surrounding apartments were young people sharing apartments, and there was always a party or very loud soccer game making it impossible to relax in our own space. Not to mention we were paying a lot of money to live there every single month.

So, we agreed on throwing everything we had at buying our next place, while staying in the area. We found an affordable place, we both had stable jobs at the time. On a monthly basis, it would cost the same as renting, even with mortgage and a loan from the bank.

Mental health up, finances down. But at least we are building up real estate equity now and we enjoy being at home.

Income, blogging and sidehustles

This is probably the most difficult for me to update you on. Why? Honestly, I think it’s shame. That I stepped away from my online presence, especially in the FIRE space, was somehow embarrassing. How could I return, after being such a consistent content creator and even making a little money off of it Why not stay, scale, work on my products, stay part of the Financial Independence community?

Well. I hit a bad spot in my personal life. Crisis hit, motivation hit rock bottom and the easiest thing to cut out was content creation. Yes, even if it had the potential to make me more money and help alleviate the other stressful things I had going on. Effort and time just was not worth it at the time. And now? Now I’m doubting my place in the online space again, after having seen how some of my online friends have skyrocketed, grown and become even cooler versions of themselves. I applaud their efforts, their diligence and I’m truly happy for them, smashing goals out the park.

But here is the truth; it also highlights my own shortcomings. It highlights how I feel like I’m starting over both financially as my investments and savings are near zero and my new job pays less than my former. Even worse, I feel like I constantly get good ideas and I feel “on trend” until I suddenly drop the ball, and this goes for content creation too.

What’s different in my financial life now?

Life has calmed down a bit, I feel like my home base is more stable both financially and emotionally, even with the massive paycut I’m taking. Perhaps the most important thing is – I no longer expect the same kind of consistency of myself, as before. The past 5 years have been a journey of selfdiscovery as much as it has been a financial journey toward independence.

Since adding this to my mental toolbox, I feel better equipped now to continue to make the long term decisions hat are best. For me, my mental health, my finances and ultimately – my family.

So, my friends, that was the life update for Q1 2026. Here we are. Ready to go again, but this time stronger, better and wiser. Let’s go!

To read more about my personal finance journey, check out these blog posts>>