Welcome, Even Steven! If you’re interested in guest posting on RFI, feel free to reach out.

My blog, Even Steven Money, chronicles my journey of paying off debt, becoming financially balanced, and achieving financial independence to retire early. I officially started this mission a year ago and have been sharing my ups and downs for the past five months. The support and progress have been incredible, so thank you for stopping by. And if you haven’t yet, now’s your chance.

Let’s talk about the support system behind every blogger. Many of us have spouses who, while not writers themselves, are our biggest supporters. Without their encouragement, many of us would probably have quit or faced significant relationship strains by now. My wife is no exception. She reads everything I write and is my most loyal reader. However, she prefers to keep specifics like salaries and mortgages private. Despite earning a good salary and having no personal debt when we married, she’s cautious about my ambitious financial independence ideas.

Getting my wife on board with saving and investing has been challenging. She’s not exactly thrilled about budget meetings, cutting costs, or even the idea of early retirement. I often have to entice her with a coffee shop latte or a sweet treat just to discuss finances. She likes the idea of financial independence but isn’t fully convinced yet. Here’s an example:

Recently, we sat down to discuss our financial independence (FI) plans. One of my wife’s main conditions is moving back to Florida to be closer to her family. We’re on track to pay off our rental property in Florida by December 2016. The dream is that once the rental property is paid off, we can reassess our situation and decide if moving back to Florida makes sense for us financially. However, moving would mean living in the Florida rental property and giving up that rental income. Our Chicago home would transform from a two-unit rental to a three-unit rental as we’d move out, lowering rental income but requiring us to continue working, something I want to avoid if we move to Florida. As you can see, our journey involves a lot of compromises and negotiations.

Occasionally, my wife questions our FI plans. She recently asked what would happen if we reached FI and moved to Florida, wondering if losing some rental income would still enable us to retire early. She had a valid point, as my plan involves owning a smaller home with significantly lower mortgage payments. My wife is a numbers person and quickly wanted to know the rental income from both our Chicago and Florida properties, along with our expenses. I had everything detailed in a spreadsheet. After going through the numbers, she smiled and acknowledged that it could work. I reassured her that I had done my homework—reading extensively and running countless spreadsheets. My FI scenario heavily relies on rental income, not the ideal situation, so I also plan to have a large emergency fund, investments generating monthly cash flow, and a side hustle like eBay or blogging. But as soon as I dived into these details, her interest waned, and she moved on to thinking about ice cream or anything unrelated to money.

I wish there was a foolproof method to get your spouse on board with FI, but every situation is unique. However, here are a few things I’ve learned:

1. No one will be as excited about FI as you are. You blog, read, dream, and run spreadsheets about it. Remember, your enthusiasm may not match theirs.

2. Both partners should have their own dreams. My dream involves golfing with my Dad and crashing on a friend’s couch. My wife’s dream is spending more time with her family, enjoying coffee with her mother, and helping her brothers succeed. Your dreams should be personal and separate.

3. Develop a financial roadmap that both partners agree on. We both want more family time and realize we need to cut expenses and increase income to achieve this. While she’s focused on paying off our rental property, I’m tackling my student loans. Together, we have a plan for early retirement.

4. Be willing to compromise. Financial decisions aren’t one-sided. If it were up to me alone, we’d prioritize paying off debts differently and have a different investment strategy. However, as a team, we make decisions together, which includes some give and take. For example, prioritizing the Florida rental property is a shared goal.

I’d like to think I’ve picked up a few tips along my financial journey, but there’s always more to learn. I hope you’ll join me on this path and share your insights too.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter, Google Plus, and my blog at Even Steven Money.