Why wouldn’t you want to earn more money? You can always earn more; it’s cutting back that you can only do so much of. Most people could find a job that pays twenty, thirty, or even forty thousand dollars a year online in a matter of days. These sentiments that get bantered about online—coupled with … [Read more…]
Chocolate or vanilla? Cake or ice cream? Beach or mountains? Either/or questions might have their place when it comes to icebreakers or dating profiles, but they have also become incredibly pervasive in personal finance. Pay down debt or invest? Grow your income or cut expenses? Donate time or donate money? Focus on little leaks or … [Read more…]
My bookcase also broke this year. So did a lamp and a picture frame. Though we are still months from the end of the year, by my very rough estimates from a largely imperfect student-run checkout system, over fifty books are missing from my classroom library. Nevermind the ones that have come back with cracked … [Read more…]
Blame it all on my roots. This doesn’t have anything to do with boots, black-tie affairs, or Garth Brooks. It has everything to do with how I was raised, and I am not sure I have let everyone in on it. In fact, I know I haven’t. If I had, you might think about those … [Read more…]
Y’all, I am frugal. I am FRUgal. But let’s tell the whole truth, mkay? If this sounds familiar, cool, that means I haven’t been totally wasting my time on Twitter. Last week, I wanted to send a little thought out into the universe. I never imagined it would gain the traction that it did. It … [Read more…]
There’s this common misconception that women don’t talk numbers. The truth of the matter is that the women in my life talk numbers far more than any man I know. Take my best friends for example: I know how many boyfriends they have had. I know how many pairs of shoes one friend owns and … [Read more…]
Happy 2013, everybody! OK, fine. I know what year it really is, but it turns out that for me, it’s also the year of the Fitbit. That’s right. My plan to pay for my health paid off. For 28 days in a row, I met my step goal. Put it another way, I recorded over … [Read more…]
Let’s do a little mental exercise this morning, shall we? How satisfied are you with your job when you’re at your job? I’m sorry, I should have told you to brace yourself. Or recruit a spotter. These might be heavy feelings. Now get a grip on them and translate those feelings into a single number … [Read more…]
When it comes to missed opportunities, they are almost always on my mind. Truthfully, it is a single missed opportunity. I run over it in my mind constantly, if not obsessively, but never once have I uttered any of it aloud. Like thumbing over the edges, instead of cracking open a book to settle in … [Read more…]
The holidays are full of awkward moments. Like when your mother-in-law excitedly shepherds you into the family room to see the new family photos she framed. Your two sisters-in-law look like they stepped out of a magazine. And you? Well, you look like a cross between a Goodyear blimp and Violet Beauregarde because that’s what … [Read more…]