I left the house. I ran errands and dropped off a month’s worth of donations for the food pantry. I hiked the trails around the lake. I walked my neighborhood and nearby neighborhoods. During the string of three sunny, non-snowy days, I logged almost twenty miles. I spent a lovely Easter catching up with both … [Read more…]
I’m sure you have your guard up. It is April 1st after all. While I can guarantee that some of these truths will seem to be the makings of an April Fools’ joke, especially coming from a personal finance blogger, I promise they’re 100% true.
I thought I had goals. But it turns out, I have mostly hopes and dreams when it comes to personal finance. Paying off our mortgage in the next 10 years isn’t a good goal. Staying out of debt isn’t a good goal. Increasing my net worth isn’t a good goal. They’re undoubtedly important aspirations, but … [Read more…]
Sometimes I think I should turn in my personal finance blogging card. This past week, I’ve been confronted with two different money dilemmas that have me stumped: emergency funds and found money. I understand the basic principles of both. Emergency funds are one of the most talked about topics in personal finance. And na-na na-na … [Read more…]
We all have twenty-four hours in a day. Some of us have the resources and wherewithal to leverage that time more effectively than others. While we may not all be on equal footing in that regard, we all make choices about how we spend our time. For too long, I viewed my days as an … [Read more…]
When I walked into work on a Friday halfway through my first year of teaching, I was smiling from ear to ear. The day before, I had my summative evaluation and my boss checked the recommended for rehire box. We shook hands and took turns signing on the dotted line. I set down my bag … [Read more…]
Could you save an extra $5500 a year? When Maggie from Northern Expenditure first announced the Roth IRA Challenge, I wasn’t sure that I could side hustle that hard. However, after reviewing our finances from last year, it turns out that Mr. P and I BOTH managed to side hustle our way to an extra $12,000. … [Read more…]
Last week, it was the Democratic sound bite heard round the Internet – or at least, my private Facebook feed: “When you’re white, you don’t know what it’s like to be living in a ghetto. You don’t know what it’s like to be poor.” Bernie Sanders’ comment on institutional racism and systemic poverty eviscerated the … [Read more…]
Given the choice between perfection and courage, choose courage. Perfection is easy because there is often a measure of safety involved. There’s no great unknown, no proverbial leap. No net needed. As someone who has strived for perfection for nearly three decades, I haven’t only mastered the art of playing it safe, I’ve relied upon … [Read more…]
In the past few months, I’ve earned over $500 on Poshmark. This selling frenzy is the result of the grand effort to clean out my closets. That’s right. Closets. While I like to think I brought a lot of positive things to our marriage, I also brought a lot of stuff. Way, way too much … [Read more…]