Fat Tuesday might be my favorite day. It’s always been a day of celebration in my family. In fact, as I type, a bowl of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream is keeping my keyboard company. What? You thought I was hanging off a float or catching beads? Of course, I like Fat Tuesday because … [Read more…]
If have the Discover It Card, there’s a good chance you’re smiling. It’s a good credit card all of the time. It’s an especially great credit card this quarter. How else can you get 5% cashback on groceries? To take full advantage of the perks of this card and to fill up our Christmas fund, … [Read more…]
I didn’t start the year with a concrete number for how many items I wanted to declutter. I was invited to do a few different challenges. The most dramatic one promised to part ways with 1,000 items. I didn’t accept. Because honestly? It seemed too easy. For a house that generally abides by the clean … [Read more…]
The maturity date on my mortgage is 2042. 2042. 2 0 4 2. It’s a pretty depressing number if you let that fully sink in. My kid will be done with college. My teaching career will be coming to a close. My car will most assuredly fly a la The Jetsons. 2042 is a long … [Read more…]
I’ve written about our decision to opt out of opting out before. In short, major spending restrictions don’t seem to target our money needs right now. Five years ago, when I literally bought an espadrille in every color so I could make a rainbow on my personal Instagram account? Money gods, yes. Now? Not so … [Read more…]
Woohoo! What do financially-savvy and frugal people like more than free things? How about free things that make you better with money? Then don’t miss the details about the giveaway at the bottom of this post. I’ve had an advance copy of Tanja Hester’s Work Optional: Retire Early the Non-Penny-Pinching Way for several weeks now. … [Read more…]
We made a choice when we had our son. We agreed to raise him differently. He eats pizza. He’s even had French fries. If I’m being entirely honest, he’s also eaten crayons, sock fuzz, and whatever he found in the dust pan at the play place that accidentally got left in the middle of the … [Read more…]
If I’m being totally honest, I haven’t felt much like celebrating lately. What a way to start a post on money wins, huh? I think I lost the forest for the trees. Or the trees for the forest. Or money doesn’t grow on trees. Or something. Everything has just felt so financially ordinary lately. There … [Read more…]
I did not do a no-spend January. I was perfectly upfront about that. I started the year knowing exactly one thing: I would spend money in January. I did, however, commit to tracking my spending even more diligently neurotically than I normally do. A month passed. I reviewed my notebook. And what to my wondering … [Read more…]
Even though the polar vortex has passed, we’re still deep in the throes of winter here. And for whatever reason (OK, we all know the reason – it’s the never-ending gray and cold), time seems to drag. But we’re already a month into the new year, and one of my biggest priorities for this year … [Read more…]