It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and it’s also the spendiest. Or is it? If you believe news channels or angry tweets, then maybe. It seems that most people look at this time of year as one in which we lose what little willpower we have and become total gluttons, mindlessly downing empty … [Read more…]
How much money will I have to make before I stop getting excited about free food at work? Alright, friends, I must confess. This is a trick question. I don’t think the dollar amount exists. My money win for the week is actually a look ahead. Teachers are scavengers. Truly. If you think the kids … [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…]
There are two camps in personal finance: those who pay their mortgages early and those who don’t. We are in the first camp. Rather, we were. When we found out I was expecting, we took the interwebs’ advice and stopped making extra payments toward our mortgage, funneling the money into a Baby Fund instead. Now … [Read more…]
I don’t set goals. But I do get set in my ways. Since I’m so charming, it all works out. Right? Riiiiight. For more than the past year, we have implemented the exact same approach to paying down debt and investing–do both as well as we can. And it’s working. But I also wonder if … [Read more…]
Last year, I couldn’t make up my mind when it came to our debt. At first, it seemed like we had paid off just shy of $20,000. Then, I remembered came clean about the fact that we still had a car payment. So we clocked in right around $24,000 when it was all said and done. … [Read more…]