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…]
Track your spending. Review your expenses. Keep a budget. These are the fundamental aspects of straightening out any money messes you may have gotten into and making your money goals happen. And for good reason. They work! But what if, just like rules, budgets are meant to be broken at times? How would you know?
Normally, year-end posts are all about numbers. Consumer debt reductions. Mortgage payoffs. Portfolio numbers. Net worth increases. And my last post about paying off $27,000 worth of debt was no exception. But to round out the year, I wanted to highlight one of the few goals that I actually kept that made me most happy. … [Read more…]
Last month, our school participated in a coin competition. While I’m not entirely keen on asking students for money, especially right after all the annual back-to-school fundraisers that also ask kids to sell things to the community for money, I rolled with it. The money was going towards a good cause, and many of my … [Read more…]
Ms. Montana from Montana Money Adventures is on the blog today sharing her take on the best money spent series. Last week, a good money test was spending in ways that gets you more bang for your buck. This week, Ms. Montana has a new way to determine your best money spent: the 2x test.
“Oh, dear. Bread and beer. If I were rich, I wouldn’t be here.” My grandma used to singsong this jingle when I was little. I would eagerly ask her where she would be. She was always quick to lock her fingers in mine and return a reminder that we could go wherever I wanted. Now … [Read more…]
I suppose I can blame Marie Kondo for this one. Or maybe it was Gwyneth Paltrow and her GOOP tutorial that sent me over the edge. I hate t-shirts. Even since I’ve started decluttering, I’ve been haunted by the sheer volume of t-shirts taking up prime real estate in my closet closets. Gulp. Sure, there … [Read more…]
I did something in Vegas that made quite a few passersby uncomfortable. In a city known for tolerating proclivities of all kinds, I take pride in the fact that I literally stopped foot traffic on the Strip. Most people froze; some continued walking but executed a wide berth. A few mouths went slack jaw. One … [Read more…]
I’m not entirely sure how it happened, but mattress sales on Memorial Day are ubiquitous across the United States. Then, there are the home good sales. And the linen sales. And the lawn furniture. And the list goes on. While I have nothing against scoring a bargain on something you actually need, no one should … [Read more…]
Over the past week, there’s been a lot of celebrating going on in my world: a milestone birthday followed by Mother’s Day celebrations with my mom and again with my mother-in-law. There have been laughter and sweets, photos and games. And yes, there have even been gifts. One thing I’ve noticed post-celebration–even more than the … [Read more…]