One of the most common pieces of advice in personal finance is to increase your income. It’s a solid suggestion. Until it’s not. The truth is that you can’t always make more money. There are a lot of instances when layering on a side income or two is hugely advantageous. I’d argue that in just … [Read more…]
We’re all pretty familiar with buyer’s remorse. In fact, most of us learn the concept the hard way. Maybe the truth didn’t even sink in until after the return period ended. The horror. But what about saver’s remorse? Is it even a thing? Not only would I contend that saver’s remorse is absolutely real, it … [Read more…]
Just about a year ago, scientists and money nerds alike started talking a lot about exponential growth a whole lot. Around that same time, I noticed a really unusual run on frozen pizza that had nothing to do with sporting events. Of course, as we know now, we were headed full throttle into a pandemic … [Read more…]
If you follow me on Twitter, you know I battled wicked heartburn thanks to a tasty but aggressive jalapeno ranch salad…and then promptly ate the rest for lunch the next day. This isn’t just a reflection of who I am (it is a compelling snapshot!); it’s also a reflection of my focus. For us, the … [Read more…]
I’m not going to lie. I’m not even sure when I lost sight of my goals this quarter, but I do know that by the time March 31 rolled around, those goals were the last thing on my mind. The fact that I was truly worried about trying to get more sleep and save money … [Read more…]
Last week was weird. It alternated between feeling like a typical February in the classroom (Children climbing the walls! Teachers climbing the walls!) and something totally atypical. Between worries on Wall Street and people bracing for the possibility of a pandemic, things just felt strange. Still, saving and earning took priority over worrying in our … [Read more…]
There’s so much talk about teaching kids about money. When do you start? How do you start? What’s saying too much versus saying too little? I can’t claim that I have that entirely figured out. Heck, I can’t claim that I have anything about parenting entirely figured out. But I do know that our toddler does already … [Read more…]
There’s a scene in the movie Clueless where Alicia Silverstone’s character is accused of being aimless. She insists that she has direction, and is promptly chided, “Towards the mall!” That, friends, was me in a nutshell for years. Decades really. I didn’t have any concrete financial ambitions or direction. And I shopped like it was … [Read more…]
Six years ago, it was a late Thanksgiving. I know because we celebrated it with my nana the same as we did every year, and my mom ordered the biggest cheesecake anyone had ever seen. After all, it was Thanksgiving, and it was also my nana’s birthday. She turned 93. She squeezed my hand so … [Read more…]
Is apple picking worth it? We can–and do!–go to the store and score apples for less than what we pay at an orchard. So, from a purely mathematical standpoint, this would be the shortest post ever. Even by my standards. Fortunately, personal finance is rarely ever just a numbers game. To us, apple picking is … [Read more…]