Money Mind Games: Is $100 Always $100?
Would you like to be $100 richer? It’s a no brainer. If you stroll down the sidewalk and lock eyes with Ben Franklin, chances are, you’re feeling pretty good about the walk you took. But is $100 always $100?
savings
How We Saved for Our First Baby
There is nothing in life that I’ve experienced quite like finding out you are bringing a new life into this world. Not a single thing could wipe the dopey grins from our faces. Not even the reality of the fact that kids are expensive. The smiles were there to stay. But we also knew that … [Read more…]
Money Lessons from Very Different Parents
There’s a lot to be said about being on the same page as your partner financially. Teamwork makes the dream work after all. But when I think about some of the best financial savvy that I learned growing up, I realize that much of it comes from the fact that I grew up in a … [Read more…]
3 Reasons I Should Turn in My PF Card
There are a lot of things that we do right financially. We save half of our income and max out our Roth IRAs. We both pick up extra work and bank the additional income. We brown bag our lunches and cook dinner at home almost every night of the month. But there are also a … [Read more…]
Summer Money: Setting Goals for June
With the weather finally heating up, I thought I’d take some time to slow down and set some summer goals. I’m notoriously bad at goal setting in that I make goals for myself all the time, I just never post the follow-up. While I can’t promise that there will be a companion piece at the … [Read more…]
“Kids Don’t Have to Be Expensive”: A Savings Update
Since I announced Half Penny’s impending arrival, I’ve heard two questions asked with equal gusto: “What do you mean your maternity leave isn’t paid?” and “You know kids don’t have to be expensive, right?”. And the best part is that sometimes the same person will ask both of those questions. Let me break this down … [Read more…]
A Month with Boost Mobile
It’s been over a month since the great experiment to slash our cell phone bill in half began. Like all the exciting scary adventures in our marriage, I made Mr. P go first. Ziplining, cenote jumping, breaking up with Sprint and spending a month with Boost Mobile. Now that thirty days have passed, I’m ready … [Read more…]
$1000 of Busted Budgets and Spent Savings
The first quarter of 2017 went out with a bang. Or a boom. Or maybe a thud. Instead of sharing how much our net worth soared (we don’t track it) or how much our investments made (I mostly try not to look), I want to share another kind of truth with you. Sometimes you will … [Read more…]
When to Spend Your Emergency Fund
Could you come up with an extra $500 in an emergency? What about $5000? The statistics about Americans’ inability to cover emergency expenses are sobering, so it’s not surprising that posts calling for emergency funds are everywhere. Peace of mind for the win. And with all the emergency fund hoopla, there’s even been some debate … [Read more…]
Slashing Our Cell Phone Bill by Half
How much do you spend on a phone each month? As of last month, we spent $170 a month on two phones. And we’d been doing so for years. After a fair amount of hemming and hawing mixed in with waiting out the duration of our contracts, we decided to put a stop to the … [Read more…]