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…]
To borrow a line from Clueless, I’m about to turn traitor on my generation for a second. Avocado toast is a problem. It’s certainly not holding back an entire generation from homeownership. There’s bloating housing markets, student loans, and myriad other factors doing that. But I’m not willing to let this breakfast item du jour … [Read more…]
It started weeks ago like any other conversation about holidays. “You don’t need to get me anything,” I said. Knowing full well that Mr. P would never listen, I followed up with a gentle reminder that Dollar Tree sells lovely cards. Valentine’s Day. Mother’s Day. Sweetest Day. They all follow the same cookie-cutter pattern. And … [Read more…]
Read virtually any get out of debt success story, and you’re pretty much guaranteed to see two words: side hustle. Want proof? Take a look at ours. It has side hustle written all over it. For as long as I’ve been blogging, I’ve had a lotta-love, little-hate relationship with side hustling. Because my primary side … [Read more…]
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…]
“What would you do with $5,000? Would you buy one of those purses or would you take a nice cruise?” The thing about my nana is that it was never really all that hard to tell exactly where she stood on an issue. A master of both Italian guilt and loaded questions, if she wasn’t … [Read more…]
Why do you save? This question is spotlighted enough in the personal finance world that if I asked it in a room, I’m sure I’d see arms waving everywhere. For a rainy day, a downpayment, early retirement, any type of retirement. Pick a goal, slap it on your savings account. But what if I asked … [Read more…]
Every holiday, my nana and I had the exact same fight. She would give me more money than I knew she could afford, and I would spend the rest of the time she was visiting us trying to strategically hide it in her purse. If she happened to write a check, it was much simpler. … [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.
Since I started this series last month, we’ve celebrated everything from chocolate and hockey to concerts and backpacking. Today, Pennies and Dollars is here to share with us what he considers his best money spent this month year. For him, it’s not just about spending well once. It’s about stretching dollars to get the most bang … [Read more…]