My husband and I live a frugal lifestyle, and we do so by choice. We don’t put much value into material possessions, and instead we focus on the more fulfilling things in life. I’m routinely amazed that more people don’t make the choice to live more simple, yet more satisfying lives by not worrying about […]
Are You Walking Away from Free Money on the Table?
Everyone has their preferred method on building wealth and financial security. Some folks like to get frugal, cut expenses, and make the most of their current income. Others prefer to not worry about the little costs because they’re focused on increasing their earnings instead. These two ways of handling money create a spectrum, and most […]
Feeling Financially Stuck?
Sometimes, we have all the motivation in the world. We’re get fired up about something and we feel energized to tackle a problem and find a solution. We’re enthusiastic about making a change for the better and creating new and improved situations for ourselves. We’re driven to give our all to something and we’re willing […]
Can You Really Handle a Bear Market?
Over the last couple of weeks, stock markets around the world have seen swooping downward trends thanks to jittery and uncertain emerging market activity. If we could look at this objectively, we would barely bat an eye. After all, the stock market spent most of 2013 on a steady and dramatic upward climb and we […]
Four Productive, Fulfilling Alternatives to Boredom Spending
One of the biggest spending traps people of all income levels need to watch out for is boredom spending. It’s too easy to make this kind of spending into a habit, as we often use it as a way to deal with negative feelings or circumstances. We resort to unnecessary spending not only when we’re […]
Burn Your Idols: You Don’t Need Financial Gurus
You can’t walk into a bookstore at the beginning of the year without seeing self-improvement, health and fitness, and “new year, new you!” books on displays plunked down right in front of the door. At our local Barnes & Noble, a table full of these kinds of books is literally about four feet from the […]
Want to Save More Money? Stop Paying for Convenience
Have you ever stopped and thought about the kind of spending you do? No, I’m not talking about necessary costs that are associated with surviving in a relatively comfortable state. To me, we can file things like housing (and related utilities), food, and items like toiletries and medicines under “needs.” I’m talking about the spending […]
Why You Should Plan to Keep Your Older Car
Anyone who knows me knows I love my car. No, it’s not some fancy, sporty European coupe or a rock-climbing, off-roading, adventure-seeking vehicle. It’s not new, it has zero special features, and it doesn’t have leather seats. It’s just a plain ol’ Mazda sedan – a Mazda3 to be exact – that is one grade […]
My Costly Wedding Mistakes (and How You Can Avoid Them)
Editor’s Note: This is the first article from our new contributing author Kali Hawlk. I’d like to welcome her to the site and look forward to all the great articles she’ll be bringing us this year. Kali will have a weekly column that will appear each and every Wednesday. You can also find more of […]