Over the summer I wrote about RVing on a budget. In that article I shared that my family fulltime RVs. RVing fulltime might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I think there are valuable lessons to be learned when living simply. Here are some of the lessons I have learned about living the small […]
How to Talk About Finances with Your Partner
Keeping a marriage together over the long haul is hard work. My husband and I can attest to that as we have been married for many years. In fact, I’ve been with him longer than I’ve been without him. Sure, it hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows. However, over the years we’ve learned to deal […]
7 Different Ways to Invest in Yourself
From time to time I think everyone goes through a period of self-reflection. Recently, I had a milestone birthday and it made me think about my past and where I’m headed in the future. Like everyone else, I’ve made some mistakes in the preceding years, but I’ve made a lot of good decisions too. Something […]
Beat the Average: Achieve Your New Year’s Resolutions
Happy 2017, readers! It might sound crazy, but I’m looking forward to 2017. I’m entering a new decade of my life, which is always interesting, and there are a lot of necessary changes coming up professionally. Whether it’s good or bad remains to be seen, but whether you like it or not: 2017 is here! […]
The Chainsmokers’ ‘Closer’ Re-Written
As you may already know by now, I listen to a lot of pop music, partly because it’s fun to listen to and partly because I have a 2 hour commute and can only handle talk radio and podcasts so long before I just need background noise. So it should come as no surprise that […]
You Bought WHAT? Handling Money Fights with Your Spouse
According to surveys, money is one of the leading causes of stress in relationships. While getting a divorce might not be directly attributed to financial stress, it can certainly make an incompatible relationship even worse. After all, money touches all aspects of our lives. No matter how many “free ways to date your spouse!” Pinterest […]
Should You Move Into Your Parents’ House to Save Money?
Young Americans are more likely to live with their parents, with 32% of people ages 18-34 living in their parents’ houses, according to the Pew Research Center. This is partly because of the Great Recession, but also because wages are stagnating or falling, leaving more people under- or unemployed. It’s clear that moving into Mom […]
How to Handle Multiple Emergency Expenses
Life has a funny way of kicking you when you’re down sometimes. As you’ll know from my previous posts, my husband and I recently bought a house, and it’s been expensive. We knew that going in, but several more emergencies have popped up since we bought the home and began some light remodeling. On that […]
15 Financial Moves to Make Before 30
Turning 30 is a pretty big milestone – by 30, you’ve probably had a job(s), maybe moved once or twice, had a credit card, maybe even bought a house! If you haven’t yet turned 30, there are a lot of things you should try to have figured out before turning 30. Already 30 and up? […]
Is Following Your Dreams Good Advice?
Last week I attended my niece’s high school graduation. While sweating to death in a giant stadium, my fiance and I listened to the class valedictorians’ inside jokes and their hopes for the future. For the most part, their speeches were fun and uplifting, highlighting all the emotions graduating high school seniors should be feeling. […]
Leaving the Bank of Mom & Dad
The Millennial generation often gets a bad reputation for being unmotivated, over-confident in their abilities, and a host of other hyperbolic stereotypes. Often overlooked are those millennials, like those in other generations, that work hard, save their money, and spend responsibly. However, when more than one-third of adult millennials receive regular financial support from their […]
What We Can All Feel Grateful for This Thanksgiving
I have a lot to be thankful for this year but today, PF Pro contributor, Kali Hawlk shares what we can all feel grateful for! Happy day-before Thanksgiving! In honor of the holiday, I thought it was only appropriate to spend some time thinking about gratitude and expressing appreciation for the good stuff. But instead […]
What’s In Your Wallet?
No this article isn’t about a Capital One Commercial, although I’m not gonna lie, any commercial featuring Samuel L. Jackson has got to be good! Instead, today we’re going to dissect exactly what is and isn’t in my wallet. I’ve been on this weird semi-minimalist kick over the past few months where I’m trying to […]
How Much Does It Cost To Go To FinCon? (And My Biggest Takeaway From The Conference)
One of the coolest parts about being a personal finance blogger is the community that I get to engage with on a daily basis. I started blogging three years ago as a way to really just jot down all my thoughts on personal finance. A lot of times when I can’t remember why I’m investing […]
Is Our Gift Giving Culture Out of Control?
Both my sister-in-law and nephew have birthdays at the end of July. My nephew had his first birthday last summer, and I could not believe the amount of crap presents he was given from friends and family members. I’m not trying to be a big old Scrooge. He’s a cute kid and obviously well-loved by many. […]
Hierarchy of Wealth
Editor’s Note: This is our second to last guest post which unfortunately means that our honeymoon is coming to an end. We had to fly home through Istanbul anyways so I figured why not use up one of my free Hyatt suite nights and stay in one of my favorite cities for 24 hours? Nothing like […]
How to Talk to Your Family About Money
Many people consider money a tabooed subject. Along with politics and religion, it’s just not something you talk about in polite conversation. But we do need to be more comfortable when it comes to talking about our finances with our families. No, we don’t need to disclose every little detail about what we make or […]
Bad Money Habits and the Excuses We Make for Them
We all have them: our own personal finance vices, our bad money habits. No one can be perfect all the time, and we’re all subject to giving in and spending a little more when we know we shouldn’t, or getting a little lax with tracking our spending and budgeting down to the last cent. Some […]
Can You Distinguish Between Needs and Wants?
Innocent words have a tendency to take on a life of their own. This happens in many ways. One of the most common is when the more repeat something, the more we believe it – even if it’s not necessarily true. Take the example of needs versus wants. We’re typically so flippant about declaring things […]
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 […]