Priorities: Think really, really hard about what matters to you. A nice car would be fun. So would a McMansion. However, those things bind you. They destroy your time by making you work for them. They leave you without options. Do you own them or do they own you? Hard to Read more…
How To Read A Frugalwoods Expense Report From top to bottom. I jest, you could read it bottom to top if you so desire, I’m not going to stop you. As regular readers know, we itemize every single dollar we spend (which is why there’s a line item for $4.40 this month). Read more…
Don’t let the boat anchor of your past mistakes drag on you forever into your future. Clinging to past behaviors is one of the built-in weaknesses (also known as Cognitive Biases) that we humans are born with. In this case, we’re talking about Loss Aversion and maybe a bit of Read more…
… Brainwashed By Advertising Oh sweet marketing and advertising…what have you done to us? Credit cards, car dealerships, mortgage and home companies and every other corporation has conditioned our brains to think that living with debt is no big deal. It also shows the poor marketing on the side of Read more…
We are able to get by on a retirement budget of about $33,000 per year including a paid off house. We could rent our house in the US and net $800-900 per month which might be enough to allow us to rent a decent furnished house or apartment in Mexico. Almost Read more…
1. YOU’RE STUCK IN A DEBT TRAP “When you’re poor, it’s easy to get stuck in a debt trap because you’re desperate,” said Kristin Wong of Brokepedia. “Whether it’s a payday loan, debt settlement scam, or even just using a credit card for an emergency, it’s easy to make rash Read more…
… Matt and his wife are 1 Percenters, but like Mike, don’t ever seem to be satisfied. A couple years ago, they spent $700,000 remodeling the kitchen in their Illinois place. Yes, $700,000 for a *&^%ing kitchen remodel. Shortly after that, they traded in their million dollar ski condo for one Read more…
The one thing I want to convey is that frugality is an awesome alternative to our dominant, debt-laden consumer culture. But, if it’s not your thing, that’s OK! I just don’t want anyone to go through life not knowing about the joys a frugal existence can provide. I’m a mission Read more…
Some people say the more you know about money, the more money you’ll have. I call those people “rich,” and “not me.” I’ve always been confused about money. How should I spend it? How should I save it? Is my 80 gallon fish tank considered a sound investment? I thought I’d Read more…
… 80. About half of all Americans can’t come up with $2,000 in 30 days for an emergency. But practically everyone will run into an emergency sooner or later. 81. Imagine how much crap you’d have to make up if you were forced to talk money every day. Remember this when Read more…