Sharing insights since 2007 on carefully saving money, investing, frugal living, coupons, promo codes because the little things matter in achieving financial freedom!
As a kid I hated hand-me-downs. You know, the clothes, toys, or shoes that your older siblings would get brand new, but you’d receive after they outgrew them?
Every pair of jeans seemed to have a whole in the knee, every shirt had something on the front that I would have never picked out, and every toy was beaten up and faded. Don’t get me wrong, I received my share of new things, but there was also a steady stream of hand-me-downs from my older brother. I just didn’t understand why my parents wouldn’t buy all new stuff for me.
As an adult, my view of hand-me-downs has completely changed. I’m constantly scanning the side of the road for items with a “TAKE ME” sign propped up next to them. I’m the guy whose ears perk up when someone mentions they’re trying to declutter their home.
As a grown up, my love for hand-me-downs stems from the simple fact that the price is usually free. And no one is ever too old for free stuff, right?
Here are a couple of my favorite not-so-brand-new items that I’ve gotten my hands on in the last few years. Who says adults can’t use hand-me-downs too?
Everyone needs a side-hustle today – it’s the only way to guarantee any semblance of financial security in an economy where jobs can disappear without warning. The even bigger benefit, though, has less to do with your bank account and more to do with your happiness level: Launching a side-business might be the most professionally satisfying thing that you ever do.
That’s because unlike most day jobs, it’s all about you: What can you create? What do you have to offer the world? How can you help people? When people buy what you are offering and, even better, tell you how much they love it, it’s incredibly validating – and empowering.
Several months ago, my cable/internet bill went up suddenly. After over a year of paying about $120 per month for cable, internet, and our home phone, I discovered that our cable bill was suddenly $30 more expensive. It only took a little digging for me to realize that our introductory bundle price had expired.
Even though we should’ve expected the price hike, we still couldn’t afford it. I knew I would have to call our cable provider.
To be honest, I hate getting in touch with our cable company. While all the customer service representatives are friendly, I still find it nerve-wracking to deal with what seems to be a pretty slippery industry. Add to that the fact that our provider is the only game in town, and it often seems like a productive negotiation is out of my reach.
However, I discovered that it’s possible for just about anyone to negotiate a lower cable bill — even me. Here’s what you need to know to ensure that negotiating with your cable provider goes the way you want it to: [ continue reading… ]
Our family lives in plenty of luxury but people who really know our situation sees me as someone who’s fairly frugal. “Why do you sacrifice to save when you can afford more?” is a question my friends often ask me. It’s a pretty pointed question, but what they really want to know is how they can motivate themselves to save more since putting money away seems like such a chore. Do you see saving money as a sacrifice too and want to know why I do it naturally? [ continue reading… ]
If celebrity culture is teaching us anything, it is that yes, you can have lots of money and still be miserable, so miserable in fact that you ruin your life with addictions, even lose your life to them.
I recently watched an interesting movie on DVD, Meet Bill. Not a masterpiece but certainly entertaining and also thought-provoking. The guy, Bill, married into a rich family. He works in the family business, lives a life of luxury, and you would think he has a great life – except that his father in law, his brother in law and his wife all disrespect him. He’s bored, unfulfilled, miserable, and desperately wants to make it on his own. [ continue reading… ]
Money is such a complicated subject because there are so many emotions around it. Most of the decisions we make concerning it are personal, and therefore affect us in a personal way. The way we view money is influenced by our upbringing, culture, family, friends, and relationships.
Our past directly relates to our money mindset and our ability to conceive what money can and cannot do.
For most of my life, I grew up thinking that money wasn’t very special. I didn’t go as far to say it was the root of all evil, but I did adopt several money mindsets that I’m dealing with today.
For one, I’ve grown accustomed to the starving artist mindset — that any sort of creative work will leave you broke and just barely getting by. Now that I’ve seen that existence for myself, I wonder, was it me, or did I actually set myself up for that life?
I’ve also been uncomfortable around the idea of wealth. In my mind it equates to greed, and privilege. To believe in wealth feels like a rejection of working class roots, and who wants to reject where they came from?
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