Sharing insights since 2007 on carefully saving money, investing, frugal living, coupons, promo codes because the little things matter in achieving financial freedom!
Automation is a buzz word among financial advisors. And for good reason too. There are simply too many benefits of automating your finances for someone who cares about accumulating money to ignore. Whether direct depositing money into a savings or retirement account when you get paid, setting up automatic bill-pay, or investing in no-hassle index funds, automation can mean less stress, guess-work, and precious time managing your personal finances.
Complete automation can also have some serious disadvantages as well. Becoming aware of them can help you make more informed decisions about how — and how much — to use this strategy.
Here are three possible downsides to “set it and forget it” finances. [ continue reading… ]
Bursting the love bubble by sitting down and having a serious talk about finances is never fun, but open communication about money is a good idea in any relationship.
Those thinking of tying the knot should have a serious discussion about money at some point, preferably before you move in together or get married. Even if there are no plans to combine finances completely, it’s still good to clear the air and see if everyone is on the same page.
Here are five things that to talk about before moving forward: [ continue reading… ]
Last week, I wrote about how I moved across the country with my son in a bid to get a fresh start on my life after divorce. One of the reasons I moved was to experience a lower cost of living. While I probably could have afforded to remain put, and my career isn’t constrained by geography, a lower cost of living comes with a number of advantages for my son and me.
Indeed, before we moved, I talked with my son about the financial ins and outs of the move, as well as the social ramifications. This was a decision that my son and my ex were both involved with. So, while I’m not constrained by geography, being able to live somewhere with a low cost of living has provided us with the following advantages: [ continue reading… ]
My husband and I bought a 5-year-old vehicle 7 years ago, a particular make and model with high ratings for both reliability and owner satisfaction that holds its value well. The car has been incredibly dependable — even through a cross-country move a few years back.
Recently, however, we’ve noticed an uptick in our vehicle maintenance and repair costs so we have started thinking about selling or trading it in before the transport eats up more money than it’s worth.
With the aim of matching a newer vehicle price as close to the sale price of this one as possible—who wants a car loan? We’ve been car payment-free for over three years and loving it!—I’ve been looking for any bit of advice for squeezing every cent-worth of value out of it. Here’s what I found: [ continue reading… ]
One of the ways to save money is to buy in bulk, as purchasing multiples of an item when it’s on sale is one way to lower your expenses over time. It’s obvious right? If you have a coupon, or if you have the chance to buy more than one of something at a discount now, your per-unit cost will be lower.
Yet, even though buying in bulk can save you money over time, it’s important to realize that sometimes there can be too much of a good thing. Here are some things to keep in mind as you buy in bulk: [ continue reading… ]
When my husband and I were first looking for a venue for our wedding, his family was very persistent that we marry in the local country club where his brother and sister were married to their spouses.
When I sat down with the wedding coordinator, my husband, and our families, the number came out to around $10-15K with the choice of a pasta bar for food. His family told me how affordable that was, while I was on the edge of crying because my entire wedding budget was only $8,000.
Wedding venues can eat up a huge part of your overall wedding budget. So if you’re in a similar situation that I was in, here are the tricks I used to save money on a wedding venue.
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