Sharing insights since 2007 on carefully saving money, investing, frugal living, coupons, promo codes because the little things matter in achieving financial freedom!
I noticed the way I spend money changed. Not only am I spending less, but I feel pressured to not spend even for necessities. In short, I think I changed myself from frugal to cheap.
A few weeks ago, I asked everyone whether I should celebrate on my big career accomplishment and splurge. I ended up not spending a dime. In a way, this is good since I didn’t waste my money on something I might regret later, but some might say that I have almost gone mad with saving money.
The argument is that I should reward myself for making such a big accomplishment with SOMETHING… ANYTHING. I agree with this somewhat, but when I think of all the things that I want, I just couldn’t get myself to purchasing any of it even though I can comfortably afford the bill.
When I shop, I don’t look at the features or how it might be useful for me. The most important deciding factor of purchasing something has become the hit it will have on my bottom line.
“I want to retire early” I think to myself.
“But if I end up retiring early and do nothing at home every single day, would I be happy?” I know I will just drive myself crazy if my day was too relaxing (maybe that is a problem in and of itself).
I feel sad about this sometimes. Isn’t the idea of saving money so we have some to spend?
During the weekends, all I can think of is how much activity A is and how much activity B will cost. This is totally unhealthy but how do I get out of this? How did I get into this?
This seems to be a problem many people face, or have to deal with: How do we balance the current and future since they both compete for the same pile of wealth? Do you have a systematic approach to this or do you just go by feel?
Before you read the following piece, please answer this first – do you think women or men spend more money? Does the thirst to buy have anything to do with our sex orientation? What to do you think?
I used to wonder why some stores are successful without any decoration, while others spend a huge part of their budget on advertisements and image. Now I know. The former tailors to men, while the other tailors for women because women enjoy the shopping experience, while men just buy. Get in, get out. [ continue reading… ]
It doesn’t take a scientist to figure out why so many couples are choosing to stop at just one child. Raising children is not only a very expensive proposition these days; it also takes a lot of time and energy. Many parents find that they’d rather focus all of their energy on one child.
That said, there are still many couples that dream of having a house full of kids. But is that a practical dream these days considering how much it costs to raise and educate each child? As a middle class mom of five boys, I can share some insights on the matter.
Note: Since this is a personal finance blog, I’ve chosen not to discuss the impact of larger families on the environment or how it effects child development and family dynamics. These are very important issues to think about when planning your family but outside the scope of this blog. [ continue reading… ]
Every job comes with a degree of stress. And, what may be stressful to one person may not be stressful to another.
Only you can really determine whether or not you find your current job stressful. However, there are some considerations to take into account as you evaluate your job and whether or not it is worth the stress.
CareerCast.com recently released a jobs report that included the most stressful jobs. In order to rate these jobs, CareerCast.com looked at 11 stress factors. These factors include: [ continue reading… ]
Have you been personally targeted by ads offering to help you find “unclaimed” money? If you immediately wrote them off as scams, you were wise — but that doesn’t mean unclaimed money itself is a scam. The US government estimates that billions of dollars each year go unclaimed, just as the advertisements say — and your name could be on some of it.
No one says no to money that belongs to them. This is the reason unclaimed money scams are so widespread. Even if there’s only a slim chance you’ve inherited a fortune, you may be entitled to anything from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars — money that could go toward a savings goal, paying off debt, or just enjoying a nice dinner out.
If you’re interested in reconnecting with your long-lost dollars, it’s important to know how to recognize the scams and find legitimate sources. But, first, let’s discuss where all this unclaimed money comes from. [ continue reading… ]
I was walking around a street market in Beijing, China. I was completely mesmerized by the colors, sounds and scents surrounding me. Everything was so vibrant and loud and packed with stuff, stuff that was different than anything I’d ever seen in the West.
And the prices! For someone who comes from the West, prices were dirt cheap. Of course, quality was low too, and I didn’t really need any of the items I was buying. But I didn’t care. I couldn’t shop fast enough, filling bag after bag with exotic purchases.
That was about ten years ago, when I still liked stuff. Now, I hate stuff. It took me years to realize that things, objects, stuff, whatever you choose to call them, are not making me happy. That having lots of objects around me is not comforting, but in fact weighs me down and creates not just unnecessary clutter, but also the need to maintain those things, to clean them and care for them.
Of course, buying stuff also costs you money. The less you buy, the more you will save.
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