This summer, I canned more than thirty pounds of tomatoes, along with preserving and drying plenty of other produce from my garden. I consider these projects to be something of a hobby — I could just as easily buy cans of tomatoes from the store (much more easily, actually). But I’m always trying to figure out whether these hobbies really save me any money in the long run. In fact, does any old fashioned skill still save you money?
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We’ve started a new year, and that means that many of us will be setting goals to help us accomplish our financial objectives. When setting goals for the new year, you can increase the chances of success if you follow a process for deciding on your goals — and carrying them out. Here are some helpful hints for setting financial goals for the new year:
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I thought about writing “Ten Pieces of Personal Finance Advice We Should Retire in 2011” but after reflecting on it, the idea seemed a bit petty and negative, even if it had the potential for a few chuckles. After all, good advice is good advice and I know from experience just how hard it is to come up with truly unique personal finance advice.
What I’ve grown to realize is that personal finance can’t and shouldn’t be isolated from self improvement and personal growth. For me, there is no point in increasing the size of my accounts if I can’t do so in a way that promises me more peace, more contentment and more joy in my life. Likewise, the happier and more confident I feel as a person, the easier it is for me to make smart decisions about my money and follow through.
Here are three things that I’d like more of in my life in 2011 as I work to improve both my financial health and my outlook on life. While you might have different goals in 2011, I want to encourage you to think of ways that improving your self esteem, confidence, and attitude can have a positive impact on your financial well being.
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I always knew I wanted children. Being the logical person that I am (or at least that I think I am), I actually took the time to ask myself WHY I wanted to have kids. My conclusion was that I am one of those people who would feel incomplete unless I had kids. I guess it’s just a primal drive to reproduce, to have an offspring. Is it logical? Not necessarily. But the drive was there for me and it couldn’t be denied.
So I knew that I wanted kids, and I knew that I wanted two kids, because I wanted them to have a sibling, but I didn’t feel I should be reproducing more than twice in this overpopulated world. I was trying to do the right thing for me, for the kids and for the world. By some standards I have succeeded, by others I have failed miserably – but I tried.
As you can see, I thought long and hard about having kids. I married at 22 and waited until I was 28 to become pregnant with my first child. Everything was planned, and I was lucky to conceive exactly when I wanted to, with both of my children. But with all this planning and thinking (one might say over-thinking), I did not plan for one important thing: the price tag of having children and raising them.
And the price tag is hefty. [ continue reading… ]
For the past three years, I’ve had dinner once a week with a group of five of my friends. Just what day of the week has depended on our different schedules, but we all have decided that this dinner is an important part of our routine and we’ve made time for it.
We rotate where we hold dinner, and whoever is hosting is responsible for the main course. Different people bring desserts and side dishes (usually after consulting with the host). We have great dinners and the cost is lower than it would be otherwise.
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One of the things that dawned on me as the plumber came to my home last week and began installing a sump pump so that my basement wouldn’t (hopefully) flood again, is that many of us pay quite a bit for convenience. We know that convenience costs money, whether we pay a $3 “convenience fee” when we buy concert tickets online, or whether we pay someone to do something we can’t do ourselves.
