Sharing insights since 2007 on carefully saving money, investing, frugal living, coupons, promo codes because the little things matter in achieving financial freedom!
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?
How many times have you heard this? Lots of times, I am willing to bet. Our culture sends us two very conflicting messages about money. The first, a message that tells us money is everything. Celebrity culture, the rich and famous, Wall Street greediness, the twinge of jealousy we feel when we see a house bigger than ours, a car newer than our car.
Then, there’s the completely opposite message, the one that treats wealth – and the wealthy – with suspicion, that works hard to teach us NOT to envy them, to see the limitations that wealth has and the potential trouble it can cause. In some families, it gets to the point of feeling that money is somehow dirty, that it’s not a proper topic for conversation, that flaunting what you’ve got is tacky and that being poor is almost a virtue. [ continue reading… ]
When you live on the other side of the country from your extended family, it’s a special treat when they come to spend a few weeks with you for the first time. Not only do you get to spend quality time together, but you get to show them your neck of the woods and play the role of tour guide for a change. Hosting and introducing the family to your state or region may be fun, but it can also be really expensive — especially if you’re used to living frugally.
If you have out-of-town family visiting this summer, here are some practical ways to address the financial strain it might create without letting it stress you out or take away from enjoying the time you have with your guests. [ continue reading… ]
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