Sharing insights since 2007 on carefully saving money, investing, frugal living, coupons, promo codes because the little things matter in achieving financial freedom!
You’ve finally decided that she’s “the one,” and you’re ready to pop the question. There’s only one problem: you don’t have enough cash to buy the engagement ring.
You’re in a bind. Should you finance an expensive ring that she’ll love, save money and postpone your engagement, or buy a smaller ring that you can afford?
There are pros and cons to all three of these options. Let’s take a look.
Finance a Ring
Sometimes love makes us do crazy things. And, since the average price of an engagement ring hovers right around $5,500, financing may seem like a good option. The pro is obviously getting your girl a ring that will bring her to tears (in a good way). It comes at a high cost, however. [ continue reading… ]
When it comes to grocery shopping, it seems like there are only two camps: the extreme couponing types who devote hours upon hours to cut their grocery bill to the absolute bone, and those who just want to get in and out of the grocery store quickly, never mind the savings.
Count me in the latter group. Although I’m generally pretty frugal, grocery stores send out so many coupons with varying expiration dates that it just seems like an organizing nightmare. For frugal shoppers who don’t have time to make grocery-buying a part-time job, it may seem like there are no options for cutting costs that aren’t unrealistic.
Luckily, it IS possible to save money on your grocery budget without turning into a coupon commando. Here are 12 ways to cut your grocery bill without making yourself crazy: [ continue reading… ]
For most of my life, my mother has been the sole breadwinner in our household. My dad has health issues and stopped working when I was a teenager.
Seeing my mom work hard and pay for everything on her own was simultaneously inspiring and frustrating. I admired her hard work and her ability to bring home the bacon, but I had often wondered if this what she signed up for? The baby boomer generation grew up with shifting gender and career dynamics.
Women were getting out of the kitchen and into the workplace. The feminist movement also brought out the idea of equal rights and equal pay. Because of these various factors, more and more women are becoming breadwinners.
And here I am finding myself as a part of this select group. I’m sure others would agree, but being a female breadwinner isn’t something you choose, rather it’s something that happens because of career choices, illness, or life events — and because you fall in love with someone based on who they are, not their income potential. [ continue reading… ]
Debt is literally a four letter word; it just also happens to mean you owe money.
Many Americans have a dream they’ll never realize: living without debt. Yet, the dream is possible for nearly everyone – just be prepared for the sea change of behavior required to make it happen. If you are unprepared, your ship will never make it to the safe harbor of paradise, and you will crash upon the jagged rocks of financial ruin.
Follow these simple steps to make your dreams of a safe financial future come true, and steer clear of financial ruin.
Make Up Your Mind
Many people fall into debt because they grow complacent, spending above and beyond their means, living from paycheck to paycheck with barely enough to make the bills. They don’t have enough to pay for dinner out on Friday, the new clothes that go with it, or the movie after.
Yet they do it anyway, and on the credit card the spending goes. The honest, painful truth is that if you don’t have the money for those things, you shouldn’t be doing them. Learning to be satisfied with your limitations is difficult. You want to be accepted by your personal crowd, but if your crowd’s habits are decaying your bank balance one bad habit at a time, you have to ask yourself if the consequences are really worth it.
Once you decide that the lush greens of financial security offer an abundance that the Jones can’t match, then the seas get glassy and the waters are far easier to ease through. [ continue reading… ]
I have a dilemma that may sound ridiculous but hear me out. I’m in my early 50s and want to retire for what feels like forever now but I can’t for the life of me calm my anxiety to leave so much money on the table by forgoing employment. I have $4 million dollars saved up and spend about $80,000 a year. I’m sure you know by the numbers already but every retirement calculator tells me that I have enough to quit for good, but I just can’t quite pull the trigger. Every time I am this close to finally telling my boss I’m done, my head wanders to the $200,000 I am giving up every year if I make the leap.
I grew up poor and I just can’t fandom giving up what could be $3 million or even $4 million by quitting now versus working until I’m 65. In the meantime, I’m burned out at work and I feel tired and exhausted all the time.
Am I insane? Because if I’m not quite there yet, I will be soon if I keep overthinking this. Help!
Take a deep breath! You’ve done very well for yourself, and you should take a step back and the finances you’ve built up for yourself. You didn’t say whether you were single or have a family, but the amount of money you’ve made is not only going to help you out, but it’ll help those around you as well. Congrats!
One of the problems I have with goal setting is that I often set too many goals. Indeed, I’ll make a whole list of goals I want to accomplish – only to have most of them fall to the wayside. That’s the problem with setting too many goals. Many of us can’t do that many things at once.
Instead of setting a whole bunch of money goals, consider whittling it down to just one. You are likely to be more effective overall if you concentrate your efforts on one thing at a time.
What is Most Important to You?
Look at your financial situation, and consider your financial priorities. What do you think is the most important financial thing for you to accomplish? Do you want to be able to max out your retirement contributions? Look at your monthly expenses, and see what you can cut out. Work, a little each month, to reduce your unimportant expenses and increase your retirement account contributions. Find ways to increase your income to meet your goal.
You can set up a similar plan to pay down your debt or save up for a family vacation. Look at your long-term financial goals, and decide what you can realistically do to reach your goals later on. Make this year one that really helps you kick your most important financial goal up a notch. [ continue reading… ]
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