Last week, I wrote about the importance of reducing so-called “fixed” expenses and not just discretionary ones like that morning coffee at Starbucks.The important thing is to reduce them before they become fixed. Here are some of the key decision points in which you can make that happen: Continue reading “Fix These Expenses Before They’re Fixed For You”
I was looking at some photos recently and one that made me smile was a big group photo taken on a snorkeling trip. Along with the laughter, stories and bonding time with friends, the thing I remember the most about that particular day is swimming next to two incredibly large sea turtles. These things were HUGE. I’m sure they wondered why some doofus was swimming behind them for a rather long time, but they were gracious hosts. They were remarkable beautiful creatures and it looked like they owned the sea while they were swimming. Continue reading “Sea Turtles Are Excellent Role Models”
Whether your main financial goal is to pay off debt, buy a home, or retire comfortably, chances are that saving money will be instrumental to achieving it. Yet too many of us just aren’t saving enough. Why is that? The following are the three main culprits I’ve found and what to do about them: Continue reading “3 Reasons You Probably Don’t Save Enough”
Very rarely do I find a personal finance article that resonates me as much as one I recently read called “How to Live a Happier Financial Life.” First, I love the title. When it comes to finances, sometimes we get so caught up in the numbers that we forgot the whole point is is about maximizing happiness not money. Sometimes that means spending more money on certain things but often it actually means spending less. The article’s following points do a good job of differentiating which is which: Continue reading “Want to Live a Happier Financial Life?”
One of the things that probably most surprises people about me as a financial planner is that I rent. After all, we’ve always been taught that renting is “throwing money away” while home ownership is a good long term investment and the hallmark of adulthood and the middle class. In my case, the fact that I’m a renter may be particularly surprising given that I’m also a real estate investor. So here are some of the reasons I’ve chosen to rent: Continue reading “Why I Rent”
I talk to a lot of people about their cash flow, budgeting, and debt and when we dive into the details of their monthly cash flow, we tend to look for relatively easy ways to trim spending. We will look at things like keeping vs. ditching a land line, cutting back on the premium movie channels, and cooking more and going out to eat less. These are all worthy pursuits and can all lower your monthly cash outflow for years to come. But I’ll put them in the “micro” budgeting category. Micro budgeting can save money, for sure. But is it possible to make an even bigger impact on your budget? Continue reading “Is Your Budget Penny Wise and Pound Foolish?”
Last week, one of our guest bloggers, Mr. Extreme Saver posted a great blog post about how he is able to live in NYC on only a $1k a month of spending. That got me thinking. A lot of spending consists of “trying to keep up with the Joneses.” But what if instead of competing on how much we can spend (which is a lose-lose scenario), we were to compete on how little we spend? Here is my budget and how I stack up to Mr. Extreme Saver: Continue reading “Who’s More Frugal? Me vs. Mr. Extreme Saver”
Housing costs and related household expenses make up the single largest spending category for Americans over fifty, a recent study by Employee Benefit Research Institute reports. This has many pre-retirees concerned because for most retirees’, their income declines or is fixed but certainly doesn’t grow. At the same time, expenses just keep on coming. While household expenses eventually decline with age as Americans reach their mid–eighties, health care costs increase substantially for that age group, wiping out any advantage of the cost savings. Continue reading “7 Ways to Reduce the Single Biggest Expense for Retirees”
