I know all of us love to dream about our retirement, right? I like to think about retirement all the time. Yes, I realize it’s forever away and it’s hard to know exactly what your life or the world will be like then. You also don’t know what you’ll like when you’re older or how […]
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Yesterday, I spent $80 on a pair of pajama bottoms. (Or, as the company calls them, Alaskan guide lounge bottoms.)
On the one hand, this feels like an insane amount to spend on sleepwear. On the other hand, my last two pairs of pajamas — both $20 specials from Costco — have lasted no longer than a year because they’ve quickly fallen apart. They were cheap garments cheaply made.
Herein lies a question I frequently face: When does it make sense to pay more for quality?
Let’s get this out of the way first – saving your money is one of the best things you can do for yourself. And, the financial security that comes from learning to save your money means you’re able to pursue your passions, try new things, and jump on whatever adventure comes your way. So, why […]
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Note: This is a substantial re-write of an article I first published more than twelve years ago. (Yikes, I’m old!) I’ve opted to keep some of the older comments if they had good suggestions.
Earlier this week, I wrote about my quest for quality pajamas. I recently paid $80 to purchase a pair from Filson, a company I trust for well-made goods. It’s my hope that these will be the last pair of pajamas that I ever purchase. My goal was to “buy it for life”.
This experience reminded me of two other companies that I love for their top-notch stuff.
Here’s something I’ve learned over the past fifteen years: One way to practice financial prudence while living the good life is to buy quality products, products that are a pleasure to use, products that will last a lifetime (or at least a decade).
Today, let’s talk a little about choosing quality over price. Let’s talk about the “buy it for life” philosophy.
The first challenge is to figure out how to find the good stuff. When you’re ready to make a purchase, how can you know which items are quality and which are run of the mill?
Sometimes you’ll know which company offers a high-quality version of whatever it is you need to buy, either from personal experience or from paying attention to friends and family. Or, if you don’t know off the top of your head, you know whom to ask for more information. If I wanted to buy audio gear, for instance, I’d ask my brother. He’s an audiophile and could steer me in the right direction.
Most of the time, however, you’ll have to do some research.
Letâs have some real talk about freelancing and money matters, shall we? When it comes to running your own freelancing business, solopreneurs face some particular challenges. A major one? Knowing when itâs okay to spend more on personal, day-to-day living expenses. In other words, how can you gauge that itâs time to move some of
The post Freelancers: When to Give Yourself a Raise appeared first on MintLife Blog.
One of the main reasons Kim and I decided to move from our condo to this quiet country cottage was to save money. We were spending far too much living in the city.
Simply moving made a huge difference to our budget. But now that the dust has settled, it’s time for us to look at other aspects of our spending to see where we can save. As part of that, I’ve been reviewing our recurring expenses to see what I can cut. Yesterday, I canceled our subscription to The New York Times (savings: $5/week or $260/year). Today, I’m reviewing how much we spend on TV and movies.
It seems hard to believe, but it was ten years ago that I first “cut the cord”. Since then, I’ve used the Apple TV device to access most of my video entertainment.
In March 2007, my then-wife and I canceled our expensive TV package and moved to just basic cable. Our monthly bill dropped from $65.82 to $11.30. We supplemented our viewing with Hulu (free at the time), Netflix, and by purchasing shows from the iTunes store.
I’ve been cable-free for a decade now. I haven’t missed cable even once. Some folks are amazed when they hear I don’t have cable. “How do you manage?” they ask. Yet I am amazed that more people haven’t made the leap to a cable-free lifestyle. It’s easy.
One of the biggest objections I hear is, “What about live sports?” People pay big bucks just so they can have ESPN. Honestly, there are plenty of ways to watch live sports without cable. Sling, for instance, offers a package with ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN3. Plus, Kim and I have found that if we really want to watch a game, we’ll just head to a local sports bar where we can join the crowd over a burger and a beer.
In 2007, I calculated that Kris and I were spending $27.90 each month to watch television. If we added in our Netflix subscription, that total rose to $44.89. Not bad.
Reviewing our current expenses, however, I see that Kim and I currently spend $83 per month in subscription fees — plus whatever we spend to buy individual movies and TV shows on iTunes. Holy cats! How did that happen? We’ve experienced a bit of lifestyle inflation in the TV department.
Let’s review the different services we use — and how much we pay for them. Maybe there’s a way we can save some money.
I cringe when I remember learning to drive. At fifteen-years-old, I was impatient, full of nervous energy, and so short that I could barely reach the steering wheel. (Which is still kind of a problem, but I digress.)
My parents were backseat driving, of course, instructing me on how to drive the rural, dirt road just outside our neighborhood. âLet off the brake,â they said, and the car began to coast, slowly. Cool, I can handle this, I thought. âHit the gas,â they said. Chaos ensued.
I swerved into the other lane, and when I yanked the steering wheel to straighten out, the car jerked in the other direction and I almost hit a fence post. My parents shouted. I screamed. All of us were terrified. I felt completely frazzled and out of control. It was like the car had a mind of its own.
For many of us, managing money feels something like this. We try to make a budget and set some limits for our spending, but our financial situation always seems to have a mind of its own: your bank account overdrafts, you get a pay cut at work, your vet bill is considerably higher than you expected.
But just as when you were learning to drive, developing a sense that you’re in control can make a huge difference. When I finally felt like I was the one controlling the vehicle, driving became second nature.
Research, like this 2014 study, shows that simply feeling powerful inspires people to make better financial decisions. They develop financial confidence. For this reason, Iâm a fan of quick money wins â small achievements that may not make a huge difference on paper, but which do wonders for how you feel about your financial situation. These quick wins wonât make you a millionaire overnight, but they can empower you, and thatâs everything.
Quick wins give you financial confidence, and that helps you make better money decisions in the long run. (As the study put it, âfeeling powerful increases saving.â)
In other words, change your attitude about money and you can change your behavior with it, which can lead to actually being in control of it. Try your hand at a few of my favorite money wins.
Deciding how to save for retirement is confusing, but hereâs a guide to help you determine whether you should prioritize your 401(k) or your IRA.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
Today’s post is from my staff writer Jordann. I’m still loving her posts and she writes every Friday for me. I’ll let her take it away now! I’m in debt. I have student loans up to my eyeballs and a car loan. I hate my debt, and I’ve been working hard for the past twelve […]
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Here is a post by my staff writer Jordann. She submitted this post before I announced that my student loans are gone, so hopefully that will clear up any confusion below 🙂 Student loan debt is something pretty much everyone reading this blog can relate to. Most people who go to University will graduate with […]
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