So you are into 2016 off on a good start with a solid budget, limiting unnecessary spending, or maybe a plan to get out of debt, and then something gets in the way; getting hacked. Now having your credit card information stolen is a scary thought. I just watched an old Law ... Read more...
My Cautious Nature Costs Me Big Bucks Every Month, But I’m Ok With It
I am definitely a cautious person by nature. I drive the speed limit (basically). I double check that I've locked the door and turned off the lights. I wear sunscreen and my seatbelt. I can't even bring myself to leave my cat at home by herself for a weekend - I mean, what if ... Read more...
Why I Think $10,000 Is The Perfect Amount To Have In An Emergency Fund
My post on Friday generated some really good ideas about where to stash emergency cash - as always, I'm so thankful for my amazing readers and their willingness to share their thoughts about all kinds of financial topics. One comment in particular, though, inspired me to think a ... Read more...
There Is Value In Maintaining Your Status Quo
When it comes to a lot of the "big" stuff in life - finances, relationships, career - it seems like everyone is always gearing up for the next "big" thing. A promotion. A wedding. A house. A baby. No matter how content we are at any given moment in our lives, there's always ... Read more...
How Do You Feel About Being Forced To Save For Retirement?
It's no secret that the United States is facing a retirement savings crisis. In short, people are simply not saving enough. Scary retirement statistics pop up in headlines every day, but to me this is the scariest of all: over half of all Americans aren't saving anything at all ... Read more...
How Bad Of An Idea Do You Think This Is?
For the past four months, I've basically been treading water financially. Image credit: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/ To be fair, my extra income opportunities have dried up and I've had a number of large expenses to pay for (a trip, car repairs, etc.). But my motivation ... Read more...
I Think I’ve Come Down With a Case of Never-Good-Enough-Itis
When I first started blogging about money almost 4 years ago, I used to think to myself, "if I could just pay off this personal loan, I would be soooo thrilled and feel soooo much better about my finances." Then I paid it off. Pretty much within 24 hours, I started thinking, ... Read more...
Goal = Met
So, I'm still on my little blogging vacation until Monday, but I just wanted to pop in very briefly to announce that I met a major financial goal today: as of this morning, I officially have three months of living expenses in the bank. Sure, they would be a very meager three ... Read more...
I Want to Want Things
A big part of being a personal finance blogger is analyzing wants. We learn to distinguish between wants and needs. We weigh certain wants against others (a new nail polish or a latte?) and choose which one is more important in an effort to keep within our budgets. And often, we ... Read more...
My Personal Finance Non-Negotiables
In every aspect of our lives, we have certain non-negotiables. Deal breakers. Lines that cannot, under any circumstances, be crossed. We draw these firm boundaries for ourselves, but, like everything else, one person's line in the sand can be another person's "well, what happened ... Read more...