Our Ultimate Guide to Baby Gear

Some of our friends are about to have their first child and they asked for baby registry advice on Facebook. Since we're experts on frugal parenting, I decided to write a post with our best advice on baby gear.

Sometimes, You Get What You Need

Most people think you need to spend money to get the things you want. We've found that often all you need is a little patience, and what you want will come to you. Maybe we're just lucky, or have a lot of good karma saved up, but the universe has a funny way of providing. I've mentioned this before, but I'm going to go through a few recent examples to show you what I mean.

Why I'm Selling My Miata

It's been a long time coming, but I've finally decided to sell my beloved Miata. I recently said it brings me lots of joy, but it isn't enough to justify keeping it.

Travel Report: Nor-Cal Camping

Our tropical getaway to Puerto Vallarta wasn't our only vacation this year. Our other big trip wasn't nearly as luxurious, but it was just as fun. We ventured on a 10-night camping trip to northern California. Read on to learn all about it.

Travel Report: Puerto Vallarta

Our accommodations. Photo courtesy of Sheraton.

For our big trip this year, we decided to go to Puerto Vallarta. Actually, that location was decided for us, but I'll get to that later. We stayed at a great resort and had a wonderful time, without breaking the bank. Read on to learn more.

How Much Kids Cost - The First Year

I've been meaning to write this post for a while, but it just keeps falling through the cracks. I know it's been a while because this post is about Frugal Babe's first year, and she's almost two now. Anyway, we all know babies are expensive, but it's hard to say exactly how expensive. We tracked our baby-related expenses for the first year (we stopped after a year because expenses dropped off quite a bit and it was getting annoying) to see exactly what having a baby did to our finances.

New York on a Budget with a Baby; Part 3--Conclusion

In our last post we described our arrival in New York and the beginning of our adventures in the big city. This post will continue where that one left off and finish this series on New York.

New York on a Budget with a Baby; Part 2--Arriving in the City

In our previous post we described how we planned for our December trip to New York. Today we will tell you how the actual trip began. Unfortunately it didn't get off to a very good start.

New York on a Budget with a Baby; Part 1--Planning

Without much prior notice, I was told by my boss that I would be taking a business trip to New Jersey in mid-December. This was not my idea of a good time. However, it was some of the best news Chrissy ever received. You see, Chrissy had been bugging me to take her to New York for years, but I had no interest in going. This was her shot; with my travel being covered by the company, this was the best chance she had to convince me to see New York together. Of course, she had her way and I was able to extend my trip and spend a surprisingly fun long weekend in frigid Manhattan. Read on to learn about the planning of our frugal adventures in the Big Apple with our Little Nugget.

My Concerns in Retirement

Editor's Note:  This post was written a couple months ago and I was too chicken to post it at the time, but I'm trying to be more vulnerable, so here goes nothing.

Choosing when to quit your job and retire is one of the biggest decisions a person makes in life. It is a defining moment that will have a huge impact on the rest of your life. Most people make this decision fairly late in life, which means they are able to draw upon many years of wisdom and experience. I don’t have that luxury. I consider myself very intelligent, but I don’t pretend to possess a great deal of wisdom. That means making the decision to “retire” before my 30th birthday a daunting proposition, especially if I think about everything that could go wrong with my extremely early “retirement.” In this post I will discuss those things and try to reassure myself I’m making the right decision.

Why I'm Not Saving for My Child's College Education

Most financial advisers seem to recommend prioritizing saving for retirement over a child's college education. However, I'm taking that advice to the extreme by not saving anything for our child's education; let me tell you why.

California Maternity Benefits Explained

One of the most stressful parts of the pregnancy for me (Andy) was trying to figure out what benefits Chrissy and I were entitled to from the government.  Unfortunately, it is not easy to find clear information on this subject.  It was so annoying, Chrissy suggested we might not want to bother, but I figure we've paid a lot of taxes, so we deserve to get back every cent we can.