Receipt Repository

Sorry about the long delay between posts. We've been pretty busy traveling and getting ready for summer. This post is a little silly, but some of you might find it useful.

Spending Update - March 2018

I'm sad to say I failed to blog last week, but I have a good excuse, which I will get into below. This week I'm back on track with our latest monthly spending update.

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.

Back to Budget Basics - Our Revised 2018 Monthly Budget

In our last post about our February spending, I mentioned some issues with our budgeting system and suggested I would update the budget to fix them. It was bothering me quite a bit, so I went ahead and tweaked the budget. Read on to see what it looks like.

Spending Update - February 2018

It might be a little late, but it's time for our second monthly spending report. We did pretty well last month except for one big expense. Read on to get the details.

Practicing What We Preach: Splurging

Almost everything I bought or borrowed to keep our truck running properly.

I recently wrote about when it's reasonable to splurge on something. The conclusion of that post was there aren't that many things worth splurging on, however, there are a few. This post is about putting our money where our mouths (keyboards?) are. Read on to learn about our recent splurging.

Our Budget Helps Us Spend More, Not Less

The vast majority of people who have created a budget for themselves did so to help limit their spending, or in other words, help them spend less. Fortunately, we have never really had a problem with spending too much, so when we were working, we never had a budget we tried to stick to. Now that we're "retired" we do have a budget, but I created it more to help us spend than to save. Read on to learn what I'm talking about.

Spending Update - January 2018

Just over a year ago, I claimed I would start doing monthly spending reports. That didn't happen, and I'm going to blame it on 2017 being a very busy year. However, this year is shaping up to be a lot more relaxed, so I'm going to try to get monthly reports up. I'm off to a good start with the January report, although our spending is off to a bad start. Read on to see the numbers.

I Fought the Law and I Won (Eventually)

Do you see a "No Parking" sign? No, because it isn't there. And yes, my Miata is beautiful (to me).

I recently had a (very minor) run-in with local law enforcement in the form of a parking ticket. I eventually got it thrown out, but it left me feeling a little suspicious of our local "justice" system. Read on to learn what happened.

Andy's Goals for 2018

With the all-important year-end financial summary out of the way, it's time for a post on my resolutions, or goals for the new year. Before I get into those, I need to review my goals from last year. Let's see how I did and what I have in store for the upcoming year.

2017 Spending Report

Now that we've all had our champagne and welcomed the new year, it's time for the best part of the previous year ending--tallying up our spending from that year and analyzing it to death. Our year-end post was pretty weak last year because we were ridiculously busy with a variety of things, but this one will be much better. Read on to see how much we spent in 2017.

Is it OK to Splurge on Anything?

The other day, Sam over at Financial Samurai wrote a post that listed things worth spending "max money on for a better life." After realizing I didn't agree with most of the items listed, it got me thinking--is it alright to splurge on anything? A cheapskate would say no, but frugal folks like us know there are certain things worth their premium pricing. Read on to learn what is and isn't worth top dollar.

Why We Bought a Truck and a Camper

I have mentioned previously that we bought a gigantic pickup truck and a camper that fits in the back of it. In this post I will go into a little more detail about what we bought and why.

We Were (Cash) Poor for a Month, and it was Terrifying

I've been very fortunate to never have to worry about money in my life. I've never been rich or anything, but I've always been comfortable, so running short on cash wasn't something I ever worried about. All that changed at the end of last year when a series of events left us scrambling to pay our bills. Luckily, it only lasted about a month.

I'm Not Very Good at Being Retired

Before I start, I need to say I'm still "retired," but there's a reason I usually use quotes around that word. I feel they give me some wiggle room to pursue activities some might view as a job, but I see as a hobby or learning experience.

For example, shortly after "retiring" and moving to our new home, I started working with a contractor remodeling kitchens and bathrooms. I didn't mean to get a job; it just happened. Read on to learn how.

How We Came to Own Five Cars at Once

Most people know it costs a lot to purchase, operate, maintain, register, and insure a car. That's why car ownership is one of the biggest targets of early retirement bloggers. It seems we ignored pretty much all of that advice because just a few months ago, we owned five cars. That's right, our family of three had five cars at the same time. However, it's not as bad as it seems. Read on to learn how this happened.

How We Saved $27,000 Selling Our House

As we've previously reported, we moved several months ago. That involved buying a new house and selling our old one. For the purchase of our new house, we used a realtor. We didn't necessarily want to, but as the buyer, there's not much incentive not to use one*. However, for the sale of our home, there was potentially lots to gain (or save, really) by not using a realtor, so we decided to go it alone and sell the house ourselves. Read on to learn how that went.

Our Updated Budget and 2017 First-Half Spending

Remember when I said I would have more time to blog after quitting my job? That has proven to be false. It turns out I'm much busier now than I have ever been at any of my real jobs, so finding time to blog has been a challenge. I am trying to post, but continuing to get settled into our new house has occupied an inordinate amount of my time. Our 17 month old child is another big distraction, but one I wouldn't give up for the world. Anyway, I've finally found the time to put together a post, and it is pretty interesting (at least to me), detailing our updated budget and spending for the first half of this year.

We Finally Moved (and Finally Wrote About It)!

Photo courtesy of Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance

You may have noticed the posts have been pretty few and far between recently. As usual, I have a good excuse--we have been super busy the last couple months, and the blog has been pushed down the priority list. Read on to learn about our big move and what's coming up.

Why We are Selling our Old House

After purchasing our retirement home, we had to decide what to do with our current home. That decision was much more difficult than it would seem. The obvious solution would be to sell it, but that means dealing with an annoying real estate transaction and potentially paying realtors $40,000-50,000, which I can’t imagine doing. The other option, which a lot of people have been recommending, is to keep the house and rent it out. We finally decided to sell, and in this post I’ll explain why that is.