Check out one of our other posts:
December 27, 2017
Travel Report: Nor-Cal Camping
Labels:
Kids,
Save Money,
Travel
December 18, 2017
December 11, 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.
Labels:
Retirement,
Save Money
December 4, 2017
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.
Labels:
Retirement,
Save Money,
Travel
November 27, 2017
Travel Report: Puerto Vallarta
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Our accommodations. Photo courtesy of Sheraton. |
Labels:
Kids,
Save Money,
Travel
November 20, 2017
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.
Labels:
Retirement,
Save Money
November 15, 2017
Actual Money Saving Software: Keepa
It seems like every week there's a new app coming out that will be our financial salvation, and all the personal finance blogs can't wait to tell us about them (often because they get kickbacks from the company). Unfortunately, I've never found any of these apps particularly useful. Most of them are super gimmicky and don't actually save you any money. I'm also tired of creating new accounts with anyone, especially ones that have my financial information.
Now that' I'm done being a downer, I want to tell you about an awesome piece of software that has actually saved me a lot of money. It's called Keepa, and it's actually a browser extension.
Labels:
Save Money
November 6, 2017
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.
Labels:
Kids,
Save Money
October 30, 2017
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.
Labels:
Make Money,
Retirement
October 29, 2017
Truth in Advertising
We've been seeing and reading about some pretty questionable advertising practices online, so we decided to create an Advertising Policy to explain how we handle ads on this site. Check out the always up-to-date version here or though the prominent link in the sidebar at right. The initial version is posted below.
Labels:
Make Money
October 24, 2017
How We Came to Own Five Cars at Once
Labels:
Retirement,
Save Money,
Travel
October 16, 2017
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.
Labels:
Make Money,
Real Estate,
Retirement,
Save Money
September 14, 2017
How We Invested Two Lump Sums
After selling our first home in southern California, we ended up with a pretty large lump sum of cash, and after quitting my job, I rolled a couple 401(k)s into an IRA which became another large lump sum. Deciding what to do with that money took some serious consideration, especially with markets at record highs as they currently are. This post will discuss how we invested all that cash.
Labels:
Investing,
Make Money,
Real Estate
July 7, 2017
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.
Labels:
Budget,
Retirement,
Save Money,
Spending Report
May 15, 2017
We Finally Moved (and Finally Wrote About It)!
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Photo courtesy of Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance |
Labels:
Real Estate,
Retirement
March 19, 2017
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.
Labels:
Kids,
Save Money,
Travel
February 17, 2017
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.
Labels:
Kids,
Save Money,
Travel
February 7, 2017
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.
Labels:
Kids,
Save Money,
Travel
February 2, 2017
Why We are Selling our Old House
Labels:
Make Money,
Real Estate,
Retirement
January 22, 2017
Andy's Goals for 2017
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One of my (random) goals for the year. |
Labels:
Make Money,
Retirement,
Travel
January 9, 2017
2016 Spending Report
I must be a personal finance geek, because I've been excited about this post for quite some time. I kept wishing for the year to end just so I could tally up all of our expenses. I will probably do this monthly going forward, both for your entertainment and to make sure we are sticking somewhat close to our budget. On to the numbers...
Labels:
Budget,
Retirement,
Spending Report
January 2, 2017
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.
Labels:
Kids,
Retirement
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