The Personal Finance Blog Charity Challenge (Updated 3X)

Image from Charity Motors

I just read Mr. Money Mustache’s post about donating $100,000 to charity and I got excited. Not just about the money he is donating, which will surely do much good, but also about the publicity he is bringing to the organizations he decided to donate to. I suspect this publicity will multiply the effects of his giving, so I have a challenge for my fellow personal finance bloggers that will hopefully do even more good.

Our Hunt for Affordable Housing

A huge part of our early retirement plan involved selling our expensive home in the Los Angeles area, which has appreciated significantly since we purchased it four years ago, and finding something significantly less expensive. This has proved much more challenging than I anticipated.

Don't Call me Cheap!

People have used a lot of colorful adjectives to describe me over the years, but the most common one is probably cheap, or cheapskate. I usually wear that title like a badge of pride, but it’s starting to wear on me. In my opinion, there is a big difference between being cheap and being frugal. I want to believe I fall into the latter camp, and in this post I will explore the difference between the two.

How I Limit (but Don't Eliminate) My Frivolous Spending

My most frivolous purchase, as I found it.

We all want things we don’t need. Frugal people like me are better than most at resisting the urge to purchase those things, but every so often there’s something I just have to have. Fortunately, I have a system for regulating my frivolous spending, and I learned it from my dad—only use credit card cash-back rewards for frivolous purchases.

How to Save Money on a Fabulous European Vacation

Being cute in Lake Como. We got in trouble shortly after this for going in the water.

For many Americans, a European vacation is the ultimate in luxury travel. The “old world” has a mysterious draw that is hard to avoid. Unfortunately, it can also have a price tag that is hard to afford. Fortunately, I have a couple tips that can dramatically reduce the cost of an incredible European adventure.