Evolving Personal Finance » personal

Feeling Financially Independent

Feeling Financially Independent

This post was inspired by a Marketplace Money program from last July.  The hosts asked all the guests and interviewees to briefly share about the time in their lives when the first felt financially independent.  Many answered with “Well, I’m still not…” and others talked about signing their first lease, getting their first full-time job, paying their utilities, that type of thing.   My answer to this question is a bit different and it hinges on the … Read entire article »

Filed under: personal, podcasts

How Much Money Am I Eating?

Recently my husband has accused me (jokingly?) of eating the greater part of our grocery budget.  I eat low-carb/low-sugar and am considering transitioning to Paleo.  Right now I’m still eating conventional meat, so that’s not as expensive as it could be, but I eat a lot more meat than my husband does.  His staples are cereal, rice, etc.  So I decided to evaluate. While I wouldn’t call this a typical week, it’s at least a random … Read entire article »

Filed under: food, personal

My Beloved Air Mattress: An Anti-Debt Story

I have heard many stories of people getting over their heads when furnishing their first living quarters after college.  Some of them get into credit card debt that haunts them for years and some others just create a really tight month or two for themselves on their new salaries.  This post is about a similarly strapped young person who didn’t give in to those pressures and lived to tell about it.   Because I attended college a … Read entire article »

Filed under: personal, transitions

Five-Year Sketch

I know it’s incredible hubris to not only make plans but also write them down.  But I do want you to know what I’m thinking about when I talk about our anticipated financial transitions/upheaval.  I realize that our lives may not progress as this plan outlines.  I haven’t included dates or put a lot of stock in the listed order.  But these are the goals that we’re working toward within the next five-ish years. Directly financial … Read entire article »

Filed under: personal, transitions

What It’s All About

This blog is borne out of two desires: the desire for documentation and thinking-through and the desire for community.  The subject of this blog is personal finance – that is, personal finance, my family’s and yours, and not necessarily education on money-management.   I started learning about personal finance about 4.5 years ago, right after graduating from college and getting my first full-time, year-round job.  It seems incredible, looking back, how little I knew about the subject, … Read entire article »

Filed under: personal