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Blog Statistics Update July – August 2014

Blog Statistics Update July – August 2014

This period represents EPF’s return to LIFE (and mine, too!).  Really just about the last week of this period.  So of course I didn’t put up as many posts or received as many comments as before my hiatus, but that’s fine.  Things are coming back full force!   I also bought my flight to FinCon14 this month!  I also booked a room at the Marriott at the conference rate (I thought they were all booked up so … Read entire article »

Filed under: month in review

How to Work Out without a Gym Membership

How to Work Out without a Gym Membership

One of the benefits I’m losing as I transition out of graduate school is free access to my university’s gym.  Apparently the graduate school no longer completely pays for the gym membership for students in their seventh years and above.  I could buy the membership for $120 per six months, but that price is too rich for my blood as I tend to prefer to work out at/near home anyway and the cost per use … Read entire article »

Filed under: frugality

Funemployment Report: Goals for August 2014

Funemployment Report: Goals for August 2014

My funemployment officially starts in September because I am still employed full-time as a graduate student through August.  However, now that I am post-defense, I have the time to set myself up well to transition into funemployment.   I’m going to attempt to document my funemployment through a series of goal posts.  Just after the start of each month, I will report how I did on my goals for the month that just ended and set out … Read entire article »

Filed under: blogging, career, funemployment, goals, grad school

Dollar-Cost Averaging vs. Percentage-Based Budgeting

Dollar-Cost Averaging vs. Percentage-Based Budgeting

Kyle and I had the most ridiculous fight about our budget two weeks ago.  Our positions were only slightly different, yet we were so entrenched we couldn’t come to a resolution and had to drop the argument for the night!  Both of us are very opinionated and stubborn and I am definitely not the only PF nerd in the family.   I’ve been preaching percentage-based budgeting on EPF basically since the start of the blog.  What I … Read entire article »

Filed under: budgeting, retirement

It’s Dr. EPF, Thankyouverymuch!

It’s Dr. EPF, Thankyouverymuch!

I successfully defended my PhD on Wednesday.   Grad school is over (almost).   It’s only barely starting to sink in that the event that I’ve been working toward for six years has finally occurred and that I’m FREE!   The defense itself went well, I think.  I prepared HARD for my presentation and it was pretty good by the time I gave it (given the material, of course).  My committee didn’t grill me or anything and everyone was very collegial.   I … Read entire article »

Filed under: grad school

July 2014 Month in Review: Money

July 2014 Month in Review: Money

I’m still in the throes of dissertating/preparing for my defense, so I don’t have too much to report this month.  Our spending is still pretty loose.  We’ll definitely have to tighten things up in a couple months when I’m without an income!   Kyle and I made a really dumb money mistake this month.  It definitely stems from our roles being out of whack since I’ve been working so much lately.  We enjoy having our credit cards … Read entire article »

Filed under: month in review

Blog Statistics Update June – July 2014

Blog Statistics Update June – July 2014

Limited commentary for me this month.  I’m just trying to hang on through the end of this ride.  More next month.     Analytics Data from July 15, 2014   People who listen to us, as of July 15, 2014: RSS subscribers: 75 (too many fluctuations to bother recording change) Twitter followers: 907 (+4) Facebook fans: 57 (+1)   Rankings: Alexa: 139,311 (+23,586) Google PR: 3 (no change) MozRank: 5.07 (-0.12)   Some Google Analytics statistics:   More or less steady here.         Popular Posts   Most viewed posts: 1) What Do You Consider a Good Salary? 2) … Read entire article »

Filed under: month in review

First Job Problems: Which Health Insurance Plan Should I Choose?

First Job Problems: Which Health Insurance Plan Should I Choose?

Similar to two weeks ago when we discussed whether to enroll Kyle in his 401(k), we have a choice to make regarding Kyle’s benefits at his new job, or rather whether I should use one of his benefits. Unlike with the 401(k), we have no idea which option is best and we’re running out of time to decide!   I found out a couple weeks ago that even though I’m going to be a student through the … Read entire article »

Filed under: insurance

June 2014 Month in Review: Money

June 2014 Month in Review: Money

I’m not paying much attention to our money these days, so I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised that we’ve spent way more than usual.  There has been a bit of waste and convenience spending, but most everything was reasonable.  I was just a bit taken aback in tallying it all up that it came out so high.  We were over in almost all of our variable spending categories.  Targeted spending was a little weird – … Read entire article »

Filed under: month in review