Evolving Personal Finance » Archive
Do You Spend More If It’s Not Your Money?
I’m in Atlanta right now for a scientific conference so you are getting a work-travel-related question! On this trip, my major expenses (conference registration, hotel) were paid for me and I have to pay my minor expenses (food) up front and then I’ll get reimbursed after I get back. When I attended a conference while working for the government, though, my major expenses were paid and then I received a generous (to my standards) per diem … Read entire article »
Filed under: choices
Diverted from the Slope
I swear, I wasn’t trying to test my husband. I honestly was reconsidering our TOTALLY JOINT MONEY arrangement for Kyle’s sake. My personality as drifted further toward “saver” since I became financially independent from my parents and I’ve imposed those tendencies on Kyle to a great extent since we got married. Kyle is a saver as well but he enjoyed buying electronics and making some small impulse purchases before we were married and those purchases have slowed … Read entire article »
Filed under: marriage, side income
Tax Lies Told to Graduate Students
Update February 2016: This short post has been expanded to a 10-part series of common grad student tax lies on Grad Student Finances. Check it out for more detail, explanation, applicability, references, etc.! My little university community service project for this fall is working with a staff member to compile a comprehensive reference document for graduate students preparing to file their taxes. The purpose is to help graduate students make sense of the tax-related forms they … Read entire article »
Filed under: grad school, taxes
Weekly Update 38
We have had a pretty busy week and especially weekend! I started the week off with some dental work that put us out $198 on top of our regular checkup the previous week. This week I also had a really great meeting with my partner with whom I am working on a tax resource for grad students. It really helped clarify my understanding of the various documents that grad students receive and how it can seem so confusing. I’m happy to be working on this project and will share it here when the resource is complete (early 2013). My parents are visiting us this weekend to see our new townhouse, which means we finally got it unpacked and straightened up! (Kyle did 99% of the work!) The last time they were … Read entire article »
Filed under: weekly update
What It Means to Be Wealthy
So I know I’m a personal finance blogger and everything, but I’ve noticed that I’m not quite as focused on earning lots of money as many of my fellow bloggers. Maybe I’m suppressing those desires in myself because of our current necessarily limited income or perhaps I’m wired a bit differently. I asked myself whether I really want to become wealthy. I don’t think I want to be independently wealthy particularly early – I don’t see … Read entire article »
Filed under: values
Blog Statistics Update September – October 2012
This is my one-month update on how EPF is doing based on our September 16 – October 15 data. We’ve been feeling rather aimless about the blog recently so I think we’re going to set up some monthly goals in terms of things to learn about and implement to grow it. Believe it or not, we are coming up on our 1 year anniversary of the blog! I should think about having a giveaway, I … Read entire article »
Filed under: blogging, month in review
Living Your Real Life Now
Something I hear often from grad students (and say often myself) is “When I have a real job…” followed by some fantasy about the future like saving for a house downpayment or going on a big vacation or not being in the lab after midnight. Since these sentiments come out of my mouth, too, I obviously understand where they’re coming from. In grad school, like in college, during an engagement, or just before starting a family, there is a sense of now-but-not-yet. I have this life and it’s not quite what I want it to be because there is a waiting period, a working period until I can achieve something that will usher my life into its next stage. But the fact is that just because I don’t have a real job … Read entire article »
Filed under: choices, grad school, values
Weekly Update 37
I was sick early in the week and had to miss some work, so that sucked. I also derailed my normal way of eating because I didn’t feel up to cooking as much so I ate cheap carbs in place of some of my normal meat and vegetables. Kyle and I had a nice Saturday. We served snack at an ESL ministry at a nearby church and then went on a hike and out to dinner … Read entire article »
Filed under: weekly update
Expectations of College Attendance
In Episode 12 of the Two Guys and Your Money Podcast several PF bloggers discussed the financial impact of having children. They briefly touched on savings for college. In what kinds of vehicles to save for college is a very popular topic around the PF blogosphere but I was surprised to hear that several of the participants did not plan on saving for their children’s college educations within tax-advantaged education accounts. More than that, they … Read entire article »
Filed under: college
Choosing Our Own Destination
I couldn’t have imagined this two years ago but it seems to have arrived: Kyle and I have zero pending wedding invitations! And not even any engaged friends to whose weddings we are confident we will be invited. We love attending weddings and especially love attending weddings to which we need to travel because that almost always means we get to see far-flung friends. We RSVP yes whenever we possibly can and regret all the weddings … Read entire article »
Filed under: travel
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