Evolving Personal Finance » choices
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
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
The Nosebleeds Are Good Enough for Me
This week Kyle and I saw “War Horse” at our local theater, which was the kick-off show for the Broadway musicals series to which we have season tickets. We LOVE our local theater. This is only its fourth year in existence so it feels super-new and the staff are really nice and it’s in a slightly-more-upscale area of downtown so there are restaurants and pleasant areas to walk nearby. Best of all, it’s fairly inexpensive! We … Read entire article »
My New Frugal/Cheap Cell Phone Plan
I’ve hinted on here a few times that I have a plan for getting a smartphone while reducing my cell phone costs but hadn’t implemented it yet – it finally looks like my new plan will be starting soon! Several months ago I got in line for a spot in Republic Wireless‘s beta wave, which just reopened a week ago. Signing up with a new company with a new cell model is rather risky as the plan … Read entire article »
How to Cut Your Food Spending – What’s Your Personality?
This is the start of a short series on spending less money on food (here are part 2 and part 3). In considering various strategies I realized that people will likely fall into two camps in terms of how they like to incorporate change: some people prefer abrupt, drastic change and others prefer gradual change. While I tend to shy away from comparisons between financial management and diet/weight management, this is one area where I can’t … Read entire article »
Filed under: choices, food, frugality, personal, psychology
If I Were My Financial Advisor, What Would I Tell Me?
I’ve had a few people ask me for financial advice recently. I really enjoy these conversations (though I start with “I’m not qualified in any way to give advice”) – so much so that I decided to have one with myself. There are plenty of shortfalls in our financial situation, but I’ve become inured to them. We’ve lived with them for so long that we’re blind. So I decided to put on my Objective Hat and … Read entire article »
Filed under: choices
Vacations: This or That?
This vacation has turned out a bit different than we had expected or what we usually experience. We’ve switched up some of our usual preferences and I’d like to hear from you where yours fall. Do you prefer: Hotels, couch-surfing, or something in-between like hostels or AirBnB? Driving or flying? Cabs or public transportation? Eating out or brown-bagging? The cheapest admission or the deluxe package? A package deal or a-la-carte? Overdressing or underdressing? Here are my answers, largely influenced by our experiences in the … Read entire article »
Filed under: choices
Decisions We Are Wrestling With
Over the past few weeks we have had a few financial opportunities and decisions crop up and we’re taking our time trying to decide what to do in each situation. I’d like to take this post to share with you what’s been going on with us. Wedding We were invited to a wedding in Chicago (black tie!) at the end of June and we’ve been going back and forth about whether to attend. The wedding itself should … Read entire article »
Are You Sure You Want to Spend $27000 on Your Wedding?
Today we are featuring a guest post from Edward Antrobus as part of this month’s Yakezie Blog Swap – click over to his blog to check out my participating post. Edward is a blogger, home cook, and construction worker. Enjoy! The cost of the average wedding is over $25,000. That number doesn’t even include the cost of the dress! (I’ve never understood that. Isn’t the wedding dress a wedding-related cost? Why wouldn’t you include it in the … Read entire article »
The Fact and Fiction Behind “Two Can Live as Cheaply as One”
Everyone’s heard the phrase “two can live as cheaply as one.” In one sense it’s absolutely true: when you live in a home by yourself and someone moves in with you – a roommate or spouse who pays his own way – your per capita expenses will go down. You have someone to split the rent and utilities with. But the way the phrase is usually applied is to married couples – as if just … Read entire article »
Filed under: budgeting, choices, frugality, goals, lifestyle creep, marriage, spending
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