Evolving Personal Finance » Archive
Financial Disclosure Before and After Engagement
Kyle and I never had to sit down to have any one big money disclosure talk. We started dating in college so we saw one another go through the transformation from dependent on our parents to being independent adults, with all the minor steps that happened along the way. We talked over our stipend offers for grad school, possible places to rent, how I was dealing with my student loan and car debt, and where … Read entire article »
Filed under: marriage
Weekly Update 28
We weren’t particularly busy with activities this week, which was great! We spent a lot of time working in preparation for leaving for our WEEK-LONG BEACH VACATION starting today! Posting will go on as normal but I may or may not be responsive with comments. I’m hoping for a very relaxing week that will include lots of time for blogging (this is a hobby I still enjoy!) but certainly I’m going to take long stretches away from my computer to enjoy the sun and surf. When we get back we’ll have one week before we start our moving process and school starts! I’m actually taking a class this semester – first time in two years – and I have a book list and everything, which feels very strange. Posts I Liked Eric … Read entire article »
Filed under: weekly update
Our Hang-Dry Laundry Strategy
I mentioned our reduced use of our clothes dryer when I was discussing our last electricity bill. For the last year we’ve been (mostly) hang-drying our clothes to save the cost of running the dryer, and I think it has made an impact on the scale of a few dollars per month. It’s actually a bit labor-saving, too! Our (apartment-friendly) hang-dry method We wait until we have three loads of laundry to wash, which for our clothing … Read entire article »
Filed under: frugality
How to Cut Your Food Spending – Reducing Grocery Costs
Very early in your spending-tracking or budgeting lifestyle, you will realize that food spending is one of the most highly variable and easily manipulated expenditure categories. If you’re looking to reduct your spending, food is often the primary target of budget slashing, and for good reason! There are lots of ways to cut back on food spending, from temporary fasts from certain products to long-term lifestyle changes like cooking. Take a moment to look up your … 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 »
Weekly Update 27
We had a very busy week! I started a time inventory last Sunday so I’ve been unusually productive because of keeping those records, particularly at work. It seems I spend a lot of time. I had a good meeting with my advisor this week – he’s been out of town most of the summer so we haven’t communicated much – as well as a great meeting with some of our collaborators and I’m feeling very … Read entire article »
Filed under: weekly update
July 2012 Month in Review: Money
Wow, I’ve been so impressed at how many months we’ve had leftover money since I started writing this series! I’m not sure if it’s the season change or the accountability this series provides, but something is working! Or maybe it’s just that we pull from our targeted and general savings accounts so much. 😉 This month was characterized by majorly low grocery spending, which always is helpful in freeing up money for other categories. We … Read entire article »
Filed under: month in review
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
Giving Should Exceed Saving?
My church put on a financial boot camp this past weekend, the content of which largely followed Dave Ramsey’s baby steps, along with additional Biblical support for a debt-free generous lifestyle and some fun mathematical examples of the power of compound interest. But one of the volunteers mentioned a principle that he and his wife live by: his savings rate does not exceed his giving rate. I admit that I was surprised to hear this come … Read entire article »
Filed under: giving, retirement, savings
Weekly Update 26
Thanks for your encouragement last week on starting financial coaching through my church! This week I arranged THREE practice sessions with members of my small group and I was offered my first real clients! I’ll meet with them next week and I hope I’ll be able to help them. The man in charge of the volunteers told me that the vast majority of people just need someone to listen to them, pray with them, and help them set up a budget – I think I can do those things. This week we helped one of our friends move and it was very eye-opening in advance of our move! We had to get all of her and her roommate’s belongings into a UHaul to go across town because she was leaving town … Read entire article »
Filed under: weekly update
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