Take advantage of the market’s shortsighted view to buy your luxuries. You can get the high-end version rather than the entry-level version, often for much less. There’s a common refrain in the financial independence movement that we should all move towards a minimalist life. We should be happy with bare-bones items and derive our...
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Average American Families: How To Make Your Child A Millionaire
The average American family can buy their child’s retirement and make them a millionaire, if only they viewed their child-rearing spending differently. Here’s how to set your child up to be a millionaire – without spending more than you already do. The USDA says the average cost of raising a child in the US...
The Reverse Budget: Why Normal Budgeting Sucks And What To Do Instead
Budgeting as it is normally implemented sets you up to fail. Here’s what to do instead. If there is one word in the personal finance lexicon that makes people cringe, it has to be the word budget. Every well-meaning article suggests you build and stick to an ambitious budget. Bucket methods, envelope methods… ...
Understanding Your Spending: Problem or Expense?
This one question will help you to be happier with your spending decisions, from identifying where you can save money to making peace with big splurges that break out of your usual frugal patterns. As many of you know, the Money Habit household welcomed an extra member a few months ago. Money Habit Jr....
Guest Post: Finding An Underpriced Home
Our guest poster shares four opportunities you can leverage to find an underpriced home in your market. For Sale By Owner properties (FSBO’s), scouting for soon-to-come amenities, and more. J.P.: Today’s guest post comes from a reader and friend of mine, Jayce, who lives in an East Coast suburb. He and his wife have...
Announcement: Money Habit Jr. Has Arrived!
We have a new member in the Money Habit household! And it’s making me want to share my favorite articles on money and raising children. The Money Habit household is full of activity these days. As a planner-type, I had some checklists I wanted to get through before the kid arrived, and I was...
Acceptable vs Ideal: How to Have More Time, More Money, and More Happiness
Understanding the difference between acceptable and ideal will help you focus on the things that matter. A framework that will lead to more time, more money, and more happiness. With my friends at work most of the day, I do a lot of catching up with folks on gchat. Mornings these days start...
How To Spend Your Money: A Thought Exercise on Happiness
A thought exercise on the recipe for happiness and where your dollars should really be deployed to achieve it. I love January. As a Type-A planner type who measures all her financial goals on a calendar year, January is pretty much like waking up to a Christmas tree surrounded by gifts. I get to...
New Year’s Wins: 5 Actions To Start The Year Off Right
What are concrete things you can do with the energy you have to start the new year off right? Here are five things that will start a flywheel of productivity for your wealth. Start Regularly Tracking Your Key Metrics: Net Worth, Income, and Expenses You improve what you measure. When a business...
5 Loose Ends To Tie Up By The End of The Year
5 things to get done before the end of the year. Then kick back with some holiday cookies! The holidays are my favorite time of the year. They combine year-end reflection, financial analysis, and mountains of baked goods – three of my favorite things in the world! For others who are also thinking...