Lifting the Lid on Our Personal Finances for Your Enjoyment
Knowing where your money’s at is the first step in financial planning. Before you can set goals, panic about having no money, or compliment yourself on your ability to buy a new back scratcher, you’ve got to know: What you earn What you spend Your debts Your assets In other words, your overall net worth! Lucky for us, there’s a FREE service that’ll do all of this for us. It’s called Personal Capital. I talk...
Inflation is here: it’s large, it’s in charge, it’s up 8.5% as of March 2022, which is the biggest 12-month increase since 1981. Woohoo! Aren’t we lucky! But all is not (totally) lost because inflation doesn’t impact all prices equally. As we’ll explore together today, this is an uneven inflationary period: almost everything is more expensive, but some things are hit harder than others. What Exactly IS Inflation???!!! Before we dive into how inflation affects...
Q: What’s the easiest way to earn extra money? A: A cash back credit card! I made $712.59 last year by using my cash back credit card. Not bad for buying stuff I was going to buy anyway! A cash back credit card gives you a predetermined percentage of money back on purchases you make with that card. Some cards offer a flat percentage whereby they give you the same percentage back on every single...
Healthcare is no longer tied to your job in the United States. Anyone can get healthcare in our country and you don’t have to go through an employer to do so. This hasn’t always been the case and I, for one, rejoice in the system that makes this possible. This is a system that goes by many names: the Affordable Care Act, the ACA, Obamacare, the Health Insurance Marketplace, a dream come true, etc. I’m...
I have a kid old enough to start learning about money! Of all the parenting milestones we’ve marked over the years, I think I’m the most excited about this one. You all have been asking me for advice on teaching kids about money for eight years and I’ve demurred because I didn’t know how I was going to teach my own kids about money. Until today! Our oldest child, six-year-old Kidwoods, started asking about money...
Two sizable pieces of Frugalwoods-relevant news occurred this past spring: We paid off the mortgage on our primary residence in Vermont! Mr. Frugalwoods retired! These both happened amidst the flurry of the pandemic, our stint as unintentional homeschoolers and, of course, maple sugaring season. I promised to share the details once the sap stopped flowing, we got vaccinated and the kids went to in-person school (PRAISE BE). These two events are correlated since we didn’t...
Today, by popular demand, I bring you a comprehensive rundown of how my husband and I manage our money. Before we dive in, I want to point out that your money management strategy will likely differ from mine, and that’s ok! Your financial situation will also likely differ from mine, and that’s ok too! There’s no one right way to do money, although there are definitely some wrong ways. What I hope is that by...
So exactly how do frugal weirdos manage their money? I get this question a lot and it makes me realize that, despite the fact that this is ostensibly a “personal finance” blog, I don’t discuss the precise machinations of my personal money management system very often. And the reason for that is quite straightforward: Mr. Frugalwoods and I don’t actually do very much in service of “managing” our money. There’s a misconception that in order...
But it only costs $20! Or $10. Or even just 5 measly bucks. So what’s the big deal? It’s remarkably easy to lull myself into thinking that a couple dollars spent here or there won’t amount to a hill of beans (oh but there are so many things one can cook with a hill of beans… ). When I start to think this way, I remind myself that frugality is a compounding game. Or more accurately, money...
You’ll be shocked to hear this, but before I read JL Collins’ book “The Simple Path to Wealth: Your Road Map to Financial Independence And a Rich, Free Life,” I did not 100% understand the rationale behind my own stock market investments. If you tried to click away from this article after reading “stock market investments,” then this post–and this book–are for you. I too used to zone out anytime someone so much as said the word...
