I know, I know, Black Friday is dumb; but since it exists, I figured I’d offer a coupon code for 10% off: An hourlong phone call with me (that’s $25 off) A basic financial consultation with me (that’s $150 off) A premium financial consultation with me (that’s $300 off) A spot in an Uber Frugal Month Mastermind group (that’s $30 off) You can purchase any of the above for yourself OR as a gift certificate...
Give the gift of financial freedom this holiday season! Do you have a person in your life you keep recommending Frugalwoods to? Do you continually send them links to personal finance articles that they seem to ignore? Does this same person bemoan that their money is a mess? Do you wish you could stage a financial intervention? Now you can!! I am here for all of your financial intervention needs with… Gift Certificates for Private...
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...
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...
Apparently the stock market is doing terrible things right now. But I don’t care. Monitoring the market like Frugal Hound stalks squirrels is a patently useless waste of time, energy, and brain capacity (same for FH as she’s tethered to a leash and, uh, the squirrels are decidedly not). There’s simply nothing to gain by it. So while the rest of the world frets over the machinations of the market, I’m taking a different tack....
Welcome to Part 3 of our Demystifying Personal Finance Series! This series is all about how to assemble a sound financial life as a young professional, though many of the topics covered are useful to folks of all ages. The series also serves as a reflection of the steps Mrs. Frugalwoods and I have taken to stay debt-free (other than our mortgage), save 71% of our incomes, max out our 401ks, avoid the lifestyle inflation trap, and map a plan for...
Welcome to Part 2 of our Demystifying Personal Finance Series! Debt repayment is a crucial step in attaining financial freedom and I originally wrote a post about debt repayment myself. But, it was terrible. Since we’ve never had any debt other than our mortgage, it was full of conjecture about what it “must feel like” to have debt and work towards paying it off. Be glad you didn’t have to read it. Mr. Frugalwoods and...
Two years ago, I gave a presentation to my office on how to manage your money as a young professional. Sound boring? The title was “Compound Interest is a Magic Unicorn of Awesomeness.” Why was I giving a presentation about personal finance to my office of software engineers (of which I am one)? Well, I’m known as the finance geek. And compound interest is, in fact, just as awesome as a unicorn. After Mrs. Frugalwoods and I bought a...
