Credit cards. Student loans. Store credit cards. Dental credit cards. Car loans. First mortgages. Second mortgages. Lines of credit. Zero percent financing. We’re borrowing for everything! How Debt Keeps us Constantly Broke We are like crows, in a sense. Hey, look at that shiny thing, we think. And we want it. For major purchases, [...]
The Funny Thing About Time
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As we head into the summer, I can’t help but recall being a child. It took years to get through the last nice days of the school year. And then freedom! Somehow the period between June and September was one endless stream of sunshine. The moment we’d been waiting for the entire time we were [...]
7 Practical Tips on How to Deal with Student Loan Debt
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According to the nonprofit American Student Assistance, there are approximately 37 million people with student loans in the United States today, and the average balance is about $24,000. Friends, this is not good debt. And Congress would like to double the student loan interest rate on federal student loans, starting in July. The terms on [...]
Why are Women Afraid to Invest?
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A recent article in the Huffington Post got me thinking about women and investing. More specifically, it got me thinking about the call out that women are afraid to invest. Also, I read a lot of personal finance blogs. A lot. And in general sweeping stereotypical terms, one thing I keep noticing is that blogs [...]
The Most Important Piece of Financial Advice for College Graduates
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I’ve been thinking a lot about what I would tell someone who is graduating college. What advice I’d give. What stories I would tell. I could fill a book with nuggets of wisdom I’ve picked up in the nine years I’ve been out of college (first, where on earth did I put my gosh darn [...]
Is Real Estate a Good Investment? Ask Better Questions
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In less than two weeks, I’m buying a condo. I was talking with a friend over the weekend about my concerns, and how I worked through them. But one piece still nagged at me. “I keep thinking about what a terrible investment it was to buy a townhouse in 2006,” I told my friend. “Is [...]
Rethinking Money Goals
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“I’m never going to be rich,” my future brother-in-law said, “I’m too lazy.” We were sitting on a blanket, enjoying a picnic on an unseasonably warm Sunday afternoon in May. He continued, “I like doing things like this way more than I like having money, so I’m not going to get myself into a situation [...]
The Remarkable Power of Generosity
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In order to live a meaningful life, one must be generous. This might sound antithetical to what you think frugality means, but I assure you, it is not. We all have something to offer. Some of us have money to spare. Some of us have time. One thing that there is an infinite supply of [...]
Advice Needed for the Newbie Homeowner
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In exactly one month, I’ll close on my new home. Approximately 1000 square feet of Portland will belong to me (who am I kidding, it’ll belong to the bank, but it’ll be my neck that gets wrung if things go south) and I keep thinking about how things will be. Will my life be much [...]
How Do You Know When It’s a Good Time to Start Investing?
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When you first start your financial journey, you learn pretty quickly that there are many steps between the starting line (college graduation) and the finish line (retirement without poverty). And yet, there are a ton of moving pieces. You have to pay to live somewhere, you have to start paying those student loans back, you [...]
Top 4 Ways to Save Money on Food Without Sacrifice
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The other day, I was shopping in my favorite place. That’s right, it’s the grocery store. Even there, I noticed that it’s really hard to stay away from the Frugal Portland mentality. Let’s take the meat counter. I wanted to make a chicken stir fry, so my thought was to get some boneless, skinless chicken [...]
How to Pay Off Student Loans Before Going Gray
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Last week, I got a letter in the mail from ACS. It said, “Congratulations! Our records indicate that you have successfully paid off your student loan.” I was thrilled, to be sure, but on the other hand, I’m 31 years old. I felt like I should have paid this off years ago. I hardly resemble [...]
5 Reasons To Save Half Your Income
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Earn, Save, Invest. Repeat as necessary. I think all three are important, though I’m more comfortable with saving and earning than I am investing. The day will come when I’m better at investing, and that day is just around the corner. I’ve mentioned before that one of my goals for this year is to save [...]
The Value of the Little Things: 7 Ways To Make Yourself Happy
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I love Mondays. No, no, don’t throw things at me. It’s not the work day that I love. It’s a little more embarrassing than that. It’s The Bachelor. You know, the one on ABC. It’s a guilty pleasure, for sure. But there is serious pleasure there. Every Monday, my close friend teaches a class, then [...]
The Case for a Big Fat Tax Refund
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I just finished my taxes. I need to have an accountant look at them, but I’ll be getting a rather large tax refund. If my math is right (and only my accountant can let me know if it is) then my refund will be nearly $8,000. The first thing I did was talk to my [...]
The Value of Learning to Cook
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You don’t need me to tell you that cutting back on eating in restaurants is a great way to save money. You’ve heard it before, simply because it’s a great way to curb unnecessary spending. One of my resolutions for 2013 was to live on half my income, and one way to make that possible [...]
Life After Debt
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Last week, I paid off my student loans. Pause for applause. Now, all I have left is a car loan. And that’s low enough to be gone before I can wear short sleeves outside. I feel like a balloon, barely tied to the bench at the picnic table. It’s secure, but the knot is loosening. [...]
Negotiating a Raise as a Woman, Part Two: Unintended Side Effects
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I wrote a while back about how I felt like I was part of the gender pay gap problem. I was terrified to ask for a raise. I’ve been at my company almost four years, and have done great things. So, finally, I asked. Right before Christmas, I wrote an email to my boss, and [...]
