Financial Lessons From My Shower
A few years ago we had some work done on our shower. Later that night, after the plumber left, I was taking my shower and realized he must have adjusted the water temperature settings because it wasn’t getting as hot as it previously had. This annoyed me. I like my showers hot. When I step…
New Year Planning Agenda for You and Your Partner to Have the Best Year Yet!
Something Cassie and I have done every January that we’ve been married is schedule a day to do a financial review of the previous year and spend some time dreaming up and planning for the new year. We always dedicate at least a few hours, and usually a full day, to this conversation so that…
Purchase With The Everyday in Mind (Not the Once a Year Your Family Visits)
Cassie and I will sometimes find ourselves watching House Hunters International if we’re having a lazy Sunday. And every few episodes there will invariably be a couple who blows their budget because they just have to have that extra bedroom for when their family and friends visit. They’ll choose a house in a worse location,…
Factoring Opportunity Cost into the Rent V. Buy Analysis
A while back I wrote a piece comparing buying our house vs renting in the same area. I want to revisit this but with a little more nuance because in that first post I left out an important component: Opportunity Cost. That post was already so long I didn’t want to tack a discussion onto…
Why You’re Better Off Without a Financial Advisor
When you first start taking your finances seriously it can be easy to jump to the conclusion that you should get a financial advisor to help you set up and manage your investments. Starting to invest can feel confusing, scary, and jargon-y. You may not know where to start or be afraid of messing it…
Thoughts On Financial Resilience After Hurricane Milton
It’s been a rough hurricane season for Sarasota. Earlier this summer we had unexpected terrible flooding from Tropical Storm Debbie, followed by strong winds and high storm surge from being on the periphery of Hurricane Helene’s path, and finally a direct hit by Hurricane Milton only 2 weeks later. A few years ago I wrote…
Let Me Reintroduce Myself…
Hey there! It’s been a while since I posted anything here, and even longer since I’ve done so with any consistency. Partly this is a scheduling issue – I’ve had a busier social calendar and travel schedule over the past couple of years. And partly it’s because I spend less time thinking about personal finance…
How the Cost of Home Ownership Compares to Renting – Our Real Numbers
If you want to buy a house because you think it will cost you less than your monthly rent I would encourage you to think again.
5 Reasons Why You Should Save for the Future (Even When It Feels Like the End of the World)
Doom-spending isn’t going to make you feel better. Here’s why you should still be saving for the future, even if you think it’s hopeless.
YNAB More Money Challenge: Final Results!
We’ve officially finished YNAB’S 30 Day More Money Challenge and the results are in! When we started this challenge we set the goal of saving $1,000. Did we make it?
How to Combine Your Finances as a Couple
Whether you’re married or not, combining your finances with a partner can be overwhelming and exciting. Here’s how to do it!
YNAB More Money Challenge – 2 Week Check-In and Savings Update
Two weeks into YNAB’s More Money Challenge, I’ve been surprised to learn that I was tempted to make small purchases more than Cassie.
How to Easily Open a Roth IRA with Vanguard in 15 Minutes
If you’ve wanted to open a retirement account, but have been too overwhelmed by the thought, this post is for you!
A Financial Reset After the Expensive Holiday Months: YNAB’s 30-Day More Money Challenge
I’ve been an avid YNAB user for a few years now, but have never actually done their 30 Day More Money Challenge. After what seemed like constant spending over the holiday months I thought that now would be the perfect time to print out the workbook and try it out.
A Useful Approach to Setting and Making Progress on Your New Year’s Goals
Given that when the clock strikes midnight, we’re not likely to become a completely different person, it’s important to make your goals or intentions realistic, sustainable, and relevant to your actual priorities in order to give you the greatest chance of success in the long term.
How We Spent Two Weeks in Ecuador
I spent the final third of my “sabbatical” in Ecuador with Cassie exploring this small but incredibly beautiful country.
How I Spent 4 Weeks in Peru
As I outlined in my previous post, I recently finished up my three month “sabbatical” between jobs, and I spent one of those months traveling around Peru with my two younger brothers. I’ve wanted to go to Peru since I was in 8th grade. One of my teachers, himself an avid traveler, said it was…
I Quit My Job and Took 3 Months Off — This Is What I Did
Taking a multi-month break from work isn’t normal in the United States, but it really should be. Here’s what I learned during my time off.
Here’s How I Save for Long-Term, Unexpected Expenses
Sinking funds are the magic sauce that makes your budget work.
My 2021 Budget Recap • What I Earned, Spent, and Saved in 2021
2021 was a weird year. I didn’t hit all of my goals, but all-in-all, there were some exciting moments. Here’s how it all broke down.
November’s Grocery Challenge Update!
Alright, here it is! Our slightly late – but still here – update on our food spending for November.
3 Things Budgeting Taught Me About Time Management
When I started budgeting, I also started learning a new way to think about time management. Here are three lessons I learned.
11 Reasons Why I’m Obsessed with the Plan to Eat App for Meal Planning
Before Plan to Eat, our meal plans were inconsistently and unreliable. With it, meal planning is a dream.
Operation: Get a Grip on My 2021 Grocery Bill
By the end of September, we had already spent $1,400 more on groceries in 2021 than we had in the whole of 2019…and we still have 3 months to go in the year.
What Is a Dividend? How Cash Dividends Work and What to Expect.
Cash dividends are the most common type of dividends. Here’s how often you’ll get them, which companies send them, and everything else you need to know.
How “Staff Meetings” With My Wife Helped Us Find More Balance
If we couldn’t take anything off our plate anytime soon, we needed to change the way we were approaching the plate so that we could tackle it more as a team.
The Surprising Benefits of Biweekly Mortgage Payments
Switching to biweekly mortgage payments can help you avoid thousands of dollars in interest and pay off your mortgage years early.
My 2020 Budget Recap
With 2020 being such a strange year it was interesting to see how this year’s budget didn’t just reflect me and my year personally, but also the collective experience that was 2020.
How I Graduated College With No Student Loans
One of the reasons I’ve been able to build a positive net worth quickly is because I graduated without student loans. Here’s how I did it.
Here’s How You Can Easily Save an Extra $30k for Retirement (for Real)
This isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme. It just comes down to math and figuring out what we really want.
This Is Your Real Hourly Wage and Why You Should Care About It
We work to earn money, but in the process, we end up losing money, too.
The Importance of Setting Milestones and Celebrating Little Wins
Pausing to celebrate the little wins keeps up your motivation and keeps the to-do list dread at bay.
A Simple Guide to Credit: What Credit Even Is and How You Can Improve It
Understanding how credit works helps you take advantage of it, rather than it taking advantage of you.
Got Debt? Here’s How You Can Deal With It.
Debt means you owe somebody money. Here’s how to pay it down and get some control back.
Buy the Fancy Chocolate, Not the Fancy Car
My philosophy on saving money isn’t one of “making cuts” but of “making choices” and aligning your spending with your priorities.
A Love Letter to Leftovers (and 4 Tips to Make the Most of Yours)
I love leftovers, and I think you should too. Here are four ways to make the most of yours.
High-Interest Savings Accounts: What They Are and Why You Need One
High-interest savings accounts let your money work for you. And thanks to online banks, they’re more accessible than ever.
The Power of Insourcing – Another Way to Pay Yourself First
When you hear the terms “insourcing” and “outsourcing”, you probably think of businesses, but it’s a framework we can also apply to our individual lives and households as well.
Financial Resilience Isn’t Just About the Money You Have in the Bank
Just like preparing for a literal storm, you can prepare for a financial storm with a few resilience-building tips.
The Thing That Matters More Than Money When It Comes to Doing What You Want
Each year, whenever my wife or I hit a busy period of work, I’m reminded of an important lesson I learned shortly after we started gaining control of our finances.
6 Tips for Starting Your Home-Buying Process
We knew basically nothing when we bought our house. So, here are my top six tips for the house-buying process.
I Was Bad at Budgeting Until I Tried the Zero-Sum Budgeting Method. Here’s How It Works.
Zero-sum budgeting forces you to view money as the tool that it is and make decisions based on both your immediate needs and your priorities.
If You Want to Save More, Focus on Cutting These 3 Categories
Three categories have an outsized impact on your ability to save. Here are some ways to scale them back.
This Is How Much Money It Takes to Retire (or Just Be Financially Independent)
How much money you need to be financially independent isn’t based on your income — it’s based on what you spend. Here’s why.
Your Savings Rate: Your Ticket to Financial Independence
Bumping up your personal savings rate by a few percentage points can shave years off of your required working years.
How to Calculate Your Net Worth
Knowing your financial picture can give you a sense of control and direction on how to improve your net worth.
Why “Moving the Sock” Is a Simple Yet Powerful Move
Moving the sock can set you up for future success and help you avoid tragedy.
Reader Question: How Do You Start Budgeting with a Partner?
Budgeting together is different than budgeting alone. Here’s a flexible guide for what questions you’ll need to answer when you start budgeting with a partner.
Fellow White Folks and Personal Finance Nerds: We Need to Talk About the Racial Wealth Gap
Time to build wealth has been stolen from the Black community in this country over and over again and continues to be.
Black Lives Matter. Donate to These Organizations Today
Keep this anger, keep this sadness, and keep this line in your budget.
Reader Question: Should You and Your Partner Join Your Finances?
When we talk about merging finances, it can seem like it’s an all-or-nothing type of question. In reality, the decision to merge finances with a partner (or not) can be as nuanced as you want.
Reader Question: How Do You Start Talking Finances with a Partner?
Having money conversations that take your individual pasts into context while focusing on your joint future can be incredibly rewarding and sustaining. It just takes a little planning and practice!
Back on the Budget
It’s been a while and a lot has changed. Both, you know, in the world and personally. I took a break from writing these past two months for two reasons.
72 Things You Can Do While Self-Quarantining (That Aren’t Shopping Online to Try to Stave Off Existential Dread)
Odds are, that thing your ordering online isn’t going to actually give you more control. Here’s a list of 72 things you can do instead of online shopping.
9 Simple Ways to Lower Your Grocery Bill That Don’t Involve Clipping Coupons
With grocery store shelves being emptied daily as people prepare for possible quarantining with the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, I thought it might be a good time to share my favorite tips for saving money on my weekly grocery shop.
February 2020 Meal Plan — Month in Review
Find out what I ate this past month and how it impacted my budget. Get some ideas for your own meal plan!
February 2020 Review: Spending & Savings Report
It’s that time of the month! Time for a review of my past months earnings and spending. When I invite you all to explore the nitty gritty of my finances down to the penny.
A Beginner’s Guide to Investing (and Busting the Myths That Are Stopping You)
For many people the thought of investing can seem overwhelming. However, a successful investment strategy boils down to two very simple rules.
How Paying Attention Can Pay Off
Half of the battle when it comes to saving money is often as simple as paying attention.
6 Valentine’s Day Date Ideas that Won’t Break Your Budget’s Heart
Roses are red, violets are blue. Capitalism is a trap, but I’ll invest with you. ❤️
January 2020 Meal Plan — Month in Review
Creating a monthly meal map helps us plan for our busy weeks and get a handle on our grocery budget. Here’s how we did in January.
January 2020 Review: Spending & Savings Report
I have some intense savings goals for 2020, and I got off to a good start this month.
Motivate Yourself to Reach Your Money (and Life) Goals with These 6 Tips
Working toward your financial goals can feel too overwhelming (or downright scary to even begin) so instead, you keep ignoring it.
How I Turned My Morning Coffee Routine Into a Money-Saving Habit (That Still Feels Luxurious)
If you’re trying to break the habit of frequently buying coffee out, try implementing these simple shifts.
Retirement Accounts: What’s the Difference and Which One Is Right for Me?
When it comes to saving for retirement, it’s best to use the crockpot method: Set it and forget it.
Here’s How You Can Transform Your Relationship with Money in 10 Minutes Each Day
You can become proficient in something by spending five minutes each day on it, and just like interest, that knowledge will compound.
What Our Courthouse Wedding Actually Cost Us
The average wedding in the US costs $29,858, and in our region of Florida the average cost is even higher at $42,038. So, I thought in honor of my one month-iversary, I’d do a breakdown of what we spent.
The Magic of Sinking Funds
It didn’t take long to realize every month was a “weird month” and I that as a result I wasn’t getting very far towards my savings goals. Enter sinking funds. *jazz hands*
Well, I’m Not Actually on a Budget. Instead, I Ask Myself These 4 Questions Before I Buy Anything
These questions help keep my spending well within my “budget” and they make me way less stressed.
8 Ways Building Community Can Fast Track Your Savings
By focusing on building a strong community we are not only enriching our lives but also creating incredible opportunity to save (and make) more money.
My 2020 Intentions
Even though I fully understand that the start of a New Year is ultimately an arbitrary marker of time passing, there’s something I like about sitting down, reflecting on the past year, practicing gratitude, and thinking about things I want to work on for myself in the new year.
My First Full Year Working Towards FI: A Recap!
Turns out, spending your money more intentionally (rather than mindlessly) leads to having more intentionally awesome experiences and a lot less stress. Who knew?
A Little Backstory: Me, My Wife, and Our Money
Cassie and my relationship with money hasn’t always been the smoothest. In fact, at the beginning, it was a bit of a roller-coaster.
Let’s talk about money some more!
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Butch on a Budget 