The Upgrade Effect
Stuff. We all buy it and need it. In a post a few years back I laid out my three rules of stuff, coming from a frugal and financially independent mindset. And recently I posted about maximizers and satisficers and...
Category: spending
Are You A Maximizer Or A Satisficer?
My coffee maker died a slow death recently. One morning I woke up to a half-brewed carafe and wondered what was up. Three days later the buttons started getting wonky. Two days after that she laid down, gone forever. I...
The Most Reliable And Least Reliable Cars of 2021
Back in 2018 I did a post comparing the vehicles with the highest and lowest recall rates. Of course the vehicles with the highest recall rates averaged $35,365 in MSRP, while the ones with the lowest recall rates had an...
What I Spent In 2020
I’ve never had a budget. Ever. I’m not against them and I actually think they’re probably necessary for those who overspend or who have a bad relationship with debt and money. But I wasn’t one of those folks thankfully. If...
The American Auto Loan Crisis
Americans collectively owe approximately $1.35 trillion in auto loan debt. Trillion, with a “T”. We’ve heard the constant drumbeat of the student loan crisis for a long time now, and rightly so. Total student loan debt in America is even...
My Biggest Money Mistake
It’s pretty common for personal finance and FIRE bloggers to discuss their biggest financial mistakes. I think that’s a great thing. For one, it’s good to own up to things. It makes you more human, and the transparency builds trust....
How The Coronavirus Might Change Food
For introverts like me, “social distancing” isn’t something I have to be convinced to do. It’s built into my life a little more than it is for a social butterfly or an extrovert. So I’ve been watching with curious fascination...
Be Kind, Make People Laugh, Save Money
A couple of weeks ago I was packing my duffle for a day of climbing on the local crag. I noticed one of my ropes was getting frayed. As a frugal weirdo I almost always use things until they die...
First The Latte Factor, Now The Coffee Factor
Recently a short video from Suze Orman created a bit of a controversy on social media. Granted everything is a controversy on social media these days, but I found this one particularly interesting. Orman recorded a short video called “how...
Are Renting And Sharing The New Owning?
My lawnmower was manufactured when Ronald Reagan was still in his first term. My grandmother bought it new and I inherited it after she passed, and I’m still using it today. It’s literally cut hundreds of millions of blades of...
Money Lessons From Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Day will be celebrated this coming Monday in America. It’s a federal government holiday, so I’ll be off. As a semi-retired and semi-quasi-professional blogger and graphic artist, I wasn’t planning on working anyway. Sadly, many companies in...
How Capitalism Saves You Money
When Uber first came on the scene I largely ignored them. I thought the idea was great, one of those “Why didn’t I think of that” ideas that’s both simple and revolutionary. I love seeing industries get disrupted, especially old...
Recent Comments