Despite smoke haze, August has been a great month for us. We spent weekends with family, hanging out at the lake, going to concerts on the green, and threw in a few days in Denver as well. The general trend of this month was frugality by generosity of our respective families. We are very grateful […]
“I am not a math person,” and other lies we tell ourselves
I cringe every time someone says, “I am not a math person.” You are many things, and one of them is a math person. You are an artistic person, a creative person, a dancing person, because you are human. The surest way to hamstring your growth as a human being is to peg yourself into […]
The Five Stages of FIRE – and how to keep it alight
The journey to FIRE– financial independence, retiring early– looks like a lot of things to a lot of different people. Some people retire to the countryside. Others retire to travel the world. Still others ‘retire’ to run their own business. No matter what the path, all the journeys have five things in common, and along […]
Cutting Hair (Out of Your Budget)
The average American woman spends $44 on a haircut. Add 20% tip, the total rises to $53. If she goes to a salon the recommended 4-8 times a year, she pays $212-$424 per year on haircuts. The average American man will spend $28 on a haircut. Add 20% tip, he will pay $34 every visit. […]
The Mechanic’s Guide to Meal Planning
Four steps helped us set some goals, benchmark our spending, and make meal-planning happen.
Four Fantastically Frugal Foreign Feats
A travel bug scuttled around the house as I grew up, buzzing through hallways lined with photographs of faraway places. My parents met while on a three-day trek in New Zealand, so I guess it was inevitable that they would bring the bug home with them. I try to follow in their footsteps and travel […]
Trading useless junk for freedom
Back in elementary school they did a lot to scare us out of smoking. A huge poster of a woman dominated the nurse’s office, where you could see through half of her body as if with cartoon x-ray vision. You could see her rotting lungs, cavity-filled mouth, and other gross consequences from habitual smoking. Definitely […]