For the first time in 14 years, I got a tax refund rather than a tax bill this year. I would not recommend giving the government interest-free use of my money, and will make adjustments this year so I don’t get a refund. But it was unexpected, so I decided to use it to treat […]
Dumb Reasons I Spend Money (and how I plan to fix it)
If you’re like me, most of your purchases consist of necessities: housing, transportation, food. Those feel good because they mean I’m caring for my loved ones. Even the fun expenditures are meaningful because they’re intentional and create memories. But every month as I look over my spending, I notice silly purchases that add little or […]
Five Frugal Things
I love finding ways to save money. Not because I want to live an ascetic lifestyle, but so I can budget my money in alignment with my values. As an example, I bought tickets to an upcoming Liz Phair show for myself and my two oldest daughters. Experiences and making memories gives me more happiness […]
Frugal Wins, September Edition
Pardon my metablogging for a moment, but expect to see more content here focused on women + finances. Frugality for me is a way to redirect more money into investments, and the frugal choice is almost always more environmentally sound. And I know September is over. This post is about what I did last month […]
The benefits of financial trauma
I heard a lot about financial trauma and financial anxiety at FinCon. And I’m thrilled at this public conversation. Financial trauma is defined as “a financial wound or injury that can cause disruptive behaviors with money,” according to Stephanie Genkin, Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Certified Financial Therapist (CFT-1) and founder of My Financial Planner, LLC. I remember a story my […]
How to stop emotional spending
I’ve avoided taking a close look at my spending recently, and this neglect has made me anxious.The stress of the last few months has made it impossible for me to focus on the details of my budget. In addition, I’m no longer doing a weekly or monthly budget meeting with my spouse. So when I […]
Notes from my first FinCon
It’s Monday and I have a mile-long to-do list from my first FinCon notes. If you’ve considered going to FinCon or are just curious about what it’s all about, read on! What is FinCon? FinCon is an annual conference for content creators in the personal finance space to come together for networking, learning and connecting […]
Frugal Wins, July edition
Hi! If you’re new here, welcome! I share frugal wins periodically, both to keep myself accountable and to share good ideas with others. Here are some recent ways I’ve saved money. Note: this post uses affiliate links, please read more about that here if you’re curious! Thanks to a post by MoneySavingMom.com, I got 3 […]
Uber Frugal Month: join us?
I’ve done “no spend” months and even “no spend” summers before, and documented my experience here on the blog. This month, I’m joining the Frugalwoods for an uber frugal month, community style. Why do a spending fast? The point isn’t to produce suffering. It’s the opposite: to maximize happiness. For me, the most important reason […]
Recent frugal wins (and fails)
First, the frugal fail! Recently I’ve been guilty of throwing away too much food. (The horror!) Food waste, according to this study from Penn State, costs the average American family $1,866 annually. Ouch. I needed to get a handle on this, quickly. For a few weeks after we moved into the new house, I had […]