Good morning!

Here is your weekly update with all things of the utmost importance ;)

If I haven’t told you so lately, thanks for being a part of the community!

Would love to hear more about what you’ve been getting into over there? All things good in money land? Love? Happiness? Anything juicy happen lately?

Shoot me a note and let me know!

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Articles from Budgets Are Sexy this week:

“Inhale confidence, exhale doubt”” — A great line to repeat any time you’re in need of a boost ;)

Hidden Investment Opportunities in Mobile Homes — An overlooked space of the real estate industry prime for the picking!! My long time internet friend Rachel Hernandez (aka Mobile Home Gurl) stops by the blog to share the ins and outs of the niche, and why it’s a great opportunity to consider.

Our new couch battle – am I in the wrong? — Where I battle with Ashley HomeStore for not giving us our ottoman we thought we had paid for… A perfect read if you enjoy getting fired up by crappy customer service ;)

Rescued these books from Goodwill… Want them? :) — Two more days left to enter one of these books: “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up”, “The Automatic Millionaire,” and “The Four Tendencies” by Gretchen Rubin.

#Overheard at the coffee shop – Volume VII — Did I catch you this month? ;)

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Articles from around the web I liked:

Overcoming Your Demons by Morgan Housel — “About 20% of kids stutter. Most outgrow it by age 5. About 1% still stutter by age 10. A lucky 0.1% stutter into adulthood, with some small fraction of that being chronic enough to affect their daily life. I’m one of them… Maybe you’ve noticed, maybe you haven’t. But I want to tell my story, because it ends well.”

Changing My Attitude… Changed My Life! by 5 A.M. Joel — “Instead of walking out the door, I went straight to the bar and ordered two pints of Guinness. One for me, and the other for… well, me. I returned to my table of friends and announced that I was there to have a good time, and I am no longer in a bad mood! They all cheered! And then an angel appeared…”

Twitter has to figure out what to do with dead people by MIT Technology Review — “Twitter said it would shut down any account that hasn’t logged in for six months, starting from December 11. It wasn’t ready for the backlash.”

Put Harriet Tubman on a New $25 Bill by National Review — “The exciting and powerful film Harriet, on screens now, should earn its heroine a well-deserved platform on which everyone can see her: a new $25 bill. Harriet Tubman escaped slavery in Maryland, fled north 100 miles to Philadelphia, and began life as a free woman in 1849. But she didn’t sit still…”

I’m Honestly Fed Up With All The Bad News, So I Illustrated 50 of The Best Ones From 2019 by Bored Panda — “We are often bombarded with fear-mongering and shocking headlines that make us feel that the world is falling apart. However, while it’s important to report on problems and issues, I believe there is so much good in this world that it needs to be found and promoted just as widely. Because of that, I started The Happy Broadcast. It’s an anti-venom to the vitriolic rhetoric that pervades our media.”

And lastly, always remember…

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Enjoy the ride ;)

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Happy Friday!

Here’s the best of Budgets Are Sexy lately, as well as other parts of the web that I couldn’t help but want to share with the world ;)

If only people in our “real” lives appreciated this as much as we do! But oh well, guess everyone can’t be as awesome as us…

Let me know how you score on that nerd quiz btw ;)

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Favorite articles on the blog lately:

You may be a money nerd, if… — “You track 2 different versions of your net worth… You fund a college savings account – even though you don’t have any kids yet…You get more heated debating whether the RE belongs in FIRE than you do with politics!”

Are you financially better off *today* than you were at the start of the year? — Answer these 6 questions to find out!

Let’s use up those forgotten gift cards! — Every year we give up close to $1 BILLION of unused gift cards in our country. Let’s make sure we’re not a part of it!

12 More Money Ideas to Try — A bunch of great money tips from our community featuring The Money Binder, The Car Payment Pretender, The “One Hanger” Rule!, The Book Diet, and The Santa Boxer-Upper

You’re always one decision away from a totally different life – Most of us know what we should be doing, but it’s a whole other thing to actually DO IT. Let this be a gentle push to take that first step, and if you need an accountability partner along the way I’d be happy to be one for you :)

12 Ways to Live More Sustainably/Frugally — Caught a great list of 101 ways to live more sustainably and here were some of my favorites. Along with some links they recommended which sent me down a whole other rabbit hole for the past hour and a half, haha…

14 Frugal (and Actually Helpful!) Moving Tips — A handful of clever tips I’d never heard of before from Twitter! Who said that place was a waste of time?! ;)

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Favorite articles around the web lately:

The ‘Strange, Unduly Neglected Prophet’ via NPR — “He proposed a new kind of paper money that would have an expiration date. To avoid expiration, the bills would have to be periodically stamped for a fee. With no new stamp, they would become worthless… Gesell believed this would keep money whizzing through the system, preventing future depressions and increasing public prosperity.”

Mr. Rogers Wasn’t a Saint, He Was One of Us via Raptitude — “Joanne Rogers has said she doesn’t like it when people refer to her husband as a saint, because that makes his level of kindness seem unattainable. “People invariably say, ‘Well, I can’t do that, but I sure do admire him. I would love to do it.’ Well, you can do it.”

Life Hacks I’ve Picked Up From The Death Notices via The Globe and Mail — “I spend Saturday mornings with a coffee in one hand and my newspaper’s death notices in the other… What is it that makes me want to know these people? I have been asking myself the same question for a decade.”

I’ve Been Using a 950,000-Mile Lexus as a Daily Driver via Autotrader— “Not too long ago, our editor/overseer/cause celebre Doug DeMuro expressed amazement at discovering a Ford Excursion with 603,000 miles on the clock. Me, I wasn’t as impressed — because I’ve been cruising around in a 1996 Lexus LS400 with half again as many miles as that old Excursion.”

And then for all those who loved our Christmas Tree Side Hustle years ago and/or Taylor Swift, here’s a fact that will blow your mind: Taylor Swift GREW UP on a Christmas Tree Farm! And you can see it in her latest video she dropped, which also includes a home video of her getting her very first guitar that would go on to change her – and everyone else’s – lives years later… Pretty wild!

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Happy weekend,

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Happy Friday y’all!

Here’s our latest roundup of gems from around the web, including some of my faves we’ve ran on Budgets Are Sexy recently…

Lots of great articles and ideas here for your wallet’s enjoyment! Have a blessed Thanksgiving next week – thanks for being in my life! 🙏🦃

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Favorite articles on the blog:

A list of scary things I used to be addicted to (!) — “For a good challenge the next few days, make a list of all the things you catch yourself doing – whether personally, professionally, or financially – and then see if any surprises stand out… I guarantee you’ll find something you don’t like.”

Ben Franklin: The OG of FIRE? — “Frugal Wheels stops by the blog today to challenge my notion that Warren Buffett was the original Early Retiree from our country, haha… But nope! Apparently ol’ Benny Franklin was ;)”

How much do you need for a day of *Freedom*? — “A fun exercise to better put things in perspective – try it out! And then add it to your monthly spreadsheet/tracking so you can watch it change over the years :)”

Side Hustle #76: Selling “Printables” for Passive Income — “Millennial Boss stops by the blog to share her experience selling printables on Etsy… I’ll let her tell you just how much she’s made over the years (hint: it’s in the thousands!), but I love that it took her some experimenting to finally land on the perfect product to focus on, and even more so how she set it up to be more passive!”

Things you can do that rich people do — “Might want to bookmark this one for whenever you’re feeling down :) A list of everything you can do whether you’ve got millions in the bank or not…”

Our “No Spend” Year — “A fantastic journey from Allysgrandma who took on a No Spend Year this year and is now going on indefinitely… Amazing how well we can adapt (and save!!!) when we actually focus and get a little creative!”

Remember when you wanted what you currently have? — “Don’t stop striving, but remember you’re doing a lot better than you used to be…”

Side Hustle #77: Online Proofreading/Editing ($1,600/mo) — “Do you like reading? Do you enjoy correcting other people’s mistakes? Are you well-versed in English grammar? Do you dream of semicolons and ellipses chasing you in your nightmares? Well, if three of those four questions sound like you, then you might be good at proofreading/editing online content as a side hustle!”

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Favorite articles around the web:

Where Husbands Hide Money During Divorce via The Financial Lifeguard — “Today’s divorcing husbands have moved way beyond stashing a roll of cash in their sock and underwear drawers. In this digital age where everything is trackable, they’ve had to get creative. Here are some of the interesting ways he might be hiding cash or assets from you.”

How to Get a Better Deal From a Real Estate Agent via NY Times — “When I bought a home a few months ago, my real estate agent handed me a check worth tens of thousands of dollars — a rebate on his commission. Windfalls like that could become more common if home buyers demand better deals.”

The Eco-Friendly Giving Brush via GivingBrush.com — “There are over 7 billion people in the world. 99% of those people brush their teeth with a standard plastic toothbrush that will eventually end up in landfills and our oceans… The Giving Brush is made from organically grown bamboo.”

How I got rich on the other hand via Derek Sivers — “I don’t usually talk about money, but a friend asked me what it was like to get rich, and he wanted to know specifics, so I told him my story.”

Own One Car For Show And Another Car For Dough via Financial Samurai — “For those of you who love cars and want to own two or more cars, I suggest owning at least a Dough Car. If you do, you might build your net worth quicker than the rest. You might even better keep yourself out of trouble. ”

The Financial Freedom Calculator via Engaging Data — “Freedom days refers to the number of days that your retirement savings could sustain you (without working) each year (indefinitely) at your current spending level. Once you reach 365 freedom days per year, you’ve got enough money saved up to never have to work again.”

The Financial Flight – A Craft Beer Menu Of Personal Finance via Financial Mechanic — “While in Vermont, Mr. Mechanic and I visited a few different breweries. One of my favorite things to do is read each beer description– they are so artfully written! So I thought it would be fun to make up a “financial flight” of craft beer. I hope it’s everything I’ve hopped it up to be.”

And lastly, the Playing With FIRE documentary is now out :) You can find it on Amazon here — “Playing with FIRE: A Documentary that captures the truths and dispels the myths of the growing culture known as FIRE: Financial Independence Retire Early.”

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XOXO,

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Happy Friday!

Here are a bunch of great articles from around the web this week, including from yours truly ;) Although, I’m just realizing I haven’t done one of these in a while, so this will actually be the “Best Of” version from the past three weeks, haha…

Should make you nice and wealthy by the time you’re done reading them though! You’re welcome!!

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Favorite articles on Budgets Are Sexy recently:

READY MONEY. — A money poem I found circa 1909 ;)

The Problem with “Free” (and My 2 New Yard Sale Rules) — “Rule #1: No more getting anything for FREE!… Rule #2: For every new item you bring in the home, you must get rid of another.”

Log Cabin Ruth & Her Fantastic Side Hustles 💪💪 — “The other day I randomly stumbled across this old email thread with a reader who was about to pay off her log cabin (that’s right – I said log cabin!!), and now years later I was curious to see if she ended up making it happen ;)… SPOILER ALERT: She did it!! And scooped up some excellent side hustles along the way…”

Phrases to use instead of “I Don’t Want to Spend Money” — “So many of us struggle with saying “no” to stuff, but it’s not because we don’t care or *want* to do a lot of these things, it’s simply ’cause we’re trying to keep our $$$ reigned in! So having an arsenal of lines like this is smart to have in your pockets for whenever you need to whip ’em out…”

How Getting Sober Changed My Life — and My Money — “A powerful story by a friend of mine, and new(ish) blogger on the scene, Deanna from Recovering Women Wealth, who’s not only found her path towards financial freedom, but freedom from the devil’s work too. A beautiful, and positive!, person putting herself out there in hopes of inspiring others! Thank you Deanna!!! ”

What’s Your Wealth Number? — “If you’re tired of thinking about money in terms of “net worth,” here’s another way you can do it and more sneakily compare yourself to others ;)”

“Just one time!” — “You ever catch yourself saying that whenever you’re about to splurge on something?? “JUST ONE TIME!” And then that one time becomes two times, and then three, and then before you know it you now have yourself a regular line item in your budget? ;) Me too.”

14 Wildly Different Allowance Strategies :) — “A look at some of my favorite [allowance techniques] for anyone else in need of finding or tweaking their own systems. We’ll start with the more humorous ones for all those who couldn’t care less or don’t have kids ;)

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Favorite articles around the web recently:

The Best and Worst Thing About Financial Independence via Mad Fientist — “If you’re unhappy when you’re working and you blame your job for all your problems, you may struggle after FI if you’re still unhappy. What do you do when your biggest scapegoat disappears?”

What We Flipped To Make $21,105 In One Month via Flea Market Flipper — “Do you love flipping used items? We do! I don’t think I will ever be able to have a ‘real job’ ever again… Today we are going to dive into what we flipped last month (which includes our largest flip of the year!)”

Why Some Think It’s a Smart Money Move to Give a 6-Year-Old a Debit Card via Money.com — “The piggy bank is so passé – get your kids some plastic. That’s what supporters of a growing group of tools aimed at teaching kids money skills claim. The new products – debit cards designed specifically for joint parent and child accounts – were created as a solution for parents who were bombarded with requests for money from their kids and who rarely had cash on hand to pay weekly allowances.”

Forgetting to pay your bills on time may be a warning sign of Alzheimer’s via DailyMail.com — “Forgetting to pay your bills on time may be an early warning sign of Alzheimer’s, a study has suggested. Researchers have found an inability to keep on top of finances strikes many patients shortly before they are diagnosed.”

A Million Nameless Joys Await via Raptitude — “In an era when it feels as though we’ve somehow seen everything already, or at least photos of it online, it’s comforting to know that out there, just beyond the boundaries of our own routines, await subtle flavors of joy we can’t conceive of. ”

Barbie’s Malibu Dreamhouse will be on Airbnb for $60 per night via CNN — “Call three friends, jump in the bubble gum pink Jeep, and hop on the Pacific Coast Highway. The Barbie Malibu Dreamhouse is available to rent. It is beachy and dreamy, and it is very, very pink. Better yet? It’s only $60 per night on Airbnb.”

And lastly, this hilarious skit by Victor Borge on “Inflationary” Language (video) — (Shout out to Clyde Forsland for recommending this one!)

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Blessed weekend, everyone 🙏🙏

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Morning!

Here are my favorite articles from the past couple of weeks – both from me, and others around the web…

On a side note, I’ve started this thing where I’m trying to *experience* one new thing a day in my life, and the more *physical* I can get involved the better.

For example, I’ve started visiting local attractions and museums in my hometown now, as well as other random shops or streets I’ve often overlooked, and so far it’s been an incredibly rewarding experience! Not only am I immersing myself into the community more, but I’m learning so much with each and every visit on top of staying away from the computer more…

Highly recommend it if you’re looking for a new challenge or just bored ;) Maybe give it a shot this weekend?

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Favorite articles on Budgets Are Sexy recently:

Having a Hard Time Paying Off Debt? Try a Money Board!! — “The real magic is in my money board, where I track the current goal of paying something off. $1 usually represents $1k. Each time $1,000 is paid off, a dollar moves from the left side of the board to the right. When the debt is cleared, the money moves back to the left and a new goal is set. I’ve paid off tens of thousands of dollars this way.”

My Name is Fern, and I Work at a Cemetery — “I’m very familiar with hanging out and visiting cemeteries as it’s one of the most serene places in the world!, but I’ve never known anyone to actually *have a job there*, so hopefully you find this as interesting as I did… And then when you’re done, be sure to check out our post on what it’s like to be a MORTICIAN so you’re all set for Halloween this year!”

New $$$ Book Out + Giveaway: Choose FI! — “Another book drops from our community today – and it’s a big one! “Choose FI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence” by Chris Mamula, Brad Barrett, and Jonathan Mendonsa. A copy you 100% want to own if you’re a fan of the Choose FI movement ;)”

One Tweak a Week! — “I listen to Paula Pant’s Afford Anything podcast, and she introduced me to the concept of One Tweak a Week. Essentially, you do one small thing each week to move yourself forward financially. They can be small things (like checking your credit score), or bigger things (like paying off your car – which I did last week!). I really, really like this idea because it keeps the momentum going, however small, and has some accountability built in if you share it with a friend.”

Children Now Average $30 a Week in Allowance?! — “My kids don’t currently get anything a week except for love and encouragement and some good ol’ quality time with dad, but the topic of money has started creeping up more and more now so it’s only a matter of time until we have “the talk.” And if I’m being completely honest, I’m not sure where I stand on it?”

Lifestyle Creep… Isn’t That Kind of the Point? — “Most of what you’ll find on the Internet are articles on how to avoid lifestyle creep and why it’s “the biggest threat” to your financial future. Perhaps there’s some truth to that, but I think if you allow yourself to “creep” with intention, you, your family, and others can all be better off.”

10+ More Money Ideas to Try Out — “Gamer guilds, anti-bucket lists, value tracking tabs, credit score tests, mortgage time travel!, paycheck challenges, “what to do when I’m dead” letters, a half dozen ideas on gift giving, and more!”

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Favorite articles around the web recently:

The Wisdom of Life by Arthur Schopenhauer via The Rabbit Hole — “Excessive material wealth does little for happiness but we must be able to meet our needs or else we won’t have the luxury of time and space to focus on ourselves and what makes us really happy.”

4 Simple Techniques to Remember Everything You Learn via Entrepreneur — “In a four-month period, practicing for 30 minutes a day, you can expect to learn and retain 3,600 flashcards with 90 to 95 percent accuracy. These flashcards can teach you an alphabet, vocabulary, grammar and even pronunciation. And they can do it without becoming tedious, because they’re always challenging enough to remain interesting and fun.”

How George de Mestral Invented the Velcro Fastener via NY Mag — “In 1941, de Mestral was on a hunting trip and noticed that both his pants and his Irish Pointer’s hair were covered in the burs from a burdock plant. Where many might have brushed them off in irritation, de Mestral decided to study the burs under a microscope, more out of curiosity than sensing a new business opportunity… What de Mestral saw were thousands of tiny hooks that efficiently bound themselves to nearly any fabric (or dog hair) that passed by.”

IT’S GOING TO BE A CLIFFHANGER by Josh Radnor — “Yes, the planet got destroyed. But for a beautiful moment in time we created a lot of value for shareholders.”

Travel Without a Phone by Derek Sivers — “Where you are is partially defined by where you are not. When you’re somewhere, you’re not somewhere else. But when you use your phone, you’re everywhere. You keep in touch with friends. You hear what’s going on at home. You see the screen exactly as you do anywhere else”

And this Twitter mental health tip via @ZoeChance:

Twitter mental health tip:

Mute words and phrases, not just accounts. (You’ll still get news.)

Settings —>

Content preferences —>

Muted:

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Happy filtering :)

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