Good morning!

AND HAPPY DECEMBER!! THE BEST MONTH EVER!

(And not just because JC and J$ were born in it – it’s about the SPIRIT of everything!! And how nice everyone finally becomes!! lol…)

And as such, I’m going to take a break from these newsletters for the month (as well as my blog) to soak it all in and slow down life a bit… You can see the short list of things I plan to tackle here (hint: include museums, coins and tattoos!), but more or less I’ll just be on the low recalibrating and taking advantage of WifeFI :)

I hope you’re able to slow down and enjoy the fruits of your fiscal management too! If you can’t use money to improve your life, what’s the point of it all?!

Back in January with more financial goodies… Thanks for being here with me this year! It means more than you know 🙏

PS: The new challenge for the month is SQUATS (100x day)! We knocked out those push-ups last month doing over 72,000 of them combined (!) and now we keep the momentum going with squats… Spreadsheet here if you want to join and track your progress!

******

Posts on Budgets this week:

10 Crazy Ways We’ve Saved Money Over The Years — A bunch of tips on how to save money! From cutting down cell phone bills, to simple menu making, to my new favorite day – NAKED SUNDAYS!!

Taking off The Month of December to Chill 🎄 — Taking a blog sabbatical to refresh and spend time catching up on other of life’s adventures… Full list of what I plan on tackling included here. Thanks for all your support this year!

*To get these posts automatically emailed to you on the day they come out, sign up to my blog newsletter here.

******

Favorite Articles Around The Community:

It’s Just a Tool @ Humble Dollar – “There are also plenty of problems that money can’t solve: lack of purpose, chronic unhappiness, lost loved ones. I believe we should save our worrying and mental focus for these problems, and let money take care of the problems it can solve.”

10 Secret Library Resources That Can Save You a Ton of Dough! @ Route to Retire – “Here are some of those things offered in the Wall of Things at my local library: 3D pens, auxiliary audio cables, bike locks, boogie boards, citizenship kits (to study for the nationalization test), crochet kits, hotspots (access free Wi-Fi while traveling or at events), and much much more.”

What 3,000 Push-Ups Taught Me About Motivation, Habit Building & Overcoming Obstacles @ Accidentally Retired – “I’m not a fitness freak. I don’t do ANY strength training. Yet, I completed 3,000 push-ups in November!! Here are the many lessons of the last 30 days…”

It’s Not About Retirement Anymore @ Retire Before Dad – “It’s about: being more available to my family, focusing on meaningful work that I enjoy, building on the nine years of effort I’ve put into my online writing business, and leveraging the saving and investing I’ve prioritized over the past two decades.”

Savers Get Paid Again @ The Belle Curve —  “Cash is back! In this new era, we will think twice before withdrawing our 3%+ cash from savings to put it at risk. And that puts my mind at ease when I consider investing for the next 10, 20, 30 years, and beyond.”

******

Clips & News From The Community

A bunch of interesting clips and news I caught this week:

• Retire Before Dad officially retires
• The Best Interest quits social media!
• “Your index funds are never going to call you in the middle of the night to complain that the AC is broken in your rental unit.” – A Wealth of Common Sense
• “The older I become the more I realize that our relationship with money — and whether it’s a healthy or unhealthy one — isn’t just down to how much we have. It’s whether we are master of it, or it is master of us. Who controls who?” – Simple and Straightforward
• “Alongside my “easy come, easy go” attitude is my “let them wear whatever they want” attitude. Both of my girls have been known to wear ballgowns to school and I’m not concerned if they come home stained or ripped. I want them to enjoy their clothes and play freely with abandon… My hope is that my kids won’t have deep-seated attachments to material possessions.” – Frugalwoods

******

Event of The Week!

Calling all DC peeps!! If you’re around next Wednesday, Dec 7th from 6pm-8pm, come join a bunch of us creators to talk money and entrepreneurship! Whether you’re a creator yourself or just a huge fan!

We’ll be meeting at the Southeast Neighborhood Library (mtg. room 1), and it’s being hosted by Plutus Voices – an arm of the Plutus Foundation. Hope to see some of you there!!

More info here: plutusvoices.com/dc

Plutus has also created a new Mastadon community for money lovers as well. So if you’re tired of Twitter and/or just want a new social channel to get addicted to, lol, you can join the fun :) Still debating whether to join myself…

******

Manifesto of The Week:

The Investor’s Manifesto (2022) @ Safal Niveshak — “This is for you. This is from someone like you. It is an Investor’s Manifesto. It is something you can reflect back on if you ever felt stuck in your investing life. If you believe in it, follow it, and stand for it, your investing life will be good.” [Hat tip: Apex Money]

******

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

 

// For previous newsletters: Archives
// To connect further: @Twitter | @Facebook | @Instagram | @LinkedIn

 

Good morning, Turkeys!!

Hope you had a good one :) And hope you’re keeping your wallets safe with today’s Black Friday madness?!

I know I don’t have to worry about you as much as I do others out there, but just in case you’re needing a little reminder this holiday season, here is an approved list of the *only* things you’re allowed to buy this year… You can thank me later ;)

Official List of Allowed Purchases This Black Friday

In other news, I finally got my bill for those life-saving infusions over the summer!! Do you want to guess how much they came out to?? (For context, I had two of them and they were a little over $20,000 each, pre-insurance 😱😱)

The total came out to….. drum roll please…

***

**

*

$1,700!! Whew!!

Thank GOSH for amazing health insurance, man… Can you imagine?? Paying $40,000 every time you need some meds which for me* will be every 1-4 years FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE??! I know you hear stories of people getting bankrupted over medical bills left and right, but it sure does hit home for me these days, wow…

Yet another thing to be thankful for over this holiday season – boring insurance!! The only thing we pay for that we hope to never use! Lol…

I’ll leave you with one last bit of good news, only because it’s brand new to me so I’m experiencing it for the first time – I’m on day #44 of getting the Wordle every day and it’s been hella fun :) I refused to get in the craze whichever year it came out because I’m stubborn like that, but after my 8 y/o started playing it in class with his teacher, my 10 y/o and I decided to give it a shot and now we’re both addicted. We’ve got all of them in a row so far, with only 2 times we needed 6 tries and about a 4th of the time getting it in 3 tries (with 4 tries being our most needed). Still no first or second wins, but hopefully as time goes on!

At any rate, if you’re looking for a fun educational way to spend time with your kids and are still a Wordle virgin yourself, this could perhaps be a new habit for you too :)

Have a blessed weekend everyone, see ya again real soon 🙏

*I have Pemphigus Vulgaris, a rare autoimmune disease where your body basically starts blistering all over and will eventually cover you inside and outside if you don’t manage it… do NOT google it – it’s nasty!

******

Posts on Budgets this week:

75+ Things I Do That Improves My Life 🔥 — A list of all the habits and tricks I do every day/week/month that drastically improves my life! Covering money, health, mind, minimalism, productivity, kids and more.

Don’t Be Patty The Milkmaid — A great reminder from Mr. Aesop :)

*To get these posts automatically emailed to you on the day they come out, sign up to my blog newsletter here.

******

Favorite Articles Around The Community:

A Man of No Ambition @ Get Rich Slowly – ‘’I want to spend my life telling stories and helping other people. And I believe that means doing things differently than my colleagues do them. That means casting aside the way things are “supposed to be done” in the world of blogging and YouTubing and Twittering, and it means forging my own path.”

Five Big Reasons to Retire Often @ Jillian Johnsrud  – “The biggest reason to retire often: it will make your life better. It gives you a fighting chance to improve every area of life that matters to you, spanning across every decade. Your whole life, in its width and its depth, can improve. Plus, it’s just more fun this way.”

The Shockingly Simple Math Behind Flamingo FI @ Money Flamingo — “The math behind Flamingo FI is super simple. However, the benefits of slowing down, working less and having more time for the things you love are hard to quantify. This is something we should all spend a little more time thinking about and planning for, no matter which “type” of FI we are pursuing.”

The Different Levels of Wealth Explained in Simple Terms @ Passive Income, MD — “Instead of a distinct monetary amount, it’s nice to think of it in terms of real life situations we can relate to. This takes into account the cost of living and really what your lifestyle is like. Using these ideas as a framework, I’ll explain my version of the different levels of wealth adapted from Butterfield.” [h/t Physician on FIRE for digging this one up!]

Why We’re Giving $100 Tips During the Holidays (And You Should Too) @ Marriage Kids and Money — “As a small gesture of thanks and paying it forward, my wife and I are planning on giving random $100 tips to people in the service industry this year. We’re hoping you will join us too. We’re calling it #BigTipTuesday!” [I’m going to do this!! It’s been on my bucket list for years!]

4 Examples of “End Game” Portfolios @ My Money Wizard — “Ray Dalio is a billionaire investor who [asked] his investment team, “What kind of investment portfolio would you hold that would perform well across all environments, be it a devaluation or something completely different?” They created this portfolio…”

A Lottery of Sorts @ Happily Disengaged — “There are not many places in the world where a construction worker with no college education, whose skin color is different that those who run the country in business and government, can be as successful as I am. I don’t take anything I have for granted, though it’s quite easy to do. This walk keeps me humble.”

Is Your Workplace a Super Chickens Experiment? @ Retire By 40 — “If the corporate model is right, the cage of super chickens should have the highest productivity. However, the result was very surprising. The super chickens were hyper-aggressive and pecked each other to death!”

******

News Around The Community

A bunch of interesting news I caught this week:

• Young Money hits 25,000 subscribers
• Hope to Prosper now is now on YouTube
• Money and Meaning reflects on turning 50
• Julie B. Rose reflects on year #1 of her sabbatical
• Accidental Fire comes in 3rd in a big bike race!
• RetireBy40 is dealing with a large ass tree in his backyard

******

Clips Around The Community

A bunch of interesting clips I caught this week:

• “Instead of focusing on how you want to get rich, focus on avoiding financial ruin. When you avoid ruin, you set yourself up for success.” – Darius Foroux
• “Everything good in life is just the gap between expectations and reality.” – Collab Fund
• “It doesn’t matter how high or low your investment returns are if you don’t save enough in the first place… The financial markets can’t save you if you don’t save.” – A Wealth of Common Sense

******

THANKS FOR READING!

 

 

// For previous newsletters: Archives
// To connect further: @Twitter | @Facebook | @Instagram | @LinkedIn

 

On a scale from 1-10, how bad do you want that mug? 😂

I don’t know where you can get it (someone Google!), but it went viral on The Twitter this week and of course had to pass it along to you… Spreadsheets Are Sexy .com!!!

In other news, I still haven’t figured out what to do with myself, but it did dawn on me lately that I’m officially WifeFI’d – financially independent enabled by my wife who still works, lol… An interesting place to be, and one that now marks financial stage #6 for me! Going from SINK to DINKs to SINKs to SIKs to DIKs (hah!) and now to WIFEFI’d – all across a span of 25 years.

More in the first blog post linked below, but would love to hear what stage you’re in?! Check out the post and then email me back with which one listed best aligns with you :) And if you’re not happy with it, here’s to changing it in the future!! If I can ever help with anything, just shout 👊

Your fiscally sexy friend,

******

Posts on Budgets this week:

WifeFI Status Activated⚡ — In which I realize I’m WifeFI’d! “Financially Independent, enabled by my wife who still works” lol… Check out the post and see which financial stage *you’re* currently in!

New Books on The Scene 📚 –A review of 4 new financial books that recently hit our community online… Covering everything from death to consumerism to the service industry to financial feminism and even stripping ;) Never know what you’re gonna get these days from us! Lol…

*To get these posts automatically emailed to you on the day they come out, sign up to my blog newsletter here.

******

Favorite Articles Around The Community:

Ending my 40s… @ Money and Meaning – “I don’t know what the next decade will bring, but I know that, me, my 49 year-old self cannot imagine it. And that is a wondrous freedom. FIRE gave me my financial liberation, but the real liberation has been surrendering to the call and letting go. Giving a grateful yes to everything given, including, especially, the things I did not want.”

Ineffective Altruism @ Young Money – “No one is a villain in their own mind, and Robert had spent years searching for a cure, attempting to cleanse the world of this vampiric disease. But to this new vampiric order, Robert was the disease that needed to be cleansed.”

Simple Clutter-Free Habits to Do in Just a Minute @ Maximum Gratitude, Minimal Stuff – “Keep a box in a handy spot – by the back door, in the coat closet, in the garage, or somewhere else – so that every time you see something that should be decluttered you have a place to put it.  Once a month, or whenever the box is full, sell, donate, or toss everything in it.”

How I Turned $15,000 Into $1.2M During the Pandemic – Then Lost It All @ The Guardian – “In my own unimaginable financial folly, I had inhabited several distinct psychological pathologies: greed, which obscured what was there in favor of the ever-present more that might be, and the desperate attempt to regain what was lost, which obscured what might still be. In the end, I spent almost none of the money on myself, or on anyone else.” [h/t: A Gai Shan Life]

Contemporary Art vs. S&P 500: Paul Allen’s $1.6 Billion Art @ My Money Blog – “I can see art as as an asset class having positive long-term returns in the future, and I can see it having a rather low correlation to stocks, but I suppose that I have a hard time seeing it return something amazing and consistently better than the S&P 500.”

You Have the Frugal Right to Repair Your Shit. Or Do You? @ Bitches Get Riches — “A movement has sprung up to challenge some of the more insidious practices of manufacturers driving over-consumption. It’s called the Right to Repair movement. And these crafty, pedantic luddites are so my people.”

Boring is Beautiful in Investing @ A Wealth of Common Sense – “”All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” – Blaise Pascal”

******

Video of The Week:

Your Coffin Isn’t Hitched To a U-Haul. @ The Minimalists — “In this short video, Joshua, Ryan, and T.K. speak with hospice-care physician Zach Bush, MD, about the fascinating practice of Swedish Death Cleaning and how to avoid burdening loved ones with stuff once we’re gone.”

*******

HAPPY FRIDAY ☕

 

// For previous newsletters: Archives
// To connect further: @Twitter | @Facebook | @Instagram | @LinkedIn

 

Good morning friends!

When was the last time you did something truly BOLD? Like way outside your comfort zone but it needed to be done? This year? This month? This week? Can’t remember because it’s been so long?!

I love this newsletter heading that I stole from Mr. 1500 Days because it’s a great reminder to SHAKE THINGS UP every now and then to make sure we don’t get all stale and moldy up in here… A reminder I personally need right now, as much as you might.

It seems like every 3 months or so I get stagnant and boring and need to do something about it, and currently it’s been around 6 MONTHS since my last bold move (when I bought my blog back) and the time has definitely come for another… But the problem is I don’t have so much as even a *clue* as to what that move needs to be?! It’s maddening!

I’m sure it’ll dawn on me at some point, but if you’re currently struggling with something similar yourself, know that I’m here along with you and completely feel your pain :) And maybe let me know the closest you’ve come so far in figuring it out, and perhaps I can help you to pull the trigger / do it with you?! The push-up challenge from last week *could* be the start of something bigger here (there’s now 50 of us doing it!!), but I’m not quite sure it’s “it” just yet…

At any rate, favorite articles and news from the week are below as always, and I hope you have a most blessed, productive, FUN weekend over there! If you make any Big Moves I wanna hear about it, please!!

Yours in wishing to be bolder,

******

Posts on Budgets this week:

Side Hustle #85: Plant Propagation 🌱 — Another installment of our Side Hustle Series! Where our guest, Jim, digs in and shares a passion gig of his… Perfect for all those who love nature and gardening! I guess money really *can* grow on trees – heyo

5 Things I’d Never Do as a Financial Advisor — I stole this from my friend’s Instagram feed because it was so great ;) It covers 401(k) plans, penny stocks, estate plans, salary requirements, and securing multiple streams of income. Do you agree or disagree?

*To get these posts automatically emailed to you on the day they come out, sign up to my blog newsletter here.

******

Favorite Articles Around The Community:

Live Boldly @ 1500 Days – “Great things don’t happen when you’re sitting around with a bad case of the “What ifs?” Normal effort yields normal results. Everything great happens when you push your a$$ out of your comfort zone.”

How to Stop Thinking Too Much @ Raptitude – “Being caught up in your own thinking is like having been kidnapped and held hostage by the most boring person on earth. You’re forced to listen, as though at gunpoint, to an internal commentator who insists on telling you its impressions of everything it notices or thinks about.”

How to Make Life-Changing Decisions @ Wallet Hacks – “Very few life choices are irreversible.  I can’t think of many decisions in my life that I couldn’t, in some way, go back and change. You have an out on every one of your decisions.”

How Do You Know If You’re Frugal or Just Ridiculous? @ The Frugal Girl — “I think the line between frugal and cheap often comes down to a selfishness issue. When your money-saving efforts affect just you, and they don’t cause harm to anyone else, that’s frugal. When your money-saving efforts hurt or deprive someone else, that’s when you’ve crossed the line into cheap.”

It’s Time To Quit Your Job As A Grievance Entrepreneur @ A Teachable Moment – “Spending the day pondering what to be offended about on social media isn’t additive.  There’s another direct road to unhappiness.  Embrace the recency effect at your peril.”

The Golden Rule of Personal Finance @ The Best Interest – “I know. You think you know what I’m talking about. But in my ever-growing experience in personal finance, most people think they know this idea, but have not truly internalized it. It’s a foundational rule we too often ignore.”

******

News Around The Community:

Interesting news that caught my eye this week…

• Financial Mechanic has left Amsterdam and is now traveling through Bali!
• Frugalwoods has started UFM (Ultimate Frugal Month) Mastermind Groups
• The Retirement Manifesto is expanding their mountain homestead
• Accidental FIRE reflects on 5 years of semi-retirement
• How To Money has started a weekly newsletter

*******

Clips Around The Community:

Interesting clips that caught my eye this week…

• “If you buy something just because it’s on sale, you don’t need it.” – No Sidebar
• “My system in life is to figure out what’s really stupid and then avoid it. It doesn’t make me popular, but it prevents a lot of trouble.” – Charlie Munger, via DariusForoux.com
• “Just heard about this little trick, it’s called the good guy discount…  When you’re at the store purchasing something or buying from someone, you say this…  “Hey, I’m a good guy. You’re a good guy. Is there some type of good guy discount we could work out?”  I hear it works pretty well. 🤷‍♂️” – 5AM Joel
• “I have a radical proposal. An experiment that might just change your life. If you want to try it, I’ll do it with you.  It goes like this:  Live most of your days according to your normal habits, doing your job and your everyday stuff the same as always. Then one day a week, let’s say Tuesday, you live by a specific dictum:  From the minute you wake up, do without hesitation the thing that most needs to be done in each moment, regardless of how appealing it is. Bring your full attention to each such act, as though it’s your sole purpose on earth. Let go of every other concern.” – Raptitude

*******

New Book on The Scene!

Fellow reader KT shot me the heads up on this, and said it would be the perfect companion to the Legacy Binders I love oh so much – and she’d be right! Anything you can do to improve the lives of your loved ones when your gone is 🔥🔥🔥, so if you’re not in the mood to tack it just this second, at least out it on your radar for the immediate future…

More about the book, via Mike’s website (ObliviousInvestor.com):

Many surviving spouses find themselves overwhelmed by all the administrative and financial to-do items that have to be handled in the months after their spouse’s death. There’s a lot to do, and they’re supposed to get it all done while grieving. And in many cases, the situation is made more difficult by the fact that the surviving spouse is not the one who regularly handled the household finances.

I wrote this book to walk people through it, in plain language. It’s the book I want my spouse to have, in case something happens to me.

You can learn more/purchase it here: After the Death of Your Spouse

And then here’s where you can find some great Legacy Binders too for whenever you’re ready!

• Family Emergency Binder ($39, robust, pretty)
• Free Legacy Binder (FREE, simple)
• The Big Book of Everything (FREE, simple)

******

Video of The Week:

Best of Favorite Dance Moves @ Ed People via YouTube — “Thank you to all the amazing people who taught me their favorite dance move! ”

[Hat tip: A Gai Shan Life]

*******

HAPPY WEEKEND ✨

 

// For previous newsletters: Archives
// To connect further: @Twitter | @Facebook | @Instagram | @LinkedIn

Gooooood morning, my beautiful, sassy, money hoarders!!

I hope life has been treating you well this week!! I’ve stumbled across a brave new world of exercising over here, and while it’s still too new to see if it’ll stick, I’m encouraged so far by the results….

You can learn more here in this post, but I’ve started a 100/day push-up challenge and it’s been so much fun watching others join me in it and especially my kids :) My 10 y/o has been able to complete it faster, and more elegantly, than I have! It’s wild!

But most importantly, it’s gotten me to *start* exercising again, and reminds me of how fortunate we truly are to have such a great community here. I know for a fact I wouldn’t be this excited about something so boring if it weren’t for all the comraderie. Reminds me of when I first got started in finance! It was because of YOU ALL that I kept going with it!

So thanks for being here and always encouraging not only me, but everyone else here around you, and I hope you have a most wonderful – stress-free – productive – and FUN – weekend over there.

If you’d like to join us in the push-ups you can add your name and results to our spreadsheet here (because of course we have a spreadsheet!), otherwise all my favorite reads and nuggets from the community are posted below!

Happy Friday!

*Graphic up top from @smithklo – telling it how it is, lol…

******

Posts on Budgets this week:

The 100/Day Push-up Challenge 💪 — I’ve started a new challenge! Here’s how it’s going so far and what I’ve learned… If you need a little motivation yourself, come join me!! :)

Desire Paths: The Unconventional Way to Live Your life — Desire paths are the shortest and most easily navigated routes between two points, created by the same people going for Financial Independence! You’ll start seeing these everywhere now once you know about them ;)

*To get these posts automatically emailed to you on the day they come out, sign up to my blog newsletter here.

******

Favorite Articles Around The Community:

The Way to Wealth @ Humble Dollar – “Ben Franklin wrote the most popular personal finance text of the 18th century. Originally published in 1758 as an essay in his Poor Richard’s Almanack, it became a perennial bestseller when printed separately under the title The Way to Wealth. You can read the 1810 version printed in London at no charge, thanks to Project Gutenberg.”

A Screenplay on a Fake Financial Influencer @ We Want Guac — “Those of us in the financial education community tend to run into many a fake financial influencer way more than we would like to. They hawk NFTs, day trading, and full life insurance with urgency, like you’re gonna lose out big time if you don’t buy in the next few minutes. Oh, and don’t forget showing off how amazing their life is since they’re so rich and successful… when they fail to show any proof of actual hard work or financial numbers. This is what came to mind when I was writing a short film script.”

“Opportunity Paranoia” and 6 More Ways Your Brain Sabotages Your Money @ The Best Interest – “Every decision today has a painful opportunity cost in the future. But skipping today’s dinner (and every nice expense ad infinitum) might make you the unhappiest guy in the nursing home and the richest guy in the graveyard.”

The People Making Millions Off Listerine Royalties @ The Hustle — “A little-known provision in a 100-year-old contract opened up the door for private investors to mint money from mouthwash sales.” (H/T Apex Money)

The Woman Who Travels The World With Only a Tiny Bag @ CNN — “Brooke Schoenman is an American woman living in Australia and the publisher of Her Packing List, a website which she uses to pass on her wisdom when it comes to whittling down what to take on the road. And that’s something that she’s road-tested almost to the extreme.”

******

News Around The Community This Week:

Interesting news that caught my eye this week…

• Accidental FIRE celebrates a sober October!
• Financial Mechanic reminisces on 2 months of early retirement
• A Gai Shan Life is fundraising for The Pine Ridge Reservation
• Rich in What Matters is fundraising $2,000 for The Hope Effect
• The Reformed Broker is fundraising for Long Island Cares and the Harry Chapin Food Bank
• She Picks Up Pennies celebrates paying off her mortgage by giving away a couple of her favorite books

******

Dollar Bill of The Week:

Found this stamped dollar in my change the other day!! Remember the website Where’s George?? Where you look up the serial #’s to see how far – and where – the dollars have traveled? I did it first thing as soon as I saw this puppy and here’s what I found out:

• This bill had traveled over 250 miles to get to me!
• It started in Ohio and traveled alllll the way to Virginia
• Which took him (her?) 40 days to do so…
• Averaging about 6.25 miles/day :)

Neat, right? I hadn’t done it in YEARS when cash was exchanged much more frequently* so the nostalgia was running high… The tracker was created back in 1998 and still very much looks like it! 😂 Keep an eye on your pockets and maybe you’ll be the next to get one!

*The other day I tried *TWICE* to use cash at local shops, and both places rejected me (!!) They’ve gone to “card only” unless you can produce exact change, which of course will never happen… Sad times for this coin collector…

*******

And that’s it for this week!

Thanks for being here, and have an epic weekend!

 

// For previous newsletters: Archives
// To connect further: @Twitter | @Facebook | @Instagram | @LinkedIn