Morning!

Happy whatever day it is today! ;)

I know it’s wild out there, but I hope you’re still doing your best to stay sane and healthy! We’ve done exactly 1 hour of school work this week and our walls are completely covered in marker, so it’s safe to say we won’t be getting any Parent of The Year awards any time soon, haha…

But we are still safe and healthy and all bunkered down together, and I hope more than anything that you guys are just as safe as well!

As always, if you ever need someone to talk to I’m only an email away, and in the meantime here are a bunch of stuff you might find helpful/entertaining to help you pass the time in a fun and productive way…

Keep hanging in there! We’re in this together!

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Popular articles on the blog recently:

5 things I learned today… — Sponsored by: THE QUARANTINE. “When you’re stuck inside every day, you happen to learn things!” ;)

Fascinating jobs + salaries across the country! — Some of the more neater jobs from Parade’s annual “What People Earn” report. Most specifically – the vending machine hustler!

7 ways to (financially) feng shui your house — If you ever wanted to talk about toilets on this blog, today’s your day!

Direct Primary Care (DPC) – A health insurance option worth looking into? — An idea to consider if you’re frustrated with all the health insurance options out there!

How I got scammed by p2b fraudsters – and how we’re fighting back — A warning about international peer to business lending platforms, specifically Kuetzal, Envestio, and more recently Monethera and Grupeer.

New book + giveaway: “The Money Tree” by Chris Guillebeau — “A compelling story with captivating characters to share its core insight: if you’re struggling with debt, there’s a way out—without giving up your lattes…”

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Favorite finds from around the web!

FireDating.me — “The first and only dating website for FIRE people.” Haha… And with over 500 users so far it seems to be doing well! ;) Sign up for it so I can live vicariously through you, please!! ;) (It’s FREE!)

Reddit.com/r/povertyfinance – “Financial advice, frugality tips, stories, opportunities, and general guidance for people who are struggling financially. No Judgement, just advice!”

It’s Okay To Laugh via Accidental FIRE — “I’ve been blogging for about 2.5 years but have never had anything truly go viral, until now. My infographic post from April 3rd, titled “Relative Importance in 2020, So Far”, has made it’s way around the world in ways I could never have imagined.”

Welcome to Your Retirement Test Drive via Retire by 40 — “I got bad news. Social distancing is your retirement test drive. This is life in retirement, on hard mode*. If you can’t deal with this, you are not ready for retirement. They aren’t exactly the same, but there are many similarities. Let’s go through some of them.”

Man cheers up his neighbors during lockdown by putting cringey dad joke placards in his front garden via Daily Mail — “The anonymous neighbor, who lives in LA, shares daily quarantine jokes to lift the spirits in his local area.”

5 Months To Retirement: Yes I’m Still Quitting In September via A Purple Life — “As I’ve said before, I’m not afraid to be a ‘failed’ retiree. Even with all the planning in the world, any retirement can fail given the right mix of circumstances… But I am afraid to let my life or the lives of my loved ones pass me by while I sit chained to a desk.”

And then lastly, this great idea from Fritz Gilbert on coming up with enough *fun* things to do when you do finally pull the retirement chord – or even anytime, really!

“My wife came up with an innovative idea, and we’re implementing it in this final year of my working career. Every week, each of us put a note (or two) in a jar we keep for the purpose. On the note is an activity that we’d like to do. It’s typically a low-cost idea, and it can be close to home. For example, she may put in “Kayak down the Toccoa River“, and I may put in “Hike on the Appalachian trail“. Neither of us knows what the other is putting in. After we retire, we’ll pull one note per week from the jar, and do that activity in the next 7 days. This will give us 2+ years of weekly activities, with an even mix of things “He Wants” and “She Wants” to do.”

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Hope you get into something fun this weekend :)

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Morning, guys!

I hope you guys are staying SANE and SAFE out there wherever you are in the world!! I know it’s crazy right now, but all things eventually pass! They always do!

In the meantime, here are some articles we posted up on the blog in recent weeks, as well as some of my favorite things I found across the web… I hope they help in some fashion!

And I’m always here if you ever need someone to talk to. Just hit “reply” and I’m all ears…

XOXO

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Popular on the blog:

#Overheard at The Coffee Shops… — A trip down memory lane, now being 3 weeks from my last visit! Not many financial gossips in this batch, but I sure am saving more now not being able to go to them every day! So that’s worth something, right?! RIGHT???!

A Christian’s Perspective on Debt-Free Living — A reader drops by the site to share his journey recovering from debt and what Dave Ramsey’s baby steps has meant for him and his wife.

Quarantine Check-in and Savings— A quick update on how the Money household is going through these quarantine times… (hint: there are doodles all over our walls)

Budgets are Sexy? — 5 AM Joel shares his thoughts on budgeting during these trying times, and admits he hasn’t been doing that great of a job with it lately! Maybe it’s time for you to reconnect with your long lost one too! :)

New Book + Giveaway: “Keys to a Successful Retirement” – Fritz’s new book comes out! If you’re a fan of The Retirement Manifesto blog you’ll be a fan of this book! And we scored 3 copies to give away before it even hits shelves! (May 5th)

Do You Feel More Prepared Having Lived Through 2008? — Caught a quote a few months ago that said over half of all millennials feel “more prepared” for the next recession having lived through 2008, and now curious if that still holds true?!

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Favorite finds from around the web:

Kiddle.co — A safe visual search engine for kids!

PennyPortrait.com — Create a portrait of Abe Lincoln out of pennies!

Guided Meditation Video With Leon via YouTube (NSFW) — Journey into serenity with Curb Your Enthusiasm’s notoriously zen Leon, J. B. Smoove ;)

How The Rich Are Running From Coronavirus via LA Times — “Encased in steel, the bunkers come with a variety of add-ons such as escape tunnels, hidden doors, bullet-proof glass and pepper spray portals. For those with a bit more coin, Lynch and his team will make the bunker feel like a home. “Movie theaters are common,” he said. “We built one in California that has a shooting range, swimming pool and bowling alley.””

Great Love & Great Suffering by Josh Radnor — “There’s something so moving about the millions of people taking the quarantine seriously because it signals a deep belief in community and a respect for the most vulnerable among us. I look at staying in as a civic responsibility, a powerful statement that I am a member of a community, a resident of a state, and a citizen of a country. My life is not for me and me alone.”

Parents Turn Kid’s Drawing on Wall into Framed Work of Art via My Modern Met — “After coming home to find their 6-year-old son had used a green marker to draw a little house on one of their walls, instead of bestowing punishment, they decided to frame it—just like a masterpiece in a gallery.”

And lastly, a fun poem by children’s author Amy Ludwig Vanderwater:

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May all those dollars return back to you as well!

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Morning!

Congrats on making it to Friday! :)

Here’s a bunch of my favorite things I caught from around the web, as well as the most popular articles on Budgets Are Sexy lately…

I know it’s scary out there but at least we have each other, right?! RIGHT???!

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Popular on the blog:

A friendly reminder… – YOU ARE INVESTED FOR THE LONG HAUL!

An Aspiring Goal to Shoot For – Spending more on *donations* than *wants* every month.

$$$ Jokes For Your Amusement — For anyone needing a smile :)

Some life updates — Including feelings about our minivan, our newish house, our dog (❤️🐶❤️🐶), my blog, my kids, as well as an update on my dear friend Agatha battling some stuff right now…

Joe’s $400k Net Worth + 5 Key Takeaways — “I like to track and look at our budget in terms of daily spending because it really lets you appreciate and understand what you need to do to achieve your long term goals.”

Wondering if YOU ever spend money inside video games? — “77% of respondents have spent money on Fortnite in-game purchases, which was up from 69% in 2018. The average amount spent was $102.42…”

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Favorite finds from around the web:

How to Create Gratitude via Raptitude — “This thing you have – this meal, this bed, these clothes, this friend – if it’s possible to have it, it’s possible not to have it. If you take a moment to imagine not having it, the good fortune of having it is no longer lost on you.”

National Parks In America Based On Their Worst Review (16 Pics) via Bored Panda — “I’m an illustrator and I have always had a personal goal to draw all 62 US National Parks, but I wanted to find a unique twist for the project. When I found that there are one-star reviews for every single park, the idea for Subpar Parks was born.”

Panera’s New $9/Month Coffee Subscription is  via LifeHacker — “If you’re always popping into the same coffee shop for a quick cup—and that coffee shop just happens to be Panera—you might want to get a subscription.”

Now Is When We All Learn to Darn Our Socks Again via NY Times — “”Visible mending” has been taken up by those who want to protest fast fashion and disposable culture. It’s also thrifty.”

Twitch Streamers Make Thousands Literally by Just Sleeping via Wired — “Over the past few weeks, streamers have been training their cameras on their mattresses as they doze off. In the intervening hours, viewers use Twitch’s donation function to gift them small quantities of money—$2 dollars, $5 there. A couple of streamers cutely refer to them as “slumber parties.””

[How to Make Money in Your Sleep via NY Times – another good article on this]

This App Saves Money On Prescriptions via HuffPost — “We found that frequently the price of the same pills can be double or triple at one store what another store just miles away charges. In some cases, the highest price was more than six times the lowest price listed on GoodRx.”

And then my FAVORITE find this week – cute little fruit savers by Hutzler!

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Hang in there everyone! Life is still good despite the disruption!

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Morning!

Here’s a bunch of great reading material to feed your brain over the weekend :) Amazing what you can still learn about money and life even after being around for thousands of years…

Lemme know if you’ve read anything great lately!

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Most popular articles on Budgets Are Sexy:

What Haters Are Like — Tell me if you don’t know people like this…

Utterly Useless Facts About Money & Life — Picked up a fact book at my local thrift store and it did not disappoint ;) See if you can slip the facts on wombats or tampons into normal conversation today!

Something ALL stores should do! — Just found out that my favorite local bookstore will accept ANY gift card from ANY place in lieu of cash, so long as it’s active and they can verify how much is on it! How incredible is that??

A cool way to use your tax refunds — “I use that tax return to pay all my bills for a year. I multiply my cell, internet, Netflix, and car insurance by 13 months (I like an extra months padding), then take that amount and add the cost of my contacts and vision exam, dental costs, and life insurance. I then deposit that amount into a Capital One 360 account and pay my bills directly from it.”

New Book & Giveaway: “Don’t Fall For It: A Short History of Financial Scams” — The latest book from Ben Carlson of A Wealth of Common Sense blog fame… You have until Sunday night to enter for one of the 3 copies we have!

Are you cool with stores going cashless?! — Lots of talk lately about stores going cashless and wondering where you stand on all this? Are you a big cash and coin lover like me, or do you say good riddance to it all?!

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Favorite finds from around the web:

From Junkie to FIRE via Millennial Revolution — “The thing about being what we call a “hope to die dope fiend” is that you create wreckage in literally every dimension of your life. I had to rebuild everything. My credit, health, finances, living arrangements, familial relationships, and yes, my criminal history.”

12 Shocking Things I Learned by Working as a Butler at the Plaza Hotel via Pocket — “Serving the world’s rich and famous, it turns out, plumbs the depths of an alternative universe that readily embraces the absurd without even batting an eye. And that was only the beginning of what I learned.”

U.S. renters are richer, older, and have larger households via Curbed — “Perhaps the most significant change in the nation’s rental landscape is the shift in just who is renting today. The rental market has welcomed increasing numbers of high-income renters, with the percentage of renter households making $75,000 or more in 2019 hitting 22 percent, the highest level on record.”

Instant Blog Post Index in a Google Sheets Spreadsheet via Spreadsheet Man — “This spreadsheet – which you can see here and get your own copy (use the File / Make a Copy menu) has a simple formula that you don’t even have to change yourself – you can just enter the new blog RSS feed URL on the sheet and the formula will use that! The IMPORTFEED() function does have a limit of grabbing just 250 posts – but it’s still pretty powerful!”

If your cash gets damaged, this Treasury team will make sure it’s not a lost cause via The Washington Post — “Every week, the federal office in Southwest Washington receives hundreds of padded envelopes, boxes and even safes stuffed with cash ravaged by water, fire, shredding machines, insects or a canine’s teeth… Last year, the agency issued checks for more than $35 million to businesses and individuals who had submitted their battered money…”

Warren Buffett says Berkshire is ‘100% prepared’ for his death via Yahoo! Finance — “Today, my will specifically directs its executors — as well as the trustees who will succeed them in administering my estate after the will is closed — not to sell any Berkshire shares… The will goes on to instruct the executors – and, in time, the trustees – to each year convert a portion of my A shares into B shares and then distribute the Bs to various foundations… I estimate that it will take 12 to 15 years for the entirety of the Berkshire shares I hold at my death to move into the market.”

Every $1 You Invest Now Will Be Worth $7.61 in 30 Years via Four Pillar Freedom — “There is actually a name for this investment & lifestyle approach: Coast FIRE. The whole idea is to accumulate enough money at an early enough age that you no longer need to invest any more to achieve financial independence by age 65 (or whatever you define as a retirement age). Once you have enough money invested, you can simply “coast” your way to retirement.”

https://neal.fun/ – a randomly awesome site by Neal Agarwal… Here are a few of the simulations off it you might enjoy. Click to check ’em out!

(A showcase of things that have happened since you were born)

(A way to visualize rates from minimum wage to the national deficit)

(Where you have $90,000,000,000 to blow on whatever you like!)

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Happy spending :)

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Morning, y’all!

Before we get to it today, I just have to thank you all SO SO MUCH for helping raise over $3,100 for my friend Agatha last week!!

She just messaged me saying she had hit a pretty frustrating – and exhausting – wall in recovery, and then all of a sudden these donations came pouring in and it helped her to push through! So way to go, guys!! I know most of you don’t know her at all, but please know you made a difference in her life and I am beyond thankful for it. This stuff could happen to any of us, it’s so scary!

Now onto some more positive news… :)

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On Budgets Are Sexy this week:

Happy Library Lovers’ Day! — If you can’t stand Valentine’s Day, try out this little known holiday today instead ;) Not everyone receives flowers on V Day, but everyone is welcome at their library!

10 Ways to Woo on Budget 💙 — For those who love Valentine’s Day!

Side Hustle #79: Flipping Guitars! — Daniella from ILikeToDabble.com stops by the blog to share her experience (and profits!) helping her wife sell guitars online! Making $10,000 alone last year!

Some $$$ Jokes to Cheer Up Your Wallet — Some fun little ditties to help pick your wallet back up… Otherwise known as “Dad jokes”.

New Book & Giveaway: “How Much Money Do I Need to Retire?” — Todd Tresidder, aka The Financial Mentor, recently released the 2nd edition of his book and we’re giving away *3 copies* of it this week! Make sure to enter by Sunday!

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Favorite finds around the web this week!

101 Things to do at 5am! via 5am Joel — “I’ve tried almost all of these things over the past 3 years of getting up at 5am. These activities have kept me busy, creative, productive, and enjoying my mornings.”

The American Dream vs. The American Trap via Daily Collegian — “No experience has compared to my encounter with Maria. I will never meet her again, but I will also never forget her and what she taught me.”

Exposed! Mr. Money Mustache’s 2019 Bachelor Spending! via Mr. Money Mustache – “My expenses are really easy to track: I funnel all my spending through a rewards credit card, which saves me about $2000 each year… Meanwhile, I hook up a third party financial app to automatically monitor these transactions, alert me to any unusual activity, and – the best part – automatically categorize and add everything up for me.”

The Economics of Unused Gift Cards via The Hustle — “Every year, Americans spend billions of dollars on gift cards. But what happens to the money when the cards aren’t redeemed?

You Can Literally Sell Your Poop For Cash via Scary Mommy — “I know. I KNOW. Who on God’s green earth would want to donate their dung? Well, according to The New York Times, quite a few people would. And not only are these people making a pretty penny for handing over their chocolate lava, but they are helping to save lives in the process.”

And then lastly, a tip from yours truly:

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Happy Friday, y’all! However you feel like celebrating! :)

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