Morning, friends!

Nothing too juicy to report this week, but I have been having fun asking a lot of random questions on Twitter and seeing peoples’ responses ;)

If you’ve ever wondered how many times someone has moved in recent years, or what tips they have for getting vasectomies, click here and here, haha… I also particularly liked seeing how many domain names people own in our space as many of us love to blow money on them!

Happy February! Fresh month to attack those goals (and debts)!!

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Articles I wrote this week on:

MONDAY: Did you know there was a Personal Financial Satisfaction Index (PFSi)? — It’s true! And you can even take the assessment yourself, if you’re feeling brave ;)

TUESDAY: Financial Confessional: “I Day Trade Penny Stocks” — Our confessionals are back!! And we start off with a juicy one that many of us like to avoid! Haha… If you have anything you’d like to get off of your chest, just pass me a note and we’ll feature you (anonymously) on it as well ;)

WEDNESDAY: 4 Ways to File Your Taxes for Free — Some excellent resources for those who make under $66k/year or are in the military or just have super simple situations (W2s, rent, etc).

THURSDAY: “What are your thoughts on taking a pay cut to land a more dependable job?” — A reader’s request for help! Shoot her all the advice and happy thoughts you can muster up!

FRIDAY: My Favorite Finds This Month 💎💎💎 – Similar to today’s newsletter, this one features a handful of articles I enjoyed from around the web the past month. Many of which you’ll recognize as I pass them over to you first ;)

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Other gems I enjoyed this week:

This reminder from Derek Sivers –> “Life can be improved by adding, or by subtracting. The world pushes us to add, because that benefits them. But the secret is to focus on subtracting.”

This essay contest! –> You could win a $1.7 million mansion by writing a standout letter

This tiny space living –>Want To Check Out My Caboose? (Miss Mazuma bought a freakin’ TRAIN to live in!! For $36,000!!!)

This (free) tool for cropping and re-sizing animated gifs –> EZgif.com (Had no idea how easy it was until I took 5 seconds to research it, haha…)

This hilarious 6 min stand up bit –> Gary recounts the thrilling tale of how postal code abbreviations came to be [youtube]

This frugal way to entertain yourself ;) –> Cat Food Bowling

And these thoughts by Four Pillar Freedom –> Not Wanting Something Is As Good As Having It — “What we’re all after isn’t stuff, it’s the feeling that we think that stuff will give us: contentment, satisfaction, and tranquility. We all just want to feel at peace. And the less stuff we need to own to feel at peace, the less time we have to spend in a cubicle doing work we find pointless.”

Happy stuff-free weekend,

Find me also on: @Twitter | @Facebook | @Instagram | BudgetsAreSexy.com

Morning, fam!

What a week! Between the wife starting a new job and me extending my stay-at-home-daddy daycare, it’s been quite the affair around here! But the world marches on as it always does, and I took immense joy from the small pockets of time afforded us to just stop and breathe for a few…

And hopefully you were able to find a little peace yourself :)

Here are my favorite finds from around the web this week, as well as the articles that came out of my own head when I wasn’t deep in thought marveling over pencils…

Hope it sparks something!

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Articles I wrote this week:

MONDAY: A Bunch of #Wins Martin Luther King Would Be Proud of ;) — Did you know MLK was a personal finance proponent who wanted to wipe out poverty using a “Freedom Budget?”  We’re still far from that dream unfortunately, but here’s a list of those getting closer to their own in our community.

TUESDAY: Don’t forget to load up on Forever Stamps this week! — A reminder to pick up Forever Stamps before they go up 5¢ this weekend!! Also – all the Post Office stats you’ll ever need to impress your friends 📪

WEDNESDAY: Are you a Showroomer or a Webroomer? — Showrooming: when you visit a store to check out a product, but then go home and purchase it online. Webrooming: when you research products online first, and then go to the store to check it out/purchase ;)

THURSDAY: The “Beat Last Year” Budgeting Challenge! — #1. Pick a category of your spending you desperately want to improve #2. Find out how much you spent on it at this time *last year* #3. Commit to spending *less* in that category for the next month!

FRIDAY: “You want HOW much for that stamp?!?” — Two days this week talking about STAMPS!! What a party this blog is! ;) But here’s a post you don’t want to miss if you’re a fan of creative hustles. As told by former U.S. Navy submariner, Doug “Nords” Nordman.

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Articles I was featured in this week:

The NY Times: The Easy (and Free) Way to Make a Budget Spreadsheet (Includes tons of templates and online resources, including my own spreadsheets)

JamesClear.com: 30 One-Sentence Stories From People Who Have Built Better Habits (Features my teeth brushing hack! :))

RockstarFinance.com: Rockstar Rumble, Round 1, Posts 17-24 (If you liked my post earlier this year on the 35 Mini-Missions to improve your money, cast a vote for me so I don’t lose in the first round again! Haha…)

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Other gems I enjoyed this week:

This new(ish) charity –> Breadcoin.org. They created tokens you can give out to those in need which are redeemable for food, for anyone uncomfortable handing out cash! Which is pretty ingenious!! And with 2,800 of them already in circulation, I’m hoping to get it closer to 3,000 when I start buying some up myself and passing along :) If you like the idea – please share as they’re currently only in D.C. and Portland right now! Here’s an excellent article and video on them from CGTN America: Breadcoin: The new dough to help feed the hungry

This tool to cut down on your inbox size –> FindBigMail.com (Just ran it myself and helped get my Gmail from 76% full down to 45% within minutes!)

And then lastly, this friendly reminder from Austin Kleon –> The world’s more interesting with you in it.

Happy weekend :)

Find me also on: @Twitter | @Facebook | @Instagram | BudgetsAreSexy.com

Happy Friday!

Here’s our weekly digest featuring all the articles I wrote on Budgets Are Sexy, along with other interesting items I came across this week.

It was a pretty good one until learning of the passing of Vanguard’s legendary founder, Jack Bogle :( What a gift he left all of us! And what a perfect time to reflect on our own legacies as we move into the weekend here too…

If you like today’s newsletter, please pass it forward to others you think could be helped by it! Thank you! 🙏🙏

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Posts I wrote this week:

MONDAY: The Best Banks and Financial Products of 2019 — A sample of the top categories from MyBankTracker.com’s yearly “Best of Banking Awards.”

TUESDAY: I want you to love your money like this guy! — How bad do you want financial freedom? Are you willing to fight for it like this guy who puts out 19-slide Powerpoint decks about his money? ;)

WEDNESDAY: Product of The Month: The Avid Investor Daily Planner! — A great journal for investors who want a better way to track their performance… Answer the question at the end of the post to be entered to win a free copy!

FRIDAY: My *Favorite* Blog Posts From 2018 — The last of the roundups for the year! Have any of your own favorites that stuck in your head or really helped you? Would love to know which!

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Items I found interesting around the web:

This Facebook group by Jay Geddie –> Black People Invest Too — “Black People is a group I started on FB last year to help educate black people on basic financial principles. I’ve run across so many people who either don’t save any thing, put it all in savings (vs investing), are bad investors (chasing the latest trend bc they heard it on tv, etc), or know nothing about investing/personal finance at all. I try to make this an open forum for people to ask questions about things they may have been curious about in the past as it pertains to money habits.”

The 15 charts in here –> How The World Got Better in 2018 (A lot went wrong, but it’s still the best year be a human being on Earth!)

This free little library –> Woman Turned 110-Year-Old Dead Tree Into A Free Little Library For The Neighborhood And It Looks Magical

And this powerful question to ask yourself at all times –> “Do I like who I am when I’m doing this?” via David Cain’s reflections on self-esteem.

Happy weekend,

Find me also on: @Twitter | @Facebook | @Instagram | BudgetsAreSexy.com

Hey guys,

Welcome to our inaugural newsletter of Finds!

If you’re out Black Friday shopping right now, I hope you’ll think of me when you come across these sweaters :) And if you have no idea what they’re about, GOOD! Do not click on this link and keep it that way!

But seriously, if you have to go out shopping today, make sure to print out this list of approved items so you don’t get too carried away… 50% off deals are nice, but 100% off deals are even better 👍

Here are my favorite finds from the week:

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50 Ways To Improve Your Finances By 1% via Choose FI — “#5. Pack a “go bag” to make spontaneous frugal adventures easy and leave it by the door or in the car.” // I just added one in my trunk last week! Comes particularly in handy when you need spare clothes or snacks for your kids too ;)

Buy Less Stuff. Buy More Assets. via Four Pillar Freedom — “When you spend one dollar on a material thing, that dollar is gone forever. But when you spend one dollar acquiring an asset, that asset becomes your employee that works relentlessly to earn money for you.”

Bill Gates Talks Toilets [2.17 min video] via Twitter — “There are few things I love talking about more than toilets.” – @BillGates

30 Tips I Use to Make Myself Happier, Right Now by Gretchen Rubin — “My book The Happiness Project came out almost ten years ago… One of the most important things I learned as part of doing that project, and an idea that I put into practice in my own life all the time, is that I can influence my happiness…Here are 30 things I do to make myself happier when I need an immediate boost”

“The Minimalist Home: A Room-by-Room Guide to a Decluttered, Refocused Life” — A new book coming out by Joshua Becker — ”It’s the method I created by accident 10 years ago, when my neighbor saw all the stuff I’d just dragged out of the garage into the driveway and pointed out that maybe, just maybe, my family didn’t need all of it.” // Its release is December 18th, but you can pre-order it now and get 32% off the list price as well as other promotional gifts. Looks good!

Happy holidays 🦃,

// Hat tip to Millennial Boss for those Baby Shark finds