When it comes to saving the planet, many people focus on the "three r's:" Reduce, reuse, and recycle. I also focus on all three of these things. I try to reduce the amount of stuff that I purchase, reuse things until their useful life has run out, and recycle whenever possible. As a personal finance writer, I realize that reducing and reusing are the most important out of the three r's to help save money. I also realize that recycling is good, but it doesn't help us to save money and it isn't enough to save our planet.
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9 Extremely Easy Ways to Become a Millionaire
In last week's article, I wrote a bunch of lies. Instead of focusing on becoming rich, we should focus on frugal analogs to wealth (whatever that means) and finding happiness through our relationships with others. What a bunch of crap! You and I both know that we really just want to become filthy, stinking rich. We want a solid gold fountain in our front yard, a 400 foot long yacht, and 12 homes on 4 different continents. Who cares about relationships? Once we are rich, we will have thousands of "friends."
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How to Save a Ton of Money on Furniture
When I was 21, I got my first post-college job, moved out of my parent’s house, and set out to add some furniture to my apartment. My aunt was getting rid of a couple of things, so I was able to get a couch, a picture, and a couple of lamps for free. Thanks, Aunt Marg! I also headed out to Target and bought a $89 “entertainment center” which held my TV, stereo, and a few DVDs after it was assembled. Then, I made my big purchase, a $450 La-Z-Boy recliner! I had pretty simple tastes back then or as my wife will tell me, absolutely no taste. Furniture was…
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How You Can Make TAX FREE MONEY Without Being Shady: Part 2
Spending less money can potentially save you many thousands of dollars in state and federal income taxes. All that you have to do is follow one simple hack!
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How You Can Make TAX FREE MONEY Without Being Shady: Part 1
I probably shouldn't tell you this, especially if you are about to leave for work or if you are sitting in your cubicle after having slept for only a few hours last night. But you are working for the government right now instead of working for yourself. I know this sounds weird and rather depressing, but the first few hours that you spend at work every day are not spent to build a better life for yourself and your family. You are not buying freedom in the form of early retirement, paying for your kid's college, or even working to pay off that hefty cable bill.
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Stay Out of Debt FOREVER by Planning for Huge Expenses
If you’ve read part of my story on this blog, you probably know that I like used cars, hate debt, and absolutely love to travel. To me, these three items all build on each other. For instance, ever since we got married, my wife and I have always paid for our used cars with cash. This has helped us to get rid of all of our consumer debt and most of our mortgage debt. It has also allowed us to travel more than we would have if we were in a lot of debt. This has created a perpetuating cycle. Buying used cars helps us to get out of debt.…
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How Much Electricity Does a Space Heater Use?
I never really asked the question, “How much electricity does a space heater use” when I owned my first house. The house was energy efficient and relatively new, so electricity was pretty cheap. However, after my wife and I purchased our second house, we quickly found out that it wasn’t very energy efficient. I discovered this when I was fixing a hole in the wall and found newspapers that were acting as insulation. Needless to say, our heating bills were pretty expensive! Besides the newspaper acting as insulation, the other reason that our bill was expensive was the window in our front room. It didn’t really close well and it…
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“Fixed” Expenses are the Worst … Let’s Get Rid of Them!
Okay, here’s what I want you to spend the next 3 minutes doing. Grab a sheet of paper and list all of the things that are monthly or annual expenses for you. I’m not talking about a grocery bill, but instead I’m talking about subscriptions, energy bills, car payments, and so on. For me, this includes all of the following: water electric gas mortgage escrow and home insurance car insurance cell phone Internet and cable tv Netflix YMCA pass for swimming You’ll probably find that it’s a pretty long list. Make sure that you don’t forgot things like student loan payments, credit card minimum payments, car loans, the Cloud, digital…
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Become Wealthy By: Using the Library and Your Own Coffee Pot
I know that it is really fun and easy to go to Amazon or Barnes and Noble to buy books. Both of these retailers have millions of books that can allow us to get lost in a fantasy world with Harry Potter, walk on the Appalachian Trail with Bill Bryson, or learn about the workings of the universe with Stephen Hawking. And, like so many people, I love reading: from huge fiction collections like Game of Thrones to non-fiction thrillers like Into Thin Air. Books, blogs, and magazines can both help us escape from reality or figure out how things work. I absolutely love books! Over the past few months,…
