One of the surest signs that it’s time to switch to a new bank comes when you examine your monthly statement and see a lot of unnecessary fees. About a decade and a half ago, I was a customer of a large bank chain (Firstar) that was later swallowed up by an even larger bank… Read More Don’t Tolerate These Four Fees (50/365)

For the first time in my adult life, I have adequate space for a real kitchen garden. We’ve got two boxed gardens in the back yard, a big batch of winterized compost, and big plans. What’s a “kitchen garden”? A kitchen garden merely refers to a garden that consists almost exclusively of plants intended to… Read More Planning a Kitchen Garden

What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to summaries of five or fewer words. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question. 1. Inheritance question 2. Converting attic into extra bedroom 3. Tempted by individual stock investment 4. Staying motivated at work 5. Fidget “spinners” or… Read More Questions About Inheritance, Old Money Books, Fidgeting, Pickles, and More!

When we were first married, Sarah and I lived in an extremely small apartment. It was (very) cozy for just the two of us, but it worked. When we had our first child, we converted a small area into a spot for the bed and the crib for our baby. We literally did not have… Read More Don’t Upgrade Your Living Space Just to House More Stuff (116/365)

As I move away from the standard paycheck-based income and into a self-employment status, I’ve begun to think seriously about how I need to plan things throughout the month to make sure all of the bills are covered. I’m not worried about paying them – we have plenty of income and a good emergency fund… Read More Financial Planning for Self-Employment: What’s Different?

Let’s get this out of the way right off the bat. For the specific task microwaves excel at, they’re much more efficient than stove tops and ovens. The basic stats on energy use prove this to be the case. However, the savings are relatively small. Per comparable use (one hour in the oven versus fifteen… Read More Don’t Use the Stove when the Microwave Will Do (20/365)

Over the years, I’ve written about many personal finance books that have been incredibly valuable to me and to many others in terms of helping them figure out their finances and build a path to a strong retirement or even to financial independence / early retirement. Perhaps the most in-depth list was this one, where… Read More 12 Non-Financial Books That Will Help You Cultivate a Mindset of Financial Independence

All of us regularly make mistakes in our lives – choices that seem like the right ones at the time, but later turn out to have been poor choices. This is true for all avenues of life: our careers, our personal lives, our finance choices, and anything else where we make decisions and have to… Read More Learning the Right Lessons from Your Mistakes

At the end of the day, when I’m changing clothes and getting ready for bed, one thing that I always do is examine the shirt and pants I’ve just removed. I look them over for obvious signs of dirt or stains or other indications that a cleaning is in order. I give the items a… Read More Don’t Wash Clothes That Aren’t Dirty (95/365)

Once again, it’s time for a monthly review of my finances. I generally break things down by evaluating my assets and my debts (which together make up my net worth), and then using these numbers, I attempt to set goals for the coming month. This is a useful exercise for everyone to do, simply so… Read More February 2008 Review – Assets -0.5%, Debts -1.0%