Category: Frugal Living, Saving Money & Life Hacks
You Want It. You Buy It. You Forget It.
Note: This is a post from Joan Otto, Man Vs. Debt community manager. Read more about Joan.Two summers ago, while visiting an art museum in Washington, D.C., we came upon an exhibit in the process of being installed. Huge letters and swaths of red, black and white covered every square inch of wall and floor.When I saw it, I took the photo above, hoping it would serve as a reminder to go back and see the finished exhibit and revisit the phrases plastered throughout.WHOSE VALUES?FORGET EVERYTHING.YOU WANT IT. YOU BUY IT. YOU FORGET IT.And while I haven’t gotten back to see the final installation of Belief+Doubt (I hope to – it’s on display through the end of this
Julian’s Success Story: How Going $42,000 in Debt was the Greatest Decision I’ve Ever Made
Julian Hayes II is a fitness and lifestyle coach and writer based out of Nashville, Tennessee. He is the creator of 206 Fitness. Why 206? Not only is 206 one of his nicknames, but there are also 206 bones in the body. He believes anyone can achieve the body they’ve always wanted while still living a fun and adventurous life. Read more about him and download his free ebook on how to achieve the body you’ve always wanted while owning life at 206fitness.com and connect with him on Facebook & Twitter.I am $42,000 in debt and I’m absolutely loving life right now.Yes, you read that correctly.$42k in debt.To the majority of people, this sounds like an insanely large amount of money.Except me.Seriously,
The Great Pile of Unread Books
Note: This is a post from Joan Otto, Man Vs. Debt community manager. Read more about Joan.I love to read.It doesn’t really matter what it is – barring anything else handy, I’d happily read the back of a cereal box at breakfast – but since I was about 3 years old, I’ve rarely been without a pile of books in progress.In January, I set a goal on Goodreads to finish 75 books this year. I started out great – averaging almost a book a day.But life happens, and the books piled up into the stack you see above, unfinished and, in most cases, not even started!The mental drain of being “behind”Here’s the problem: I have serious issues with
Taxing Decisions: Joan’s Mid-March Financial Update
Image courtesy of our friend PT of PT Money (www.ptmoney.com) Note: This is a post from Joan Otto, Man Vs. Debt community manager. Read more about Joan.Tax season is hitting full-force here in the US! Our taxes have been done since early February, thanks to my own OCD record-keeping and our accountant’s desire to get us in and out as early as possible each year, what with our 80 streams of income and all that.But after a couple years of paying in some hefty figures around this time of year thanks to self-employment taxes and some other strangeness, this year, we are getting refunds from both state and local.Those checks hit my bank account this week, and as I
You Don’t Need That MBA Degree: Continuing Thoughts on Higher Education
This is a guest post by Mariana Zanetti, who earned her MBA degree from one of Europe’s top business schools and has more than 12 years of international marketing experience in three countries. She is the author of The MBA Bubble and shared this post in response to an earlier Man Vs. Debt post by Joan titled Do You Really Need That Master’s Degree? When my Harvard MBA colleague told me that I should pursue a “top” MBA program twelve years ago, I did not doubt it. “Don’t worry,” he said. “For the important things, money will not be a problem.” So I applied, I was admitted, and I enrolled in the MBA program at one of the top European business
4 Personal-Finance Lessons From NASCAR
Note: This is a post from Joan Otto, Man Vs. Debt community manager. Read more about Joan.For those of you who didn’t spend Sunday watching the Daytona 500 – and bemoaning its 6.5-hour rain delay and multiple 8-car-plus crashes – well… you have my sympathy. (And my apologies, because you probably aren’t going to like today’s post if you’re not a NASCAR fan!)I’ve been an auto-racing fan since high school. I grew up going to local dirt tracks, and a NASCAR race was the first professional sporting event I ever attended.So while spending Sunday trying to watch the race AND get some work done, it occurred to me I could multitask… and share some personal-finance advice for
Should You Sell Unwanted Gifts?
Note: This is a post from Joan Otto, Man Vs. Debt community manager. Read more about Joan.One of our readers shared the following story and question with me, and gave me permission to share it here:I’m trying to downsize and get rid of my crap to pay off my debt. I also don’t like clutter so I want to get rid of my stuff so my family of 3 can comfortably fit into 1100 square feet. But my father-in-law is the king of crap, and gives us stuff we’ll never use and never need. I have 2 hammocks (and live in an apartment), a circular saw, tons of memorabilia from our alma mater, garden gnomes, at least 3 universal remotes (for my 1 television), water
Save Power When Using the Self-Cleaning Function on Your Oven
That self-cleaning function on your oven sure is handy, isn’t it? The only problem is that it requires a large amount of energy to get the temperature of the oven high enough for the cleaning function to work. To make this tool a little more frugal living friendly, consider planning to clean your oven after you’ve used it and, preferably, the broiler. This way, the temperature of the oven will already be warmer than if the self-cleaner had to bring the temperature all the way up from zero. If the broiler has been used, the oven is more than half way there! It’s easy to save power. Just learn to adapt aspects of your daily routines to make them a little more conducive to frugal
Wash Produce When You Need it & Reduce Food Cost
Do you find you’re tossing foods from your fridge before you even get to use them? One of the reasons this could be happening is if you often wash produce before putting it in the fridge. Sure, it’s convenient to have a bowl of grapes or berries already washed and ready to go in the fridge, but the excess water that stays on produce can cause it to spoil. The same goes for choosing produce at the grocery store that hasn’t been doused in water by the store’s misters. For frugal living and the sake of your grocery bills, only wash produce when you need it and as you use it. *Photo from Flickr, courtesy of *clairity*
Prevent Dust with this Frugal Living Tip
I don’t know too many people that love to spend their time dusting, so if you’re like me, you would love to learn new ways of preventing the need for this household chore altogether. Okay, today’s frugal living tip may not get you out of your dusting duties forever, but it will reduce their frequency. One of the most effective ways to decrease the amount of dust in your home is to ensure that your air conditioner and furnace filters are cleaned on a regular basis. Not only will this keep the amount of dust down, but it will also allow these units to run more efficiently, saving you more money. Make it a habit of checking and cleaning these filters every other month and pick up
Paved Roads are Best for Frugal Living
If you’ve been working hard to get the best gas mileage possible, there’s good reason to come up with new routes that only include flat, paved roads. Sure, it’s often the dirt or gravel roads that are the most scenic and that give us a nice break from the hustle and bustle of street lights and stop signs. But, when you drive on these unpaved surfaces, your vehicle’s engine works that much harder to turn your wheels. Driving on surfaces where it’s hard to get traction will always cost you more in gas. So, while you don’t have to forever swear-off the scenic route for frugal living, just don’t make it a habit of driving on these rough roads every day if you can. *Photo from
