May 16, 2014
NO! Just kidding, pets rock. They’re wonderful and often hilarious little additions to our lives, but they’re not free. Owning a pet is a serious financial undertaking and shouldn’t be entered into lightly. While I’m obviously in favor, I’m a cautious and contingent proponent. Any pet is going to impact your monthly savings rate and should be considered…
May 9, 2014
Condos can look enticing. In hot real estate markets, they may appear more affordable than traditional homes. But there’s a lot not to like about condos. If you’re considering purchasing a condo, here are a seven things to look out for: Condo Fees: Any condo is going to have a fee. Usually this is referred to as a…
May 8, 2014
Buying a house is falling out of fashion in the Financial Independence and Early Retirement community. Not “Green Polyester Leisure Suit” out of fashion, more “Cherry Cabinets and Ornamental Backsplash” out of fashion. The oft-cited, and extensively researched, post on the matter is the awesome and amazing JCollinsNH’s “Rent v. Owning Your Home, opportunity cost and…
May 6, 2014
Yes, this is an homage to Hyperbole and a Half, possibly the most humorous blog. Ever. But back to the topic at hand: EATING! As part of our Uber Frugal Month experiment, Mr. Frugalwoods and I challenged ourselves to eat the backlog of food in our home. We’re not over-buyers by our very frugal nature, but…
May 3, 2014
One of the biggest financial decisions you’ll ever make is whether to buy or rent your home. This decision can feel more important than mere numbers and ratios. After all, most realtors will quickly whisper in your ear “it’s not a house, it’s a home!” Once you’re settled in a career and have some money in the bank, the…
May 3, 2014
Howdy! If you haven’t read Part 1, you’ll want to do that first. Step 12: Prep your primer (and later, your paint). Pour a small amount of paint into a personal paint cup/old plastic container. Don’t dip your brush into the gallon because it might contaminate the whole supply–eek! With a personal paint cup, if you get…
May 3, 2014
Refinishing kitchen cabinets is an excellent frugal alternative to installing new cabinets, which can cost thousands of dollars (say what?!). While I won’t lie to you–this is a time-consuming endeavor–it yields a major impact and isn’t difficult! It’s such an inexpensive alternative to completely renovating a kitchen and you could get creative with colors. This is probably…
April 30, 2014
We’ve all heard the personal finance truism: Keep three to six months of living expenses in the bank just in case. But do folks pursuing Financial Independence and Early Retirement (FIRE) really need an emergency fund? Originally the emergency fund was conceived in response to the all too common cycle of debt and poverty. People…
April 26, 2014
We all gotta eat, so I thought I’d share how we do it the healthy, frugal way. This is predicated upon cooking most meals from scratch; however, you don’t have to make complicated, gourmet dishes–there are plenty of simple, quick, and healthy recipes, which the resident chef, Mr. Frugalwoods, will post here one day…we promise! After taking…
April 26, 2014
I recently attended a conference for work and in a session on personal finance, the speaker espoused that one cannot get rich by cutting out small luxuries because “necessities” are so expensive. This speaker went on to say that you’ll never “save your way to financial stability” and that the best thing to do is focus…
April 22, 2014
After completing the biggies in the Frugal House master bedroom makeover: painting the walls, refinishing the gold mirrored closet doors, and refinishing my poor old jewelry chest, there were a few small, very inexpensive DIY projects that really polished off the room. These are what I call high impact, low budget projects–they make a huge difference…
April 21, 2014
I have a fantastic jewelry chest/hutch that came to me as a hand-me-down from my family. I love its many compartments and slots for various bits and bobs, but it was suffering from a case of ’90s oak and gold finishes. I knew that we couldn’t redo our master bedroom without addressing this, ahem, little eyesore. …