Everybody loves to take sides. In the personal finance world, you?re either for frugality or focusing on big wins. We think to build wealth, you need both. If it takes money to make money, then where does that money come from? And once you make money, how are you supposed to keep any of it if you can?t control your spending?
Further Reading:
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UPDATES:
1. Grandma wanted to add that people without jobs during the Great Depression (like her dad) had a tough time receiving handouts. They felt that?since they didn’t earn them through work, they didn’t deserve it.
She then explained it was recommended that she go on welfare when she was raising the kids alone, but she wanted to go back to work instead.
2. She wanted to stress how a strong work ethic is important for your well being, health, and self worth.
3. Try to be independent and not rely on others to do what you can do for yourself.
4. Most importantly she relied on her faith heavily to?help her through good and bad?times.
5. Someone asked how smoking had effected her health. She said that she smoked about a pack per week, because that’s all she could afford. What I didn’t know is that she quit because my dad asked her to stop when he was young. She said she would quit if he would never start. They both kept their promise.
As for long term effects, five years ago she was told she has the beginning stages of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), presumably from smoking. She didn’t mention if this has affected her quality of life.
Mike’s 87 year old grandma is on the show tonight to talk about life during and after the Great Depression. Topics include quality of life, frugal habits, and tips for longevity.
Be sure to tune in LIVE January 13th at 8:30PM EST.
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How could someone making $60k a year can say living on 50% of their income is impossible, yet there are many people who earn far less than that. We think it’s because fitting in is the hard part.
We discuss a few reasons why being frugal doesn’t mean you’re an outcast, as well as our weaknesses in fitting in.
Tonight we’re going to talk?about being frugal during the holiday season. ?How do we handle gifts for each other, friends and family? ?Does being frugal automatically make you a scrooge? ?Let’s get a discussion going about the differences between being cheap and frugal. ? Be there at 8:30PM EST tonight! ?We need your input!
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It’s been one year since making plans for extreme early retirement. How are we doing? In short, we’re falling behind for the first time this month. But don’t worry, there’s a reason.
We decided to simplify our lives and focus our efforts on our jobs and making YouTube videos. Unfortunately that meant making some tough decisions.
Watch the video to see how far behind we are, and how we plan to get back on top!
We mention all the time that our frugality isn’t a sacrifice for us. That’s because we buy only the things we truly love and cut everything else out of the budget.
Here’s a list of a few things we spend money on and a few things we couldn’t care less about.
A lot of this video was inspired(ripped off) from one of my favorite bloggers Tynan. He has an article called Polarizing Purchases where he describes how he is able to travel and buy (specific) nice things without the need for a “job.”
We have lived our lives pretty much the same way, buying only the things that are truly important to us.
If you’re just getting started budgeting, here are 9 simple ways you can get started saving money.
1. Make coffee at home (we cold brew).
2. Buy generic medicine and food.
3. Borrow eBooks from the library.
4. Downgrade your internet speed.
5. “Pre-game” before going out to bars.
6. Sell one item on craigslist, right this minute.
7. Don’t speed (fuel economy and tickets)
8. Make your own household cleaners.
9. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store.
Have any more tips to share? Leave a comment below!
Here is a tour of our house. We show just a few of the ways we’re able to save 75% of our income every month.
The biggest budget items for most people are:
1. Housing
2. Transportation
3. Food
We keep costs down by living simply in a small house, saving cash for our car, and limiting our restaurant eating to $50/mo.
Also be sure to DIY everything, buy used, and cut your energy costs as much as possible (gas for the car and electricity at home).
Want to know why we do the things we do? Our goal is retire extremely early by saving 75% of our income. If you’re interested in financial independence definitely check out Mr. Money Mustache (link below).
You don’t need a high income to retire early. But, you are going to need to give up a lot of “things” for financial freedom. Some people think living without luxury isn’t living, we think living without time isn’t living. We just want people to know they’re making a choice.
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