Living for today - Planning for Tomorrow
Lately economists have been warning that we may be heading for a recession in the next one to two years. Goldman Sachs recently estimated that the chances of the US entering a recession is about 35%. I knew that a recession was likely on the horizon in the next few years. But I didn’t expect it to be a possibility so soon. Economists can’t predict
I wasn’t planning to buy an investment property so soon after purchasing my first house a year ago. With the real estate market booming and interest rates rising, it doesn’t seem like the best time to look for an investment property. But I was browsing on Zillow just for fun and saw a house down the road from mine that’s for sale. It’s in pretty
Recently I heard a financial saying that was new to me online: you can’t out-earn bad spending habits. This is such a true statement. No matter how high your income is, if you don’t have financial discipline and try to live frugally, you can easily inflate your lifestyle to the point where you’re living paycheck to paycheck. After all, many lottery winners end up in
Deciding whether or not to give to charity is tough. You want to give back, but can you afford to donate if you’re in debt or having trouble saving for retirement? You may also be worried your donation won’t make a difference, especially if you can only make a small contribution. Some charities spend as much as 80% of donations on overhead costs. Depending on
I’ve always loved animals, especially dogs. My family had several dogs while I was growing up and they were a huge comfort to me during hard times. I’ve dreamed of having a dog of my own for years, but I wanted to make sure I was financially stable before I took the plunge. Dog ownership is costly—in the first year alone, experts say you can
Before I moved to rural Michigan, I had always lived in cities or suburbs. I never imagined that I would end up living in a farmhouse out in the country. But my partner dreamed of moving back to the Midwest and settling down on a big tract of land in a quiet, small town. Since I can work from anywhere as long as I have
Speaking from experience, it’s hard to watch friends and family members make financial mistakes. Most of my immediate family, including my parents and older sister, aren’t very financially literate. My parents ended up deep in consumer debt due to their lavish spending habits. Although they’re doing better now and are almost debt-free, they still spend too much on extravagances. My mom wastes $400 per month
One of the biggest surprises when I moved out on my own for the first time was how much cleaning supplies and household goods like tissues cost. The average American household spends $40 to $50 per month on cleaning supplies and $60 per month on personal care products and services. But luckily you don’t have to spend $1,300 per year just to keep your home
As a personal finance writer, I’m supposed to stay on top of financial news and know what’s going on. So I’m kind of embarrassed to admit that I missed my chance to refinance my home before interest rates rose. We got busy with life and put off refinancing, which turned out to be a big mistake. Why We Wanted to Refinance My partner and I
Life insurance is an important but often overlooked aspect of personal finance. If you have people who rely on you financially, it’s important to make sure they’d be taken care of if you got injured or passed away. Although no one likes to think about getting sick or dying, it’s better to be prepared than to be caught off guard. That’s why my partner and
