I had no plan for my money when I bought my condo, signed up for my cell phone plan, took on student loans, and committed to all of my financial obligations. Now that I want to tell my money where to go, I'm finding that it already has a lot of other places to be.
In my life I have had the following job titles (in no particular order): Business Planning Associate, Partner Sales Executive, Business Category Manager, Senior Change Manager, and several others that all result in the same question from friends and family. To keep it simple I would always say, "I work in sales." But could people … Continue reading No Job. No Problem.
It has been a few weeks, but I'm back with another installment of Give Us Free Fridays. In a couple of recent posts I've mentioned widening the gap between earnings and spending. J. Money over at Budgets Are Sexy had a change of perspective (courtesy of Mr. Money Mustache) on the outflow side of the equation. … Continue reading Give Us Free Fridays – Have Cake and Eat It Too
A few days after moving from New York to Minnesota I went to pick up the keys to the apartment I had just leased. My bladder had been screaming at me for the last hour so I decided to pop into my vacant unit to use the bathroom before heading back to my temporary housing. … Continue reading You’re Gonna Pay For That- Homeownership Part 3
One of the cardinal rules of personal finance is to avoid lifestyle creep. That means that as your income increases your cost of living should not. So if you make $60,000/year and at your annual review you're awarded a 5% raise, conventional wisdom states that instead of upgrading your lifestyle with that extra $250/month (i.e. … Continue reading My Way – Home ownership Part 2
I am at war. At 6:00 p.m. I won the first battle against Old Fashioned Donuts. With the help of a late afternoon nap I was victorious over the urge to drive 40 minutes to Chicago's Southside in the pouring rain to buy a dozen donuts for my one person household. With that shop now … Continue reading Friends With My Benefits
Upon graduating from business school in June of 2014 I had yet to find a job. My lease was up, I had no income, and my savings were dwindling. I sublet my classmates' apartments a month at a time thus giving myself shelter and relieving them of the burden of paying rent while they climbed … Continue reading Is It Worth It? Home Ownership (Part 1)
Yesterday I did something that I haven't done in over a month. I woke up at 6:00 a.m., got dressed, and went to the office. Okay, let me stop lying. I haven't done that in months. Even when I had a job my mornings consisted of rolling out of bed around 7:59, scratching my ass, … Continue reading Second Thoughts – Tax Free Retirement
Yes, I know that it's Saturday but accuracy is the enemy of alliteration so... This was a week of unexpected treasures as other people's folly turned into my gain. My freebies ran the gamut from food to health and wellness. Let's dive in. Free bread at Jimmy John's - After a week off I went … Continue reading Give Us Free Fridays – Feed Me, Teach Me, Heal Me
My mother had the biggest crush on Harrison Ford in the 1980s, so big that this poster hung in our home for years. I have to admit that I admire mom because she did not allow motherhood to keep her from getting what she wanted out of life. In 1984 what she wanted was to … Continue reading Just In Cases – You Do Need Life Insurance
Open Mouths Get Fed 