Simply Frugal. Simply Healthy. Simply Happy.
From the category archives:
photo by kalebdf Last week Tony took the car in for an oil change and brake check. I wasn’t expecting the news he gave me when he came home. One of our tires had a bubble and needed to be replaced immediately. The other three were on their last legs and needed to be replaced [...]
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This morning, like every other morning, my alarm went off at 6 a.m. Since daylight saving time began, my morning wake up call happens before the sun rises. Some mornings, it feels like I’m waking up in the middle of the night. I’ve been getting up at 6 a.m. for the past couple weeks to [...]
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I just finished filing our 2008 tax return using TurboTax Home & Business since I had to report a little freelance income for 2008. (If you’re not reporting freelance income, I suggest using TurboTax Deluxe.) The software costs about $40 on Amazon, but it makes it simple to do your taxes yourself. In my opinion, [...]
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At the beginning of the month, we started contributing to Roth IRAs. We were both so excited to be getting our retirement savings started. Now about a month later our accounts are already down $1.60. No, that’s not a lot, but when you only have $100 they don’t have far to fall. My point isn’t [...]
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Last week, I questioned when we should start saving for retirement. I got a lot of great advice from readers (thanks!). After talking it through and doing our own research, we’ve made the decision that the sooner we start, the better — even if we can’t afford to make huge contributions at first. Neither of [...]
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Obviously, the answer is as soon as possible. But it’s hard to know when it’s time to really buckle down when you’re young and in debt. Tony and I are 24 and 25, and I had hoped to start saving for retirement this year. But the more I look at our finances and goals, the [...]
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I’m so excited about the year ahead! For the first time, I feel like I’m looking ahead with a clear set of goals and the resolve to actually achieve them. In the interest of keeping myself honest, here’s what I hope to accomplish in the coming year: Finish building our 6-month emergency fund. We’re a [...]
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This is a guest post from one of my most frequent commenters, Bobbi. She doesn’t have her own blog, but I hope she’ll considering starting one now! There’s no better time than the new year! I’m also going through a similar dilemma with my year-end bonus, so I can definitely relate. Please weigh in and [...]
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I wasn’t expecting to receive a bonus from my employer this year. We’re in a recession, after all. So imagine my surprise when I received a bonus of about a week and a half’s pay. That’s quite a lot of money considering how little we spend. I find that extra money is a lot easier [...]
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