Personal finance strategies for managing your money. Learn more about the best ways to manage, save, invest, grow and preserve your wealth.
We may already be well into the new year, but I’m finally ready to share Rich Frugal Life’s 2024 budget! Why the delay? Well, life for one reason. But also, because we’ve been tinkering with our annual budget more than usual this year. I’ve only recently finalized it. Spoiler alert: Despite coming in $10,000 under…
Welcome to Rich Frugal Life’s 2023 year-end investment portfolio update, including a discussion of the changes we’re making to our investing strategy in 2024. Last year was a great one for our investment portfolio! Mr. RFL and I were both surprised and thrilled to watch our investments increase by 53% during 2023. About half of…
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) just released their latest Consumer Expenditure Survey, which shows how the average American household spent $72,967 in 2022. That’s the equivalent of spending $6,081 per month. How does your household spending compare? Comparing your expenses to that of the average American household can help you determine if you are spending too much…
Today, I’m sharing our 2023 mid-year financial results. Here in the Rich Frugal Life household, we typically perform a deep dive into our finances at least twice a year. During this review, we compare our year-to-date spending to the budget, analyze our investment portfolio allocation and targets, and assess how we’re tracking towards our annual…
Do you ever think about the real cost of the things you buy before you make a purchase? Your true cost is more than just the dollar amount on the price tag. And no, this isn’t the point where I tell you to stop buying those precious daily lattes. You do you. Besides, I already…
One of my most popular posts on the blog to date has been on how much money kids cost and whether raising kids is really as expensive as everyone says it is. Within that post, I shared a deep dive into the USDA’s most recent report on the average costs of raising a kid, and…
Did you make a resolution to start working out this year? If so, you’re not alone. Many people use the new year as a fresh opportunity to make healthy changes in their lives. Exercise is one of the best ways to improve health and longevity, so really any time of year is a great time…
Budgets seem to have a bad reputation, but I think they’re just misunderstood. When used properly, a budget can help you reach your financial goals and give you the freedom to spend lavishly on the things you value (guilt-free). I actually love budgeting and I know that our 2023 budget will help us achieve these…
This Giving Tuesday, we’re doing our charitable giving through a donor-advised fund, to give more money… for less. Last year, we set an intention to use the time and money freedom afforded to us by our FIRE lifestyle to give back more to our community. We’ll do this by volunteering, being more generous with friends…
Do you consider your primary residence to be an asset? Is the value of that home included in your net worth calculation? I frequently see this topic debated on social media and it always surprises me to see how many people don’t view their home as an asset, and the reasons they give for why….
