Personal finance strategies for managing your money. Learn more about the best ways to manage, save, invest, grow and preserve your wealth.
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….
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) just released their latest Consumer Expenditure Survey, which shows how the average American household spent $66,928 in 2021. That’s the equivalent of spending $5,577 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 (or…
If you’ve recently discovered the ‘FIRE’ movement or decided to finally take control of your finances and start investing, you may be wondering where to begin. The good news is that there are hundreds of free resources and books available that can help with wherever you’re at in your personal finance journey. Financial literacy is…
Comparison is the thief of joy. This is obviously not a new statement. Yet it rings true across pretty much every aspect of life. Money. Work. Beauty. Love. Friends. It’s only human nature to compare ourselves to others. Unfortunately, it’s also really easy to do these days with the prevalence of social media. While it’s…
Today, I’m sharing the results of our 2022 mid-year financial review. Here in the Rich Frugal Life household, we like to perform a deep dive into our finances 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…
Despite the provocative title, I’m actually a big believer in the FIRE movement. Pursuing financial independence and early retirement can help you achieve a happier life. That said, if you start this journey believing that happiness is waiting on the other side of that finish line, you’re likely to be disappointed. The FIRE movement won’t…
Many early retirees don’t include social security income in their retirement plans. Why? Probably because the 4% rule doesn’t use it. It’s also not available until traditional retirement age. Even so, social security income will cover a portion of your expenses in the later years. And the benefits can be significant. There may be a…
We’re increasing our 2022 budget! Although inflation is playing a part in this decision, the majority of the increase is for discretionary spending. When drafting our 2022 budget, we’d already added some extra “fun money.” However, after reading Die with Zero and reflecting on our life situation, we’ve recently decided it wasn’t enough. All this…
I read the book Die with Zero a few months ago. Based on what I’d heard from others who’d read it, I had a feeling that it would either change my life or I’d completely hate it. My reaction was neither of those things. I disliked certain parts of the book, yet was inspired by…