The first time someone tried to sell me on the idea of going to a timeshare presentation, I have to admit that my first thought was “that doesn’t sound terrible.” The woman on the other end of the line promised me two plane tickets to Las Vegas and two nights in a hotel for only $99 and my… Read More »
As the title implies, I like to personify money concepts in my head to entertain my financial avatar. (I’m not good with titles.) Here are the cast of characters in my soap opera. Mimi – Mimi is my Financial Avatar. This is who I picture whenever I write “my financial avatar.” She’s savvy. She doesn’t… Read More »
My financial avatar gives money freely and happily for me to have a happy place to lay my head at night and enough good, happy food to eat. These two expenses probably take up the largest part of my budget and I am more than okay with that. I’m happy to sign a lease for a nice apartment for… Read More »
Let me get the uncomfortable part (for me) out of the way first. I read Judge Judy’s memoir recently and this passage spoke to me. Being fearless means standing up for yourself. Timidity does not make you happy. Women are notoriously bad self-promoters. I always understood this about myself, so I let other people toot my… Read More »
The title of this post is misleading and I should probably change it, but I think “Thriftygal’s 2016 Budget” is more click-baity than “Thriftygal’s 2016 Financial Philosophy” or “Thriftygal’s 2016 Experiment with Financial Independence in an Annoying Bear Market.” I haven’t settled on a name for this operation yet. Maybe I’ll just call it Operation Earl and confuse… Read More »
There is no way to protect yourself 100%, especially when you’re in a foreign country wandering. I think you can still take some basic precautions. Here are my sacred rules when I travel. Tip 1: Don’t engage with people who approach you. When I’m out exploring a city or sightseeing, especially at classic tourist destinations, I never engage… Read More »
I have a couple more items that I know that you probably already spend a significant amount of money on and that I didn’t want to point out earlier because I know you’re going to yell at me. But, dagnabbit, these items are WANTS and you really have to think hard if they are worth… Read More »
Money means freedom and power in a million different ways. Sure, there’s the obvious way of being able to structure your own days and not work, but there’s so much more to it. Having some money in your bank account gives you a cushion in your life no matter what dice the universe rolls. Money has such amazing… Read More »
I’m on a bit of a history lesson kick, watching Crash Course videos on Youtube and reading about the Great Depression. People who lived through the Great Depression understood the importance of thrift and not wasting what you had, so I’m constantly on the lookout for advice from that period. By chance, I stumbled across… Read More »
Part of the reason that women traditionally earn less than men for the same job is that they don’t negotiate their salary as often. Keep in mind too, that often the best way to increase your salary is to change jobs and negotiate for a higher pay. My rule of thumb is to always negotiate. What’s… Read More »