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After graduating from law school, I was offered a $90,000 a year job at a law firm in California.  Instead, we moved back to the East Coast, moved in with a family member and I took a job that averages about $40,000 a year.  There were many reasons I made this decision, not the least of which was the desire to preserve my sanity (I would be miserable being a lawyer).  However, there are people who don’t understand this decision, so I want to take a hard look at what I really gave up, financially speaking (I’m not even going to consider the mental benefits here).   (more…)

What is a money pit purchase, you might ask.  It is a term I just borrowed to refer to a purchase that just keeps on costing after it has been made.  Now, to some extent, most of the stuff that we buy has a cost that continues to mount even after you’ve made the purchase and brought it home.  For example, after you shell out $1500+ for that brand new LCD tv, you have to pay for the electricity to use it and maybe even for cable TV with HD service to enjoy it.  Some items, like swimming pools and pets for example, end up costing thousands and thousands of dollars over long (15-20 year) periods (although the joy these items add to some people’s lives can far outweigh the cost). But, there are some particular items that just scream out “Money Pit Purchases” to me- items that continue to cost us money without really adding any noticeable value to our lives.  I’ve made a list of a few of them here: (more…)

My Step By Step Guide to Grocery Savings was an editors pick in the Money Hacks Carnival hosted this week at Personal Finance Buzz.  Lots of other great articles here, notably these real estate & mortgage tips at Bible Money Matters and this personal story of one family’s journal to debt freedom at Happy To Be Home.

I participated in the Carnival of Debt Reduction at No Credit Needed.  Head over there to read my article on the importance of an emergency fund.  While you are there, check out my favorites including this article on young people facing financial stress at Free Money Finance (certainly a topic that hits home for me!) and this useful list of 0% balance transfer cards at Five Cent Nickel.

My article detailing the reasons for my disappointment in my car warranty is included in the Carnival of Money Stories hosted at Not The Jet Set.  Some other great posts included over here include this post about making lemonade from financial lemons at Funny About Money and Addicted to Saving Money at Money Ning.

The 167th Carnival of Personal Finance at Broke Grad Student included my post on the importance of tracking expenses.  I also really enjoyed The Wisdom Journals consideration of whether frugal people regret being frugal and Amateur Asset Allocator’s explanation of why the dollar is falling.

The other day, I went shopping with a neighbor.  We’ve lived next door to this family for a long time, and they basically are The Joneses.  They have 3 cars for 2 people (a huge SUV, an Audi and a Porsche).  They have a boat (in an area of the country where you can use a boat for maybe 3 months out of the year, if you are lucky).  They are always remodeling something, and if you ever want to borrow the latest power tool you can bet they have it. (more…)

My mom had a beautiful set of copper pots. She loved cooking with them. She hated to take care of them. They are super tarnished, and almost black in some places because she rarely polished them.  At this point, to replace the set now would be almost $2000.  I don’t want to, nor can I, spend that kind of money. So, instead I am spending a lot of time cleaning them (for those who are curious, I am using lemon & salt and also letting them sit in dill pickle juice and it is actually working).   (more…)

After a frustrating three days of endless phone calls, our financial life is a lot closer to being in order!  I got my credit line raised on the Citi Upromise card I just opened, and so I requested my balance transfer check.  I requested $6850 out of the $7000 available on the card, just so I wouldn’t max it out completely.  This should allow us to consolidate 3 out of 4 of Fiance’s cards onto one, so we can pay that off.  I also filled out the paper work to consolidate all 10 of my different student loans (thats a LOT of loans!). (more…)

I’ve written a few posts that are designed to help you save money on groceries, so I thought I would provide a very brief and basic summary: (more…)

After a lot of research, I bought a certified pre-owned Lexus in June of 2007.  The big reason I purchased this car was because of the 3 year warranty through Lexus.  This was one of the best warranty’s I found on a used car that met my needs (I’m a very nervous driver and only feel comfortable with the steering and handling of a select few cars, and we needed an SUV to transport our dogs safely).  The warranty seemed extremely comprehensive, and was valid at any Lexus Dealership nationwide.  So, when my Check Engine Light Came on a few weeks ago, I was worried but not too worried. I felt sure I would be taken care of. (more…)

I began yesterday morning with the intention of applying for this balance transfer card.  I liked that it was 0% interest for 12 months, and I really liked that there was no balance transfer fee.  We’ve been kicking around the idea of doing a balance transfer for almost a year.  I was worried about what it would do to my FICO score (applying for new credit, and then maxing out the available credit is never good!).  However, I checked my credit score and it was 783, and so we decided that even if it went down a few points it would be worth it because of the money we are going to save in interest.  Plus, with the economy the way it is, it looks like it may be almost a year before we buy a house, so I’ll have time to get this card paid off by then. (more…)

I’ve written a fair amount of posts (considering I’ve only been blogging for a little over a month) that deal with concepts that could be considered Green (for example this post on saving energy, this post on making homemade essential oils, this post on homemade pest prevention techniques, and this post on making homemade cleaning products).  But, this is a blog on Frugal Living, not on Green Living.  So, the reason that I’ve written all these posts is that I think that being Green and Being Frugal often overlap.   (more…)