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11 Behaviors you shouldn’t be ashamed of during social distancing and a pandemic

Dmitriy Kovalenko — Tue, 14 Apr 2020 16:41:06 GMT

Considering just how tricky saving money can be, it’s a shame that the art of being economical isn’t a larger part of our basic education curriculums across the country. In fact, only 21 out of 50 states currently mandate that high school students take a course in personal finance. And that lack of education creates a real disadvantage for today’s younger generations. Without the aid of a financial advisor, most economic knowledge is passed down from family and friends, creating a web of various and sometimes conflicting information.

Today, nearly ¼ of Millennials spend more than they earn, leading to never-ending credit card debt. Does that debt always come from overspending? Or is it more likely that emergency medical bills and car repairs are what get you stuck in the negative?

As we’ve discussed before, it’s a combination of both. We can’t do much about the latter, but we can do a lot to better prepare ourselves for those kinds of surprises. Small adjustments in your budget and spending habits can lead to some pretty fantastic results.

Let’s say you’ve got your eye on taking a tropical vacation with your spouse. First, you need to give yourself a budget. Do the research and figure out a price range for your destination, and then give yourself a target date by which you’ll need to have the money. Give yourself enough time to realistically get the dough together, but don’t make it so far away that the trip doesn’t feel like a reality.

Rethink Your Budget

Before you actually make your savings plan, you’ll need to assess your spending habits and find ways to reduce spending in nearly every category. It takes some work, but it’s all worth it in the end. I like to call it the Thrift Technique. It’s a way of living you can adopt in times of need. Here are the essentials.

Eliminate excess food and clothing spending.

The first things to go? Buying coffee outside of the house and going out for lunch. A bag of coffee beans lasts 1-2 weeks and becomes a worthwhile investment after only 2 or 3 cups. And when you step out to buy lunch, you’re likely to spend $10-15. Buy some salad and sandwich ingredients and save yourself hundreds of dollars per month. We’re not saying you can’t treat yourself to one or two meals out once a week, but eating out daily isn’t fiscally responsible.

You’ll need to also cut back spending on hobbies and clothing. Take a break from buying books, records, and most unnecessary clothing/accessories. Most of us haven’t even read all of the books we own, so make that a priority. Plus remember, all you’ll need is a swimsuit when you’re lounging on the beach, so don’t worry about buying new clothes for a while.

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Side hustling to the World Series: Mikey Navarro, mascot and part-time movie star.

Dmitriy Kovalenko — Tue, 17 Dec 2019 17:42:00 GMT

It seems like everyone these days has a side hustle. From Etsy to Fiverr, who wouldn’t want to capitalize on their talents to make some extra money? Now imagine your talent is being extremely charismatic, athletic, and social-media savvy, and you do it all… in a mascot suit.

That’s Mikey Navarro. By day, a social media maven. By night, Mikey suits up in some of the most iconic mascot outfits on the West Coast and entertains huge crowds. But how does one make mascotting their side hustle? I (Sarah) was so excited to have a chance to chat with Mikey to find out more about his side hustling journey.

Becoming the University of Oregon Duck, going viral, and being a true side hustling legend

Tell me how you got your start in the world of mascots?

I thought it would be really cool to be a mascot. I was big in sports my whole life until high school, but then I really didn't grow as much as everyone else. I couldn't play football and basketball anymore so I combined my backgrounds in theater and music with sports and I felt like that was a good mesh between the two worlds.

You went on to be the University of Oregon Duck mascot, how did you manage that?

When I got to the University of Oregon, I wanted to be the Duck. I didn't know how to do that. So I just decided to do marching band just to do something. It was actually at a party where I talked to somebody who knew I wanted to be the Duck and he said, “Actually, the Ducks are over there.”

He was a cheerleader, so he introduced me to them and I talked to them and spilled the beans that this was something I wanted to do, something I was pretty passionate about in high school, and asked them what I needed to do? It's pretty secretive, but they told me about a tryout that they do and who to email and so I did the whole shabam and I had my first tryout. I got past the first round but actually didn’t make it in the second round.

That must have been really rough. What did you do with that setback?

I was debating whether I should move to LA and go to school for drumming, but I decided to stick with it and so in my sophomore year, I tried it again. And then I got it. And so that started my career as being the mascot at the University of Oregon.

Was being the Duck your only hustle while you were at University of Oregon?

I was the mascot for three years but it wasn’t a paying gig. So, I also worked at Hollister as a model, folding clothes and spritzing cologne. I also found I could DJ, so I decided to DJ for my fraternity’s parties and started to get gigs doing that too. I got another job being a DJ at a big campus bar in Eugene.

The ability to be creative, to combine a lot of my life skills and things together to do this. And then the reactions, it's fun. I love that energy.

At the same time, I was sluggo for the Eugene Emeralds baseball team. I would work in the summers as a caterer, just to save up money for my school year, but, during the year, I would spend that money pretty quickly. So, I just had like little side gigs on top of my side gigs. I was even a house boy for Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.

It sounds like you’re a born side hustler. You really know how to make your talents work for you!

You know, I figured out that it's a combination of doing what I love, but being smart about where I can be efficient with my time. Time was very crucial because I had to do my homework as well. I had to pass class. So I was figuring out a way to do everything at once. Pretty much coffee and ambition got me through it all.

Where did you go after you graduated? You’d set up a whole hustle economy for yourself in Eugene!

When I graduated I was still a DJ and the university asked me to coach the mascot team and be the Duck’s whole brand manager as a part time gig, so I was doing that. I was also doing audio for Oregon athletics, playing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” and those weird sounds you hear at baseball games.

And then you went viral with the Duck, right?

I've gone viral a couple of times. My first one was one of my biggest where I did a parody of Gangnam style. I had the Duck parody that music video probably three or four days after it came out. I had no money but I went to Safeway and got watermelons for the bit. I got like confetti cannons, I just did whatever I could just to create as weird of a parody as I could. To date, it has 7.5 million views.

I was pretty hooked on that, it was fun. It was fun to do that for a brand. The ability to be creative, to combine a lot of my life skills and things together to do this. And then the reactions, it's fun. I love that energy.

Post-college life: How to continue the mascot side hustle

So going viral was really something that attracted me to social media or at least taking my role as the Duck and creating some a social path within that. I knew I would be able to create awesome content with where social media was headed.

There weren't social media managers yet but all the major brands had social media presence, and I knew that this was going to be a marketing trend down the line. And so I used my position and I really honed in on growing that account, creating content that would sell and be attractive, and I was just applying elsewhere trying to get out of Eugene, Oregon.

It sounds like you found your niche in both your side hustle and your career, that’s awesome. Where did you go next?

I got a part-time job with the San Francisco Giants as a part of the marketing group and social media. So I moved down to the Bay Area, a year and a half after I graduated. I took every job I could, down here that allowed me to pay rent.

Were you still mascotting?

I was throwing Cracker Jacks in the middle of the fifth inning you know, for promoting things like the team dance camp. I was doing that part time, and, from there, I was trying to get every social media job I could find on Craigslist or every job finder site or app. I had recruiters trying to get me work and doing what I can. I spread out all my octopus arms to try and have on something because I really had to make money.

I don't want to do anything that doesn't give me this feeling ever again.

Eventually, through networking, I got to work with the Giants and the Warriors as their entertainment. I was with a mobile app doing social media, working with the Warriors doing their entertainment, shooting t-shirts out of a cannon and giving out pizzas. From there, I got in touch with the Raiders about starting a character. So I ended up being one of the beginning performers for the Raiders as one of their first mascots they've ever had.

Finding stability with a side hustle in the Bay Area

Give me a rundown of what your life looked like at this time.

I was doing 49ers, Warriors, and Giants games. On weekends, I would do my other side hustle as a wedding DJ on a Saturday and then a football game on a Sunday and then go back at it. I had to make it work.

How did you find stability in all of this?

I started to get a lot more contract work in the city so I was staying within the city. I was actually making money to survive and be social. Then I got a job with a mobile app startup and they hired me full time paying me a salary. I took it.

Little did I know it would be like a “Silicon Valley startup” mentality working 18 hour days non-stop. It was insane. So I did that for like seven days a week because it was paying me decently and I was number six in the company, so if we were to be purchased, we were looking at a multi-million dollar valuation.

From Silicon Valley to Hollywood, bouncing back from burnout

Seems like things were settling down for you.

I was working at the startup and still doing commercials as the Duck for University of Oregon. The whole idea was to cash out [when someone bought the startup] and use the money to do the fun, exciting stuff I’ve always wanted because I was sitting down all day on a computer. I wasn't moving around. It wasn't me.

But then I got a call from the University of Oregon that they needed help filming a commercial for Nike. I was a mascot there with Marcus Mariota. He was a quarterback who just won the Heisman.

And during that Nike shoot in LA, I made a connection with the director of photography who happened to be working on a Mascots movie. He really liked how I carried myself, performed and interacted and he asked if I would be interested in talking with the directors.

So you just stumbled upon a movie opportunity? Incredible!.

Yeah, I had no idea what it was but he gave me a card and I went to meet Christopher Guest. We just talked for two hours about what I do and how I perceive the world of mascotting. I think I did well because I got a phone call that they wanted me to be on this project.

But I had to be there on a Wednesday.

I’m on the edge of my seat here, what did you do?

I quit my startup job. Well, they fired me actually. I drove down to LA on Tuesday to be in this movie. And that was the best time of my life. For the next two months I stayed with my aunt who lives in Echo Park. I was living a dream. I was shooting a movie, like, “Oh, I'm sorry, I gotta go, I'm shooting a movie.” It was ridiculous.

I was getting paid enough and I really enjoyed the process. And it clicked for me like, I don't want to do anything that doesn't give me this feeling ever again.

Life after Hollywood, being a modern-day mascot and following your gut

What did you do after the movie ended?

I was applying for everywhere and it came down to two things. There was a crossroads. I had a conversation with Bleacher Report about a new creative team that they were building out. That was in January. And then the other conversation was to be a director of mood for Hakkasan nightclub in Las Vegas.

I evaluated my potential options. I decided to be in San Francisco, where I have established a lot of areas of work and potential opportunities and I had my girlfriend and life. I had a good feeling about Bleacher Report and, in May, I got a phone call to join this creative team that they were starting.

[At Bleacher Report] Our job was to create content that will go viral, to blow out their account. No restrictions, just create dope stuff. It was everything I wanted in a creative job.

It sounds like you found your perfect fit career-wise. Are you still mascotting and side hustling?

Mikey: I gotta move around! I have become a mascot for Satellite Healthcare. It's a kidney dialysis company. I do that sometimes on Saturdays, they have events you know kidney walks and I'll go and do that.

I’m also one of the mascots for Salesforce. They have like five characters and I play all of them but I'm usually Astro. He's my guy.

I've also done cool movies and do commercials and acting, here in San Francisco. I'm in a position where I'm able to do that stuff in tandem with a nine to five because that happens on weekends or at night.

I've been to the World Series and then three championship parades. I do weird, crazy stuff and I get paid to do it.

You’re so good at re-inventing yourself. What are some of the biggest or most important lessons you’ve learned along the way?

I think I've always been open to opportunities because nothing is forever. I've always been a believer that if I have my resume together you know, I'm able to be really great at what I do.

I don't think I'm going to ever be in a position where I’m struggling. That was always a concern to me because I've been in that position where I was struggling.

I don't want to be normal. I want to have an interesting life and I want to do really fun things in my life. And I want to do that by doing that in my work. I got to do a lot of crazy things in my work. I've been to the World Series and then three championship parades. I do weird, crazy stuff and I get paid to do it.

I guess that's why I really liked working in sports because I had a perspective that all of these large-scale events is just everyday life for me, while people save up for a whole year to be there. It's that constant reminder of that perspective that I really enjoy.

I'm always looking for opportunities in what I do and knowing that doubling down on my work and being good at my craft, I will be able to be okay no matter what.

What they don't tell you about living on the road (and why you should care)

Steve Adcock — Mon, 11 Nov 2019 19:31:34 GMT

Michelle from Making Sense of Cents is living on the road in an RV, just like us. It’s an awesome way to live, but there are certain things about this lifestyle that may not appear so obvious. Today, Michelle takes some time to share some interesting topics they don’t tell you about living on the road.

In July of 2015, me and my husband did something crazy, something that I never thought we would do.

We bought an RV and started living on the road.

I never thought that I would be an RVer. Even as a kid, I never thought about this unique way of life once. I had never even hopped into an RV until we started looking at them.

And now, I’m having the best time while on the road.

The year when we first started looking at RVs, I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into. Since we were traveling a lot, we wanted to devise a plan where we could be more comfortable while bringing our dogs everywhere with us and so I thought RVing would be a fun way to travel part-time. By no means did I ever think we could make this living and travel arrangement a long term plan.

I quickly fell in love with the RV lifestyle. And, shortly after we bought our RV and we made living in it, year round, a reality.

We sold our family home and put everything in storage (we have since gotten rid of the storage unit). After that, we were free to go and left for a life filled with travel and living on the road.

Many people think we're crazy, and living on the road may not be normal. However, I wouldn’t want life to be any other way. So long live our former, more traditional domestic lifestyle!

We truly have it made. My husband and I have traveled to some really great places in just the year and a half that we’ve been RVing. To share some highlights below, we have been to places such as:

The Pacific Northwest (my husband cycled 1,000 miles from Port Angeles, Washington to San Francisco, California, while I drove myself and our two dogs in our RV). We went to Mount Rainier National Park, Olympic National Park, Kalaloch and Ruby Beach, Hoh National Rainforest, La Push Beach, and many other beautiful places. This is still my favorite RV trip and I can't wait to do it again.
Utah (many times) – Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Moab, and many other places.
Colorado (many times) – Rocky Mountain National Park, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado National Monument, Dinosaur National Monument, and many other places.
Arizona – Saguaro National Park, Tucson, Sedona, and Phoenix.
California – We park/beach hopped along the ocean highway and that was fantastic.
Wyoming – Yellowstone National Park and Grand Tetons National Park.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

I still find living on the road to be very new to us, and we’ve learned a lot of things in just the short amount of time that we’ve been RVing. So, here’s what you should know about living in this unique way.

RVing costs can be as high or low as you want them to be.

Huron Peak

I've found that there are two types of people that ask questions about RVing (these are not people who RV), and surprisingly, these two types are very different.

The first type generally thinks that RVing is extremely cheap, and usually thinks that only people down on their luck or out of a job would ever do it. Trust me, you’ll hear a lot of Breaking Bad jokes when you live in an RV. And, no matter how nice your motorhome is, you’ll hear “Your RV looks just like the one from Breaking Bad!” Why wouldn’t people think that’s an insult!?

The type on the other end of the spectrum tends to think that RVing requires a ton of money and that you need a trust fund and/or some great luck in order to live on the road.

It's funny how completely opposite people think, but it's true.

How much money do you need to live on the road?

We find that RVing can be extremely cheap or it can be very expensive depending on the way you go about living in one. Follow the link if you're interested in knowing how much it costs to RV. Luckily, there’s a spot for pretty much everyone to make RVing a reality and you are free to spend as much or as little money to make this alternative lifestyle work.

Because everyone travels a little differently, there is no standard budget for living in an RV. There are, however, common expenses you should be aware of before pursuing this lifestyle option.

First, the cost of your RV is one of the biggest expenditures you’ll have to make. You will either want to rent or buy your RV and after that, you will also have to pay for license and registration fees, property taxes, regular maintenance, and insurance.

Fuel is another item to add to the list of expenses. Typically, my husband and I spend around $200 per month on fuel, but we owe that in part to the relatively cheap cost of fuel these days.

Other considerations are the fees associated with living at campgrounds or RV parks. My husband and I have been fortunate to find great free camp stays throughout our RV journey, or we have even parked outside of homes belonging to our family friends.

You don't need all your stuff.

When we first started RVing, we came across many other RV couples who told us that RV storage space is near non-existent and that we would have a problem storing stuff.

This is far from the truth. We have probably 30-40% of our cabinets still empty, and we can’t even think of what else we could possibly store!

We still need to work on getting rid of some of our stuff and downsizing, because we feel that we don’t even need all that we have now!

Trust me, you really don’t need that much stuff.

You'll have an instant connection with other RVers.

RVers are some of the nicest people that you will ever meet. We’ve made great friends that are both young and old, and from all backgrounds. It is really easy to make meaningful relationships with people while on the road. RVing really brings everyone together!

Plus, whenever we meet new RVers, it’s as though we are long lost friend or even family members. There’s always an instant connection, lots of laughs after just a few moments of meeting each other, and going our separate ways (a normal thing in RV life). While my husband and I make a concerted effort to stay in touch via email, it’s always sad to say goodbye.

When we first started RVing (literally like a week in), we had a young couple knock on our door and ask us if we wanted to hang out with them for drinks that night. We had never met them before, but they said they saw us come into the campground and that they wanted to hang out.

This is completely normal when living in an RV, and it’s happened to us quite a few times.

Always add a few hours to whatever the GPS says.

If your GPS says that it will take 5 hours to get somewhere, you should expect 6 or 7, or even 8 hours in order to be realistic. And, if you have a gas motorhome, you may even want to double the GPS time.

From the very first day that you hop into your RV, you'll realize that your RV is nothing like your car. It takes more time to get places, you'll need to take more breaks, and you most likely won't be able to drive as far in a day as you can in a car because of the amount of work that it takes to drive an RV.

When we would travel in just our Jeep, we could easily do 900 miles a day and be just fine. However, in an RV, we have a limit of just 250 miles a day, 300 at the most. Anymore than that and it turns into major work with a lot of stress.

You'll want to follow the weather.

Talk about a trip of a lifetime!

One thing I didn’t realize about RV life is how difficult it can be to RV in the cold. I always see things about people wanting to RV so that they can post up at their favorite ski resort or something else along those lines, and well, that’s not super realistic for the average RVer.

Sure, if you still have a full-time job and need to stay in one spot, then you can’t really follow the weather. But, if you are traveling full-time, you’ll want to follow the weather. That means you won’t want anything too, too cold, because then you’ll have to winterize your RV which costs a lot of money. Or, if it’s too hot, there’s a chance that your air conditioners won’t be able to keep up.

I’ve experienced both sides. At just 30 degrees, which we didn’t think was THAT cold, our water filter busted and cracked outside. I’ve heard of horror stories about water lines breaking because it got too cold in the RV even with all of the heat on. On the other end, when it was 100 degrees with high humidity, our air conditioners could barely keep our RV under 85 degrees.

How do people make a living on the road?

In truth, doing work is much more fun while in an RV. I know of many people who conduct daily business while on the road. RV life is particularly great for people who have online companies or who need to travel in order to meet with clients. Driving to meetings or conventions is far cheaper than flying. Plus you get the added bonus of being able to sightsee while on the way.

Personally, in order for me to be able to live in an RV full-time, I run an online business- Making Sense of Cents. It is a lot of fun being able to work and travel at the same time.

I thought it would be difficult at first. I thought it would be hard to find internet and email my subscribers, and that I would be too distracted to do my job, and so on.

I’ve come to find that I’m more motivated than ever to do my work, and having a great view out my window each day definitely helps make the process more enjoyable as well.

Your RV will always be in need of some sort of repair.

Whether your RV is brand new or old, there will most likely always be something that needs fixing or even replacing. After all, you are rumbling down the road with thousands of pounds of your home. This can make things jiggle loose, break, and so on.

Our first RV was a complete disaster and things were always broken. It spent nearly as much time in the shop as we did living in it - and it was one of the main reasons that we got rid of it and got a different RV.

And, that first one was brand new!

The tight space won't ruin your relationship (hopefully).

One of the questions I hear the most is “Do you guys get along even though you’re in such a tight space?”

Yes, we do get along, and it seems like most RVers still get along with their spouses as well, haha. If we didn’t get along, RVing wouldn't be fun.

Also, the second relationship-type question is "What do you do when you have Mexican food or something else spicy that night?"

Well, privacy is already out the window in an RV, so you just have to get used to using the bathroom with the other one just a few feet away.

Living on the road with family

While it’s only my husband and I in our RV, we have come across many larger families who spend a fair amount of time on the road. Many of the families that we have come across tend to do the bulk of their travel during the summer and winter months because that is when their children are out of school.

We owe the success of these on-the-road families to the overall shared value that most RVers have. Many would agree that you gain a much more in-depth and intimate experience while traveling to different destinations in your RV. You aren’t just a jetsetting tourist who bops from one place to another. The RV experience is a much longer haul and often provides a more authentic way of experiencing life while in different settings.

You'll never want to live in a "normal" home again.

One thing that I've learned over the past 1.5 years is that I never want to live in a normal home again. I absolutely love living on the road in my RV, and our next adventure will be to sail full-time.

Traveling full-time is a ton of fun and I have had so many great experiences!

Are you interested in RVing? What surprised you on this list? Lastly, let me know if you have any questions!

Michelle Schroeder-Gardner is the founder and writer at Making Sense of Cents. On her blog, she helps readers learn how to make extra money, how to save money, and reach their dream life. Michelle and her husband sold their house in 2015 and currently travel full-time in an RV with their two dogs.

Editor's note: This article was originally published in 2017. We've updated it to bring you the freshest information out there.

Ultimate extroverts’ guide to avoiding lifestyle creep

Sarah Thibeau — Sat, 09 Nov 2019 00:45:16 GMT

I once got into an argument on Facebook with a friend over how being extroverted was an excuse for not being good at budgeting, paying bills, or other personal finance tasks.

“It’s just not something extroverts are naturally good at,” she said.

Being the proud extrovert and budgeter I am, I couldn’t understand their side. Budgeting was exactly what allowed me to spend money on my social life. But that’s not to say I’m not guilty of spending more than I should because of pressures to overextend my means to meet a demanding social calendar.

Are your friends making extravagant plans that don’t quite fit in your budget? You could make it work, but you know you should say no. It should be easy to do the right thing in this situation, that is if it wasn’t for the infamous FOMO!

FOMO, or fear of missing out, can bring even the best budgeter to their knees. Extroverted millenials are all too familiar with the anxiety about letting life pass us by—and literally seeing it shoved in our faces on Instagram and Facebook. Having a lot of social connections means having more opportunities to spend money in an effort to avoid missing out.

I feel like I’m always trying to balance my budget and my love of saying yes to every single expensive adventure. Before I know it, I start allowing my fear of missing out drive my spending and suddenly I’ve overcommitted. But, like any anxiety-driven behavior, indulging your FOMO can have some nasty unintended consequences... most of all, lifestyle creep.

What is lifestyle creep?

You’re making a solid salary and you finally feel like you can spend more money on life’s luxuries. Weekend getaway with friends? Yes please!

You may be thinking that making good money means you never have to say no to doing something fun, right? Before you know it, you’re spending nearly as much as you’re earning and your money isn’t moving you up in the world like you might expect - that’s lifestyle creep.

As someone who is actively aiming for financial independence, my goal is always to save more than I’m spending. Just because I can afford something, doesn’t mean I should buy it. But, it isn’t always easy to keep that in mind (like tempting wine club memberships...).

Before you stretch your budget too thin in an attempt to keep up with your friends, try some of these tips for avoiding lifestyle creep and FOMO!

Here are seven tips and tricks for keeping the lifestyle creep at bay AND crushing your financial goals:

1. Keep your eyes on the prize

Sure, a weekend away sounds great in the short-term, but in order to tackle your financial objectives and keep lifestyle creep at bay, you absolutely have to focus on your big-picture goals. If the FOMO feels unbearable, write your goals down and repeat them like a mantra.

Think about it this way: you probably won’t remember the weekend trip you skipped when you’re finished paying student loans, paying off the last of your credit card debt, or even retiring early. Don’t let anxiety cause you to spend money unwisely. Remember, your goals are bigger than the temporary feeling of missing out!

Lifestyle creep is largely driven by a need to “keep up” with other people in your social circle. Endless, careless social scrolling is a surefire way to launch yourself right into this exact spiral to stay on pace with the pictures you see. As an extrovert, I often feel stricken with an incurable need to watch my friends’ plans and lavish lifestyles unfold across every social media platform when I’m not there in person. It’s much easier to let go of the nagging feeling that you should also be living extravagantly when you don’t follow along.

On the flip side, sometimes the fancy fun your friends are having really isn’t that fun. I recently went to a music festival in Austin, Texas. I budgeted, saved, and prepared to have the best weekend ever. My social media posts showed me having the time of my life — and I did have fun — but the reality was that I was hot, tired, and endlessly aware of the pressure to look like I was having an easy, breezy time on social media. Even when you can afford to keep up with your friends, it may not actually be worth it.

Ignoring that self-sabotaging voice telling you to tune in to exactly what you’re missing out on will do wonders for you! If you browse social media with a critical eye, you’ll be more likely to avoid the onset of lifestyle creep. Remember, social media is just the highlight reel of everyone else's lives. Your highlight reel is coming, as long as you can fend off the FOMO and make wise financial choices!

3. Keep a close eye on your budget

One of the best tools in my toolkit when it comes to conquering lifestyle creep is self-evaluation via my budget. When I keep a sharp eye on my budget, I notice when I start spending more on luxuries than putting aside what I should be toward my goals. As much as I might wish they would sometimes, the numbers don’t lie!

I like to sit down with my budget at least once a week in order to make sure I’m staying on track. If I skip these budget maintenance sessions, I will start to notice myself spending in non-goal-oriented ways.

You’ll find the budgeting groove that works best for you. Remember to reflect on your spending periodically, and make sure you take time to consider whether you’re spending your money intentionally or whether you’re allowing your salary to dictate your lifestyle. Don’t live large just to live large!

4. Find fun that fits your budget

Once you have a budget, then comes the time to put it into action. Setting aside what’s reasonable to have fun in your day-to-day life is a crucial step in finding balance and keeping on track with your goals, without feeling like you have to say no to everything!

This isn’t to say that you can never participate in an activity that costs any money. Just be careful to check in with yourself and make sure that you’re choosing to do something because you genuinely think it’s worth the money, not just because it’s something that all of your friends are doing for fun.

Even better, suggest budget-friendly plans to your friends on a regular basis to create opportunities for spending time together, while achieving your goals! There are fun social activities to fit every level of aggressiveness when it comes to saving. Try finding budget-friendly things to do around your city like hikes, museums, and community events. There are ways to be a financially-savvy extrovert! It just takes a bit of planning.

5. Know it’s okay to say NO

Sometimes it feels impossible to say no. Whether the plan sounds so fun or it’s that friend who you have a hard time resisting. Or maybe you are a little scared or insecure and wondering if saying no means you’ll be left out of future plans.

When your friends come up with extravagant or too many plans, don’t feel pressured to make up an excuse, maybe consider using those conversations as an opportunity to share your financial aspirations. It’s likely that they’ll understand where you’re coming from, and they might even feel inspired to dream big too!

Better yet, identify friends who are just as budget-minded as you, or make new ones. You’ll be able to support each other and celebrate victories together.

6. Make some room in your budget to treat yourself

It’s a lot easier to stick to your goals when you don’t feel deprived. Your budget may not allow room for a weekend away or a lavish spa day, but making room in the budget for a trip to the movies or a manicure is a great way to stay motivated!

Even if you do decide to splurge on something a little luxurious, making a conscious choice to do so means that you’re not allowing lifestyle creep to happen. Just be sure to assess your enjoyment after.

Little victories and rewards for reaching your goals and sticking to your budget add up to a powerful feeling of success. When you feel victorious, you won’t feel a need to spend more money just for the sake of spending money!

7. Remember that FOMO is temporary

While it might feel like the FOMO will never end, it will! Though it’s uncomfortable, leaning-in to the anxiety and allowing it to pass is an essential step for taking back control. Ultimately, it’s about not letting temporary anxiety lead to making permanent money mistakes.

You’re a financial and social wizard, you don’t need something silly like the fear of missing out on one bit of temporary fun to undo your progress toward your long-term goals. Trust me—I’m an internet stranger and I believe in you!

The key in all of this is to stay aware in your decision making and how satisfied you are after all is said and done. When you’re making choices driven by smart budgeting and relentless goal setting, you’re sure to keep lifestyle creep at bay.

Now get out there, kick FOMO out, have budget-friendly fun, achieve your dreams, and show lifestyle creep who is boss!

Are you an extrovert or introvert? Have your social connections played a role in your finances? Let me know in the comments—especially if you have other tips to share!

How to avoid lifestyle creep when you’re surrounded by rich people

Melissa — Wed, 06 Nov 2019 22:11:27 GMT

Growing up with extremely wealthy friends shaped the person I am today—for better and for worse. The moment I read the words “lifestyle creep” many memories came rushing back to me, so, after much mental processing and reprocessing, I’m sharing my new perspective on old ideals and bad habits that no longer serve me, or my financial goals.

Imagine this: you live in an expensive city full of expensive things owned by other people. Everywhere you look, there’s a sports car, a luxury house, a shopping bag stuffed with designer clothing. Your friends, neighbors, and peers all seem exorbitantly wealthy. Everyone’s an influencer or an investor or an entrepreneur, and nobody appears to spend any time actually working.

You’re surrounded by very, very rich people. You, meanwhile, are very, very not rich.

Maybe you don’t have to imagine this. Maybe you live it every day. Perhaps you reside in an overpriced city like San Francisco or New York—or an even more affluent nearby suburb like Atherton, CA or Short Hills, NJ. Maybe people in your social circle can easily drop three figures on brunch, four figures on an afternoon of shopping, and six figures on an impromptu trip to Bali. Or maybe you’re scrolling through Instagram, inundated with images of a lifestyle you don’t have.

Amid all that money, you feel alone. Uncomfortable. Judged. Inadequate. You have no idea how to keep up and stay ahead of lifestyle creep. You’re not sure how you’ll ever fit in with the rich; you’re not sure you want to fit in. You can feel those other people looking down at you and making assumptions about you.

It’s a shallow, materialistic world and—in spite of yourself—you’re totally caught up in it.

Congratulations, you’re Ryan Atwood

Who’s Ryan Atwood? If you weren’t born in the 80s or 90s, or somehow missed the television phenomenon that was The OC, let me fill you in.

The OC revolved around a group of teenagers—Marissa Cooper, Summer Roberts, Seth Cohen and, the protagonist, Ryan—and their dramatic shenanigans that ensued in Newport Beach, CA.

You might look at me today and assume that I identified with Marissa or Summer. In fact, (#HumbleBrag) I was dubbed Rachel Bilson’s “celebrity lookalike” by my high school yearbook in freshman year.

But looks can be deceiving.

The character that I felt and still feel the most connected to was Ryan, whose iconic moment in the first episode of the show involved punching the most my-father-will-hear-about-this douchebag you’ve ever seen.

Photo credit: @ezanzi on Weheartit

What it’s like living among the one percent

Before you ask: no, I didn’t go around punching people in the face. I wasn’t a troubled teenager with abusive, alcoholic parents and a history of violence. But I definitely grew up feeling poor, trashy, and like I was from “the other side of the tracks” like him.

Literally, a kid once asked me if my childhood home was a “garbage dump.”

I did quip back and tell that boy how much he looked like Casper the Friendly Ghost. (I’m no angel in this story, and was still an immature teen in my own right.) I’d like to think that today we’d be bigger people—or at least have better ways of insulting each other.

Nonetheless, his insult hurt. It stung because deep down, I knew there was some truth to it.

From the apartment my parents had in San Francisco to the one-story home (or “charming bungalow” if you speak Realtor) they bought across the bay in Piedmont, I consider myself extremely lucky to have grown up in such a vibrant, sunny, progressive, and beautiful area. Both those homes overlooked the Bay Bridge and even the Golden Gate Bridge on sunny, clear days.

But it’s all relative.

The Bay Area—and really, every coastal city in California—is full of ridiculously rich people. The town I grew up in was no exception, and the families in my neighborhood were some of the wealthiest families on the planet.

My house wasn’t a literal garbage dump but it was small, cluttered, and pretty chaotic. I couldn’t help but contrast our life with the lives of the people in the mansions on the hill. Their lives seemed normal; ours somehow different or less than. That feeling was a reality I couldn’t ignore.

That was then—but it’s still kinda now

As I grew up, I developed a broader and deeper perspective. Going to college was a big wake-up moment. With every friend I made outside my school district and hometown, I better understood the diversity of people’s backgrounds and experiences.

Today, I can look back and realize my idea of “normal” wasn’t normal at all.

That said, we all have scars from high school, from feeling different or left out or less than. In many ways, where I grew up impacted who I am today and the relationship I’ve had with money. Those scars aren’t entirely bad things. While they can create future anxieties, they can also make us resilient.

I want to take this opportunity to share a few pieces of advice—lessons I wish I had learned earlier about what it means to have (and not have) a crapload of money:

What I got wrong trying to fit in with rich kids—and how I’m bouncing back as an adult

1. Realize your point-of-view about money can be skewed no matter where you stand

The stereotype of a rich douchebag is ingrained in our culture. From Ebenezer Scrooge to Cruella de Vil, wealthy characters in stories are almost always portrayed as callous, vile, and out-of-touch with reality. Money, after all, is the root of all evil… right?

Not quite. At least, having money isn’t what makes you evil. Just as an obsession with one’s own money can cloud a rich person’s perspective, it can do the same to someone preoccupied with money they don’t have.

While I can look back now and appreciate so much of my upbringing and the sacrifices my parents made, I was—and probably still am—a spoiled brat. Not spoiled by what I did have but by what I didn’t.

The mental fallacies that dominated my thoughts seem almost comical now:

People only care about money.
It’s easy to tell if someone is wealthy.
Friendships are transactional.
You have to spend money to make money.
You need to make money to be rich. (Steve wrote an excellent post on this fallacy last year.)
Being friends with rich people will make you rich too.
The goal is to have it all.

These are all misguided and unkind ideas. More importantly, they have no use in terms of actually making money or living a fulfilling life.

It’s these skewed, myopic thoughts that exacerbate lifestyle creep—on both sides of the equation. Keeping up with the Joneses or Kardashians or Vanderbilts is pointless. It’s a constant pursuit of nothing. Nobody wins—except for the luxury brands.

2. Keep in mind that not all rich people are douchebags (and not all douchebags are rich)

The ugly side of money can be eye-opening. Some (not all) of those kids around me in high school weren’t just rich; they were also cruel. As I worked my hardest to hide how different I felt on a socioeconomic level, I was still—according to some—“trash,” and my childhood home was still a “garbage dump.”

But for every ten douchebags out there driving Daddy’s Mercedes, there were also a few with hearts of gold. Most of the time they were “richer than God himself”—but you would never know. I’m talking owned-their-own-family-ranch or vineyard or private-jet rich. And yet they still shopped at Costco—because who doesn’t love Costco?—like the rest of us.

Non-douchebags don’t refuse to talk about money, but they don’t necessarily lead with the topic. They understand that their money does not equate to their inherent value. Most of all, they don’t act entitled to anything. They work hard for what they want instead of assuming the world owes them something because of who they are.

This, dear readers, is called class. You can’t buy it, but if you have it and you have a lot of money, you’re destined for a great life. If you find yourself with a friend like this, trust them and learn from the ways they look at life—because we all deserve to see the world through their lenses.

3. Know your worth—with or without money

You don’t need money to be creative. In fact, lacking resources can be one of the greatest motivators for thinking outside the box and forcing you to use your imagination. However, in so many ways, getting the freedom to be creative without being a starving artist is a luxury only those that come from wealth can afford.

Growing up in a public school system in an affluent area ensured that creative curricula such as arts, theater, and music were always funded. Because of the talents I inherited from my grandma, an artist in her own right, I did it all. Including singing in front of huge audiences from Carnegie Hall to all across Germany and acting in school plays alongside students and friends who are now rising film and TV stars.

In fact, this is a big reason why I’m here today writing for a living. I attribute much of my professional success as a writer for blogs like this to the programs I had and the encouragement I received from people who seemed to “have it all.” Deep down I think my inner voice was saying “If people I perceived to be successful (aka wealthy) were telling me I should pursue this, shouldn’t I listen?”

While I know I would have always had creative hobbies, it’s hard to say what I would’ve pursued professionally without the value exchanges I witnessed with affluent family friends around creativity and the arts.

4. Remember: it’s okay to want what you don’t have…

Money is a powerful motivator. Seeing the way rich people live exposes you to the myriad possibilities wealth can afford.

They say you need to see something to believe it’s possible. One of the best ways to expand your idea of what’s possible is to get outside your comfort zone and risk dealing with all the potential weirdness that comes from witnessing extreme wealth disparities. Assimilating into a group of rich people may trigger imposter syndrome, but it can also help clarify your dreams and potential. You start to wonder about—and perhaps plan for—a different life five, 10, 20 years ahead.

I don’t think I’d have much of a career if I didn’t allow myself to have these experiences and use them as fuel. Feeling less-than gave me an inviolable sense of determination. I can deal with hearing “no” pretty graciously, but that doesn’t mean I quit. I’ve advocated for myself in my life, particularly in my career.

Without the experience of being around the upper crust, I might have been more passive and taken a backseat approach—leaving lots of money and, well, life on the table.

For instance, owning a home was something I pushed myself to do earlier than most people I grew up with. First of all, I live in Portland, Oregon, a much more reasonable housing market compared to anywhere in California with surprisingly similar salaries. Doing that math was enough to make me determined to find a way to get property I could call my own. Luckily, my husband (fiancé at the time we purchased our house) was on board.

I could not be more proud of our mid-century ranch fixer-upper but will say there are days when I look at the shower tiles that desperately need to be regrouted and think about that garbage dump comment again. Patience, Melissa, patience.

5. …but money can’t be the ultimate goal

Clearly, I have baggage with money. I suspect everyone does, even (especially?) the one percent. Experience has taught me there’s no way to shed that baggage entirely. I continue to think of myself as an underdog—as a Ryan Atwood—in a world full of punchable faces.

At the same time, I’ve come to realize that I’m someone else’s idea of a rich douchebag. As ridiculous as that feels to me. If you’re that person, please remember that money is relative. There’s always someone with more, and someone with less. None of us can control that.

But we can walk away from lifestyle creep.

We can remind ourselves that money isn’t everything; it’s the means to make things happen. By understanding ourselves and our own relationships with money, we can choose to be humble, live authentically, maximize the time we spend in meaningful pursuits, and always give the people cross paths with in life a chance to be a good person.

This is exactly why I love the idea of financial independence.

To me, financial independence means freedom from money as an all-consuming, dominating force in our lives. It’s about not letting money—other people’s or one’s own—influence how, where, and why we live.

You don’t need to be wealthy or retired to start practicing financial independence. Ask yourself: What do I want to do today, Vanderbilts and Instagram be damned? What would make me happy?

You might think of something that costs (a lot of) money. That’s good. Use it as motivation.

But there’s also a fair chance you’ll land on something you can do for cheap or free, right now—something like, I don’t know, binge-watching The OC. Chrismukkah Season is coming after all.

Were there early life lessons that impacted your relationship with money?

Maybe no one ever called your house a garbage dump or called on your parents losers for driving an old Ford Aerostar minivan (Hey! That’s only okay when I say it!), but if there’s one thing I’ve learned as an adult, it’s that we all tend to have behaviors and make decisions based on our childhoods—especially when it comes to money.

If you’re comfortable, share the weirdest money-related habit or opinion you have and how you’ve traced it back to your upbringing in the comments!

This study suggests that you're wasting a ton of home space

Steve Adcock — Tue, 05 Nov 2019 21:28:24 GMT

How big of a house do I need? Taking a look at the increase in the average square footage of homes in the United States over the last 40 years should seriously test even the most intestinally-formidable person’s gag reflex. We now find that the average home is larger than ever – 2,687 square feet, and the estimated footage per person has doubled in that time.

And then there is my wife and me who have been living in a small, 200 square foot Airstream since 2016 and travel the country for a living.

The median footage of new homes is now 2,687 square feet, which is an increase of nearly 1,000 square feet in the last four decades. Perhaps more interesting is the average household size – meaning, the number of people living in the home – has actually decreased from 3.01 persons per household 40 years ago to 2.54 today.

What this means: we are experiencing a phenomenon as it relates to our country’s residential real estate where our homes are getting larger while our households are getting smaller.

More space for fewer people.

But, what if I told you that we don’t actually use all this additional space that happens to be draining a lot of your money every month, and there’s a study that backs that claim up?

You might ask, so how big of a building does my house need be? I cannot possibly answer that question for you, but taking a more realistic look at how your family truly operates might help you better determine the right size.

Where we spend the most time in our homes

With the average American home’s dramatic increase in space, one might assume that we Americans now have the luxury of putting more of our real estate to good use, allowing us to enjoy more of our home’s features and bask in the glory of large dining rooms, fancy living and “sitting areas,” separate studies (read: “libraries”) and yet another room for our televisions and time-grabbing entertainment devices – video game consoles, anyone?

But, according to a study published in the Wall Street Journal several years ago, that assumption would be flat wrong. We only tend to use a small amount of our living space.

The Center on Everyday Lives of Families at the University of California put together an amazing look at how we typically use all that space (and stuff) in our homes. The study examined 32 middle-class families over the course of four years -- 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 respectively. A part of this study monitored and collected data on where in the home people spend the majority of their time.

The graphic of the floor plan above, published by the University, depicts one such family and where they spend time within their home. The house’s total square footage appears to be large and spaced out with a place for a separate living and formal dining room, as well as space for a piano, a laundry room, and a huge front porch.

While this represents only a single family, its findings probably represent the common pattern in many American households. Are your habits substantially different?

The study found that 68% of the family's time was largely spent in the kitchen/nook as well as the family room, typically near the television. Clearly, the formal dining room got almost no use, and the living room saw very little activity, like the porch.

Like typical living and breathing human beings capable of emotion, we find that most people crave social interaction with other humans. The large majority of the time, this family spent their waking hours congregating around areas of food preparation and consumption. The rest, they were plopped down on the couch watching the boob tube or on the computer. We don’t need a 2000 square foot floor plan for that.

And so in truth, over the course of the years 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017, this particular family was not all that spread out. While the house was quite large, they did not appear to be basking in the glory of space. Instead, they used the common areas the most, typical of most families around the world, and the extra space remained unused. It was dead space.

What this means is this family used a very small amount of the space that they paid for through their mortgage or home equity line of credit every month, and they are definitely not alone.

How many square feet does a person need?

While I can’t completely answer this question without knowing a given person’s or family’s individual needs, nor can I give you an exact numeric value; what I would suggest is turning your attention more to the way the square footage is assembled within the home. According to the vice president of architecture at Ashton Woods, you should really be looking at the ratio between bedrooms and living spaces.

A good rule to follow for those pursuing a more traditional living set-up, as opposed to an Airstream, is that for every one bedroom, you need to provide places for two people to sit in the dining area and living area. Further, each generation – parents, children, and grandparents, if they live with you – should have an “away space” that allows for privacy from other family members.

Why we buy big houses we don't need

Many of us buy homes that are way too big for our needs, my wife and I included. In fact, we have a 1600 square foot home with a huge backyard and pool - and we rarely use HALF of the space that we pay for. Instead, we close off a couple of extra rooms, tighten the ceiling vents as to not waste A/C and heat in those areas, and mainly spend time in the common areas - just like everybody else.

What is the draw to big houses we don't need? Why do we make the choice to drop additional coinage for useless space? As far as I can tell, there are five main reasons why we buy homes so damn big.

First, we live in a MORE IS MORE society. We feel like a big house imparts upon us a status symbol of success. The bigger the building, the more successful we appear to our friends and family. As shallow as this sounds, it’s also pretty darn common. In fact have you heard people at work talking about how much square footage they have? It’s a brag item! We do not need all those square feet people!

Second, we convince ourselves that we "like to entertain". Some of us may genuinely enjoy having people over a lot and treat our homes like a hotel room, but are people flocking over to your casa for the SPACE that your home has, or for the people that they get to socialize with? Or the food and alcohol? Do you NEED space that will sit unused the large majority of the time for the sake of entertaining others in the future?

Third, we want a dining room for Thanksgiving. There is something more official and "formal" with a separate dining room, and Thanksgiving is the perfect time of year to whip out the white table cloth and pretend to be fancy, isn't it?

Fourth, we want a spare bedroom. After all, the three or four times that you plan to have your in-laws visit demand additional sleeping quarters in a hardly-used room dedicated just for them.

Fifth, we want "room to grow". This is especially true for people who plan to be parents in the future. We assume that once we have a child, we immediately need a castle for that mini human to run around in.

There is a big problem with all of this: like the study found, we are buying additional space in our homes that we pay for 100% of the time, but we only use 5% of the time (5% is MY statistic, not the study's).

Take those two extra rooms that we have in our 1600 square foot home. Sure, we close off the vents so we aren’t heating and cooling those rooms, but we are still paying off our extra line of credit for those rooms that we opened back in 2014. Our huge backyard, our fire pit, our pool – it all needs to be paid for whether we use it or not. And cleaned, too. All that space demands maintenance.

The family in this study pays for a separate living and dining room that rarely get used. Apparently, the porch NEVER gets any use. In that huge house, this family spends 2/3 of their time in the same areas of the house while paying for the remainder of the dead space.

Is 2000 square feet big?

For some families, like mine, the answer is “yes.” For other families, the answer is “no.” From what I’ve gathered based upon my own experience, coupled with extensive research, the level of comfort you can achieve in a home smaller than 2000 square feet is contingent upon three factors:

1. How many people you have living in your home spread across different generations?
2. How you and your family conduct day-to-day living activities within the home?
3. How intelligently the home’s floor plan is designed to best support those in-home activities?

Take a moment and think about your home and where your family spends the majority of its time. Are there rooms that rarely get used? More importantly, could you do without those rooms and extra footage and live in a much smaller, less expensive home?

What is the minimum square footage per person?

There are tons of people in the United States who currently live in small spaces. Just take a look at families in San Francisco and New York City, for example. According to an estimate provided by The Engineering ToolBox, the average person needs between 100-400 square feet within a home to feel comfortable.

Again, this number depends on the person. Some people need a huge amount of space to feel like they have room to breathe, while others require very little. Some people prefer to have more privacy while in their home and enjoy experiencing domestic life farther away from others, whereas some people crave a more social form of cohabitation and surround themselves with family members more often.

We lived in a pretty large home when I was younger - three stories if you include the basement, along with a separate living and dining room. I was the youngest in a family of four. My brother and I had our own rooms in the upstairs, as did my parents, of course, in the master bedroom (also upstairs).

In 2014, even with a family of four, we had huge amounts of unused space. The guest room in the upstairs almost NEVER got used. The dining room only saw activity during Thanksgiving and maybe Christmas. The living room, again, almost NEVER got used.

The basement had our office and a huge open room, along with THREE other rooms that we used for a designated shop, storage and laundry room.

Truthfully, we only designated separate rooms for those things because we could. There was so much space that we literally didn't know what to do with it all. Nevertheless, it all had to get paid for - every last square foot, used or unused. Money down the drain.

Sometime around 2015 or 2016, we realized that we needed a house maybe half of that size – perhaps with only a quarter of the footage if we were feeling like a close-knit family. A kitchen / nook, a couple bedrooms and a family room would have provided more than enough space for us to live in perfect luxury.

Who truly NEEDS a 2000 square foot house? Probably not many.

How big is your home? Do you truly need all that space, or could you downsize to a home that was more typical of families back in the '70s? Ask yourself, "really, how big of a house do I need?"

The downside of living in a 200 sqft Airstream

How living in a 52 square foot room improved this guy’s life

Be sensible, not minimal – why minimalism sucks

Editor’s note: To keep information updated, we periodically refresh our articles. This article was originally posted in 2016.

Why you should aim for financial independence, even if you don't plan to retire early

Ana-Maria Sanders — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 23:33:33 GMT

Much has been said about early retirement. Even our blog is a testament to that. Just take a look at our retirement tag and you can already access everything that Steve had written about retirement in the past...But what if you don’t want to retire early? Do you still need to worry about financial independence then? I believe you should!

What Is Financial Independence?

Being financially independent is different from simply being able to retire early, after all. In a nutshell, financial independence means that you can enjoy your life as it is without having to worry about money. In fact, it can even help you finally do the job you want without having to worry about earning money at all.

To quote Steve in one of his previous articles:

“Financial Independence is more important than early retirement.”

You don’t have to stop working if you don’t want to—obviously—but what does financial independence look like when you separate it from early retirement?

Why would you want financial independence if you don’t plan to stop working anytime soon? Maybe you’re someone who has been interested in the FIRE movement but finds that not all of the (more extreme) ideas and themes resonate with you. Maybe you feel stressed when it comes to work or employment, but you can’t figure out why. Those aren’t just gut feelings; they’re signs you probably fall into one or more of the following scenarios and that it might be right for you to pursue financial independence in order to…

Release your passion from the burden of earning money. Focus on what you really want to do and not how much money it will bring.
Remove the stress of having to worry about bills every single month. Once you’re financially independent, you should have enough money to cover your regular expenses each month and live comfortably even if you don’t work. And speaking of which...

Free yourself from the shackles of your work and you can go on holiday anytime you want. Ain’t it a real dream? You now have more time to focus, not on work, but on your deep work. According to Cal Newport, the author of the book Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, “deep work is a proven path to deep satisfaction”. It is the kind of work you do to affect the physical world. To craft. To learn. To change and create.

And just to be clear, here’s what financial independence is not:

Having an infinite pool of money. Because you don’t. You’ll probably have enough savings to sustain you for a couple of decades but if you spend it all in one go, then you will find yourself in need again.

And unless you have multiple investments and passive income sources, you can significantly increase your lifestyle spending.

How to achieve financial independence

With that out of the way, how do you attain financial independence anyway? Here are a few steps:

Put your eggs in different baskets. Question: do you think that your salary will increase as fast as the inflation rate? Yes? Then you’re in luck. You have it better than a lot of us.

Then here’s another question for you: do you think your job will last forever? Will you always have clients? Is your company built for the long haul? What if it suddenly gets bought one day and you lose your job overnight…what then?

This is the reason why it’s best to invest your money into different “baskets” depending on your risk tolerance. Put some money in stocks, then allocate some for bonds.

Diversification is the key so if one basket gets crushed, you won’t have to worry about being dirt broke.

Invest with discipline. Don’t just randomly invest your money too. We said diversify, not throw it away. Perform careful research and do not just bite into “get rich quick schemes”. There are a lot of them out there.

Wait until your investment bears fruit as well. There are trust funds, for instance, that need to mature for several years in order for you to get the most out of your plan. It can be worrisome to see the stocks decline and dip from time to time, that’s for sure, but know that it will be able to recover in the long run.

Think with the long-term in mind.

Increase your income. Here’s a popular misconception: you need to save in order to get rich. Steve has already made this clear in a previous post:

“Saving money has little to do with getting rich”.

Now, don’t freak out. Allow me to explain. Saving money does help, but it is not enough. For instance, you want to save a couple of dollars each day by packing your own lunch to work. That will allow you to save a thousand dollars probably in a year. That’s great...but will it make you rich? No.

You want a solid way to get wealthier? Find a way to increase your income but don’t change your lifestyle. Believe it or not, but this step is actually easier for freelancers. Increasing the price of their services can easily be done by improving their skills and experience, after all.

On the other hand, employed people will find this a little bit more challenging to do. Unless you finally land that promotion you’ve been working hard for this past year, the only way to increase your income is to get a (profitable) side hustle.

Manage your cash flow. Apart from increasing your income, you have to be able to manage it properly. That is one of the elements to achieve your financial independence. Take control of your cash flow. According to an article published on Inc., failure to do so is one of the leading causes of business failure.

So what is cash flow anyway? In the simplest way possible, it is your regular income and spending. If the money coming in is greater than the money going out then you have a positive cash flow. If there’s more money going out than coming in then you have a negative cash flow and a VERY big problem.

One efficient way of making sure that you always avoid those kinds of issues is to cut down unnecessary expenses. Keep a record of everything that your money is going to each month and see if there’s something there that costs quite a lot but you can actually live without. Lifestyle expenses can eat at our finances without us noticing.

Please keep in mind that we are cutting down only unnecessary costs. This is not about living on a tight budget, it is about having a clear understanding of your income and expenses. Once you have that understanding you will manage your finances in a much better way. Managing your incomes is one of the keys to achieving financial independence.

Explore real estate options. Here’s the thing, investing in the stock market is certainly a good means of achieving financial independence, but as we’ve mentioned above, it works more efficiently in the long term.

Is there a faster way to grow your income? Two words: real estate. Never underestimate the profit that rent and property resell can bring. You can start with a single property and rent it out.

You don’t even have to start with long-term rent. Home-sharing through websites like Airbnb and VRBO allows you to rent out your space on a short-term basis. In fact, there’s even an option to stay in the property as you rent out a part of its space.

But of course, let’s be real.

The profit is not going to be as much as if you just went ahead and invested in a starter home, but it’s still better than nothing. You can gradually grow your profit and move on to other property investments. What’s more, is that banks LOVE smart real estate investors. They’ll probably even offer a helping hand later on!

There are many options out there for creating streams of income to achieve financial independence, but those five are some of the most solid tips, and none of them involve giving up your morning latte. As simple as it sounds, there’s one more thing to keep in mind: timing.

The earlier you start taking steps toward financial independence, the better.

It is never too late to start learning about financial literacy but any time you wait equates to dollars left on the table. It is always a good time to get some help from a financial advisor. The best time to start working on your financial independent future is NOW.

In fact, even Millennials know that it’s best to start early. Remember when #MillennialRetirementPlans broke Twitter last month? We even published an entire article about it right here.

This hashtag in itself recognizes the importance of starting early. Today, millennials are roughly 23-38 years old. The particular tweet that we’ve even highlighted in that article mentioned cultivating kids in order to grow up as millionaires.

That’s how early we should all start thinking about financial liberation. As kids. I still cringe a little bit whenever I think of all of my time wasted in the corporate world, working that 9 to 5 and even with my high-paying salary, I accumulated debt, just to “keep up”.

I wish I’d have known all about financial independence sooner. Then I’d have written and published this post earlier in order to impart whatever wisdom I’ve learned through experience pronto as well.

But alas, experience doesn’t work that way. That’s why I sincerely hope that you have learned much from reading my article today and that it saves you from the entire trial-and-error cycle that we all want to avoid.

So, which tips are you thinking of trying out soon? What are the life goals that you want to achieve once you gain financial independence? Feel free to share your thoughts below!

100+ minimalist gift ideas for being more frugal

Melissa — Thu, 31 Oct 2019 17:33:39 GMT

Being frugal and festive doesn't have to be hard.

Here's a list of gift ideas for staying on the tightest budgets (without being labeled as too cheap).

Yes, I know the annual frenzy of sparkling lights, calorie-rich foods, and deals, deals, deals! doesn’t “officially” start until the day after Thanksgiving (AKA Black Friday). But try telling that to retailers like Walmart, which kicked off the season earlier than ever with holiday promotions in October.

You can’t escape the holidays…

There’s a name for this phenomenon—Christmas creep—and it doesn’t happen by accident. Brands want to maximize the time you spend shopping in a peppermint-scented daze. They want to pump Johnny Mathis singing “Sleigh Bells” into your ears for weeks and months on end. If it were up to the Christmas creeps, the holiday season would begin on Labor Day.

That’s great for people who can’t wait to break out their ugly sweaters. Not so much for the rest of us. For budget-conscious folks, the onrush of the holidays can be bitter eggnog to swallow. When you’re saving for an early retirement, working to pay off debt, or living frugally for another reason, the last thing you need is the collective voice of the retail industry urging you to “buy now!” It’s not exactly the best time to embrace a minimalist lifestyle.

Worse, there’s the immense social pressure of gifts. Your family and friends expect you to happily give and receive presents. It all adds up to a lot of clutter, a lot of stress, and a lot of blown budgets.

But you can redefine the holidays based on your financial goals

What if living through holidays didn’t have to mean putting your financial goals on pause? What if you could celebrate the season and save money at the same time?

Well, I’ve got good news for you: you totally can.

In fact, ditching consumerism can help you reconnect with the holiday spirit and bring you closer to the people who matter to you. Many so-called “minimalist” gifts are the deepest expressions of love a person can offer. A thoughtful, homemade present is arguably more in line with the holiday spirit than a new Rolex would be.

Looking for ways to bring joy while saving money and staying under budget this season? Here are 100 minimalist holiday gift ideas to get you inspired:

Save money with these gifts that cost virtually nothing

1. Bake some cookies.

2. Or some brownies.

3. Or a cake.

4. Or a dozen cupcakes.

5. Or a pie.

6. Or a casserole.

7. Or, pick some fresh fruits…

8. or fresh vegetables from your garden.

9. Or seeds from your garden.

10. If you know what you’re doing, you could gift a jar of homemade pickles.

11. Or jam, marmalade, or preserves.

12. Or homebrewed beer.

13. No food or drink to spare? No problem. Create a cookbook of your favorite recipes.

14. Or, if you’re a pro, give the gift of cooking lessons.

15. Why stop at the kitchen? You could offer guitar lessons.

16. Or painting lessons.

17. Or language lessons.

18. Or driving lessons.

19. Or fishing lessons.

20. Or writing lessons.

21. Or coding lessons—or lessons of any kind, really.

22. If you’d rather not teach, you could give a gift certificate for a service you can provide, such as auto repair.

23. Or home renovations.

24. Or business consulting.

25. Or website-building.

26. You don’t even need a special skill—you could offer to clean someone’s house.

27. Or babysit their kids.

28. Or tutor those kids.

29. You could watch their pets.

30. Or wash their car.

31. Or read their manuscript.

32. Or give them a makeover.

33. Or do some yardwork for them.

34. How about a “coupon book” for small favors like rides to and from the airport?

Show you care with these heartfelt (and budget-friendly) gifts

Instead of spending money on your friends and family, spend time with them.

35. A romantic coupon book could be a great idea for a spouse or significant other.

36. You could give your loved one coupons for 10 massages…

37. or for 10 nights when you cook dinner.

38. Or you could go a simpler route and give the gift of time together. You could set aside some date nights, for instance.

39. Or do an outing like an afternoon at the park…

40. or a trip to the museum during a free admission day…

41. or a picturesque hike…

42. or a bike ride.

43. Better yet, make an impact and volunteer together.

44. A custom playlist is another great way to show someone you care about them.

45. Or, if you’re old-school, make them a mixtape.

46. If you’re musically inclined, you could record an original song.

47. If not, how about recording a special message?

48. There are plenty of thoughtful ways to creatively express yourself through gifts. You could paint someone’s portrait.

49. Or draw them into a comic.

50. Or give them a sketchbook of drawings they’ve inspired.

51. You could write a poem.

52. Many people also cherish handwritten notes.

53. Ditto for old family photos…

54. especially when they’re presented in a handmade photo album.

Put your DIY skills to good use with these handcrafted gifts

55. You could take that photo collection to another level by creating a scrapbook with some of your favorite memories with the recipient written inside.

56. If you’re feeling especially creative, grab the scissors and glue and make a collage.

57. Or sew a cross-stitch.

58. On a more practical note, you could knit a sweater…

59. or a scarf…

60. or a pair of socks.

61. In fact, there’s a lot you can do with sewing skills. You might be able to tailor someone’s clothes, for example.

62. Or mend their clothes.

63. Or help reupholster their furniture.

64. The same goes for woodworking or metalworking skills. How about a handmade picture frame?

65. Or a handmade coffee table?

66. Or handcrafted rings…

67. or handcrafted earrings?

68. Get crafty! Make new stuff by upcycling old stuff. You could make a terrarium from a coffee pot.

69. Or a candle from coffee grounds.

70. Or a key holder from a tennis ball.

71. How about this soap dispenser made from an empty bottle?

72. Or this DIY mason jar chandelier?

73. If you have an old phone case lying around (who doesn’t?) you could upgrade it with dried flowers and resin, like so.

Save space with these clutter-free minimalist gift ideas

74. Speaking of all that old stuff lying around, consider how much of it you can regift. I’m talking about things like an unopened bottle of wine.

75. Or hardly-worn clothes that don’t fit.

76. Or kitchen gadgets you’ve never used.

77. Untouched soap? Regift it.

78. Candles you’ve never lit? Regift ‘em.

79. Weird tchotchkes your uncle gave you? You can absolutely regift those.

80. Novelty item your coworker thought was funny for some reason? Regift that sucker!

81. If you’re currently in the process of decluttering your home, I’m willing to bet you’ve come across a regifting opportunity or several. Maybe it’s your record collection.

82. Or the books taking up space on the shelf.

83. Or the dozens of mugs in your kitchen cabinet.

84. Or vintage (or not-so-vintage) jewelry…

85. toys…

86. games…

87. or electronics.

88. So maybe you don’t have anything lying around. That doesn’t mean you need to buy things, per se. If saving space is more important than saving money, you could always give a gift card.

89. Or a digital gift card.

90. Or a magazine subscription (physical or digital).

91. Or a year of Netflix.

92. Or a subscription box (check out the list here).

93. If you’re sure they wouldn’t take it the wrong way, your recipient may appreciate a gym membership.

94. How about tickets? You could give tickets to a play or concert.

95. Or tickets to a sporting event, such as a football or baseball game.

96. Or tickets to an amusement park.

97. If you want to give the gift of experience, you can go all-out and buy someone a trip…

98. or a spa day…

99. or a staycation at a local bed and breakfast.

100. Hell, you could just give someone money—that’s what all of us really want.

101. Finally, there are the intangibles. Consider making a donation in someone’s name.

102. Or “adopting” an animal for them—check with your local zoo for details.

103. You could even adopt a whole species.

104. Or name a star after someone (yes, it’s a thing).

Whew! Believe it or not, these are only a small sample of the space- and money-saving gift ideas out there. Indeed, putting this list together actually helped me access a much wider world of gift-giving possibilities than I could have imagined.

How about you? What are your favorite budget-friendly gifts to give (and receive) during the holidays?