![\"Target](\"https://thinksaveretire.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/REDcards.png\")
As I mentioned in the budgeting article, we did very well on our grocery budget this month. However, we knew we would. Not only is February a shorter month and therefore we have fewer days to cook and eat but we also spent the whole last week in Florida where my in-laws covered all our food expenses (I married right :)). Knowing that it was going to be easy to stay under our grocery budget this month we decided to stock up on some bulk items that we wanted/needed and will last us for a long time. Therefore the numbers fall in very different categories than they normally would but we are set for quite a while now.Here is where the money went:
Fruits and Veggies: $86.40
Canned Goods: $13.35
Vegan 'Meat': $5.28
Meat, Seafood and Dairy: $67.74
Dry Goods: $53.41
Alcohol: $57.03
House Supplies: $0
Minus 25 cents from our bag credits. Gotta love a little extra savings ;)
The fruit/veggie category looks low but we actually bought everything we normally do just for a much shorter amount of time. The big changes came in the Meat/Seafood/Dairy category and the Alcohol category.
As I mentioned in January's food post, we mostly cook and eat vegan at home which significantly cuts our monthly costs. We also don't drink very much and still have plenty of alcoholic beverages left over from our wedding last year so costs there are generally few. This month, however, we stocked up.
We bought sausages from Costco that the Mr. will make and sprinkle onto our homemade pizzas or taco boats when he's looking to add some additional protein. We also bought two giant cans of clams. I very seldom eat any land animals but do eat seafood on occasions and can make a mean linguini and clams. A single can of clams from Costco gets us 3 nights of linguini and clams (plus multiple leftovers from each night). So, this should last us 4-5 months.
The other big expense in the Meat/Seafood/Dairy Category was a giant block of parmesan cheese from Costco. This is the only cheese we keep in the house and just a little sprinkle can make our risotto, linguini marinara or home made pizza really shine.
In the Alcohol Category we bought Vodka for hubby's vodka tonics and Rumchata for the occasional dessert drink for both of us. We didn't have an open bar at the wedding and therefore don't have the stock of hard alcohol that we do for wine and beer. These purchases should last us quite a while.
So again - we kept to our budget of $300 and could even splurge a bit this month. Like I mentioned last time, if we manage this easily for the next couple months, I may reassess and further lower our grocery goal. But for now we keep on doing what we are doing: eating amazing, healthy, and delicious food and saving money while doing so. :)
","tags":[{"name":"How to Think","slug":"how-to-think"},{"name":"Food budget","slug":"food-budget"},{"name":"Saving money on food","slug":"saving-money-on-food"},{"name":"Change Your Life","slug":"change-your-life"},{"name":"Save Money","slug":"save-money"},{"name":"Opportunities to Save","slug":"opportunities-to-save"},{"name":"Build Wealth","slug":"build-wealth"},{"name":"Money-Saving Habits","slug":"money-saving-habits"}]}},{"node":{"slug":"budget-february-2015-the-shortest-month","feature_image":null,"title":"Budget February 2015 ~ The Shortest Month","published_at":"2015-03-02T21:30:56.000+00:00","primary_author":{"name":"Steve Adcock","profile_image":"https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/ae0b2f8d459bad06e6d287fa4a74b1ea"},"html":"Audio introduction
Ever since we decided that the path for us is out of the rat race and into an early retirement of our choosing, the Mr. and I have been keeping an eye on our finances and scaling down our spending. Neither one of us were complete clowns, but we certainly weren't looking out for our future selves at anywhere near the level we want/need to be.
So in comes the budget. Budgets don't work for everyone and in the future it may not be necessary for us but for now it is the way we are buckling down and meeting the tough goals we've set for ourselves. Read more about how we budget here.
Time for month number 2 of tracking every cent we spent....though this month was a strange one. For one it's the shortest month so that should make it easier! However, because it's the shortest month and we knew we'd be okay on the budget we decided to stock up on some bulk supplies we've been needing. This means a slightly skewed month when it comes to groceries which you will see in my next post.
Also, we spent the entire last week in February in Florida visiting my in-laws and going on an all expenses paid trip to Disney World with Steve's entire side of the family. Look forward to his take on Disney World coming soon. What this meant for the budget is that we didn't spend a dime of our own money in the last week of February. My in-laws are absolutely amazing and paid for everything from the hotel, to breakfast and dinners, to snacks and lunches in the park. They even gave us money for souvenirs. So while we met our budget in almost every category, this was almost a cheat month, and I certainly won't look a gift horse in the mouth!
On to the numbers!
Another great month on the books.
Now, let's take a look at the money-shot numbers.
Total February 2015 income: $11,681.20 (Steve's quarterly bonus didn't hurt!)
Total February 2015 expenses: $5,335.86
This means our total February 2015 Take Home Savings Rate came in at: 54%. WOW! We broke the 50% mark (though with a bonus so I don't know if this counts)
And our February 2015 Total Savings Rate: 67% (includes maxing out our 401ks).
Our net worth: $548,295.21. This is up from last month, but only because we hadn't included one of my retirement accounts in the net worth calculation then.
We're doing great! Just gotta keep on keeping on.
Our Plans for February were to Keep Saving by:
Our Plans for March are:
Another adventure awaits!
","tags":[{"name":"budget","slug":"budget"},{"name":"Monthly budget","slug":"monthly-budget"},{"name":"Save Money","slug":"save-money"},{"name":"Get out of Debt","slug":"get-out-of-debt"},{"name":"Opportunities to Save","slug":"opportunities-to-save"},{"name":"Build Wealth","slug":"build-wealth"},{"name":"Money-Saving Habits","slug":"money-saving-habits"},{"name":"Getting Out of Debt","slug":"getting-out-of-debt"}]}},{"node":{"slug":"target-redcard-how-does-72000-in-manufactured-spending-every-year-sound","feature_image":null,"title":"Target Redcard: How does $72,000 in manufactured spending every year sound?","published_at":"2015-02-24T13:00:09.000+00:00","primary_author":{"name":"Steve Adcock","profile_image":"https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/ae0b2f8d459bad06e6d287fa4a74b1ea"},"html":"Audio introduction
For the moment, Target is home to one of the most profoundly good deals in our economy. Target's no-annual-fee Prepaid Redcard lets customers load funds onto what they call their \"Redcard\", which is used just like a regular credit card and is accepted anywhere that American Express is.
Note: Several sites (like this one) are reporting that the credit card load capability of the Target Redcard is no longer supported; it was only a matter of time. More information here.
The profound element of this deal is Target lets you load funds onto their prepaid Redcard with a credit card.
Ah...I can see the wheels turning in your head already. For those of you who credit card hack, you'll immediately realize the potential with this deal. But for those who haven't yet delved into the wonderful world of rewards cards, check out this blog post about how it all works.
For the record, my wife and I are going to escape the sweltering Tucson heat this summer with a trip to Glacier National Park in Montana, and we're flying up there for $11.20 a piece - all due to credit card hacking.
First, a word of caution if you want to take advantage of this deal. We are talking about the prepaid Target Redcard that acts as a credit card. Target also has another card by the same name that acts just like a debit card. We want the credit card, not the debit card.
Also, American Express offers a couple other prepaid credit card options, like the Serve and Bluebird credit cards. I believe American Express will only allow individual customers to have one. If you already have one of these and want to switch to the Target Redcard, you will probably need to cancel your current prepaid card. Call American Express for confirmation before canceling, though.
The Redcard gets customers a few purchase-related niceties like 5% off all Target purchases (in store and online), free shipping with online buys and an additional 30 days to return the stuff that you buy.
Okay, these are cool...but, there's also something else that represents a much more kick ass benefit to this card - you can use the Redcard to pay off things like your mortgage or rent...or even other credit cards. This is a type of manufactured spending. Depending on the size of your mortgage, one could put the entire yearly cost of the mortgage on the credit card (or combination of credit cards) that get the most rewards points through the clever use of the Redcard.
But wait, there is more. In addition to using the card for large payments like mortgages, link your bank account to your Redcard and transfer any amount from your card right back over into your bank.
The options are plenty with the Redcard.
You can also withdraw cash from your Redcard at certain ATMs around the country (any ATM inside a Target store and any US Allpoint network ATM) instead.
Why only $72,000 in manufactured spending?
Because there's a limit to the amount of money that you can put on the Redcard by credit card in a month, and that limit is $5,000.
In fact, there are a few different credit card limits.
In addition to the credit card load, the Target Redcard can be loaded with up to $1,000 through the use of a debit card, and if you use a card with rewards (like the Suntrust Delta debit card), that's an additional $12,000 a year in spending potential).
And so, doing the math, if the card is loaded up with the maximum $6,000 a month for the duration of the year, the total yearly amount that can be loaded onto the Redcard by a credit card is $72,000.
Damn, not too shabby. This represents an additional $72,000 in credit card rewards purchasing every year. Whether you're using it to pay off your mortgage or simply transferring right back into your bank account, this Target Redcard is a kick ass deal to completely maximize your credit card reward points potential.
These prepaid cards can only be obtained at a Target store, and unfortunately, not all Target stores offer the Redcard. Call your local Target or use this utility to make sure your store offers the Redcard before using the gas to make the trip.
I had to show my drivers license when I picked up my card, so be prepared for that. Also, the cards that you buy in the store are considered temporary. Once you complete your registration online, you will be sent your permanent card in the mail and can activate it only once you receive it (Target calls the new card a \"Personalized Card\" - hat tip to the marketing genius who came up with that bit).
Technically, you don't need to register online for a permanent card. However, the temporary card has more restrictive load limits, which will reduce the amount of money that can be spent to reload the card. There is a $500 initial load limit when initially getting the card at a Target store and a $1,500 total load limit for the card.
There is no fee to get the card. There are no annual fees to keep the card and there are no fees to load the card with money. Just a bunch of fee-less advantages, really.
If your local Target offers the Redcard, do yourself a favor and pick one up and start using it. Maximize those credit card rewards, baby!
","tags":[{"name":"How to Think","slug":"how-to-think"},{"name":"Credit cards","slug":"credit-cards"},{"name":"Travel hacking","slug":"travel-hacking"},{"name":"Change Your Life","slug":"change-your-life"},{"name":"Travel and Lifestyle","slug":"travel-and-lifestyle"},{"name":"Save Money","slug":"save-money"},{"name":"Opportunities to Save","slug":"opportunities-to-save"},{"name":"Build Wealth","slug":"build-wealth"}]}},{"node":{"slug":"how-the-dog-park-saved-us-200month","feature_image":null,"title":"How the dog park saved us $200/month","published_at":"2015-02-15T13:00:31.000+00:00","primary_author":{"name":"Steve Adcock","profile_image":"https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/ae0b2f8d459bad06e6d287fa4a74b1ea"},"html":"Audio introduction
Okay everyone, I will tell you a little secret about one of our larger monthly expenses if you promise not to try to kick my ass. For nearly 6 years, our little 9-pound poodle spent the day at a doggie daycare - every day - to the tune of $400 a month.
![\"Patti's](\"https://thinksaveretire.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/web-patti2-199x300.jpg\")
Then, our second dog came. When we rescued our 50-pound boxer mix, we never really considered sending them both to daycare every day, which would have kicked our monthly daycare bill up to a whopping $800/month for two dogs instead of one. Screw that.
Since I work from home and can entertain the dogs, we instead decided to send the both of them once a week for socialization. Why didn't we nix daycare entirely? Well, our little poodle absolutely LOVES daycare, and coupled with her little puppy dog eyes staring up at us every morning, my wife and I immediately turned into suckers. This routine set us back $200 every month.
That damn poodle has the both of us wrapped around her little...umm...finger/paw/nail thing. Whatever you call it...
So, we kept up the one-day-a-week daycare routine for several months, but this month we finally decided to make a change - we both kinda wanted that $200 bucks back even though our poodle has eyes that could melt glaciers. Instead of going to the gym together after my wife gets home from work, at least once a week, we will take both dogs up to one of our local dog parks to let them run around and socialize with other muts.
![\"Our](\"https://thinksaveretire.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/web-penny-300x226.jpg\")
The cost to us? A coooooool ZERO. Hello $200 bucks!
We tested this out over the weekend and it worked well. Much to the chagrin of our little poodle, we didn't send our dogs to daycare last week - she seemed fine with it, though I remain convinced that she wants to gnaw my face off in the middle of the night, though my wife isn't quite as convinced of that yet. :)
But wait, we aren't through yet! Another free technique to get our dogs some exercise - our home's backyard happens to face a desert wash area that, until this weekend, we never really explored much. But today, we pretty much jumped in head-first. We brought both dogs out into the wash behind our house and even let them off their leash to run around on their own (we've never done that before).
Holy shit, they loved it.
Basically, we've had a free pile of gold just sitting behind our house, lying in wait...blind as we apparently are, we never saw it and instead spent thousands of dollars sending our dogs to daycare.
Okay, so we probably bone-headed this in the past, but as far as I'm concerned, all's well that ends well. We now have a couple different free options to choose from that not only let our dogs run around and get exercise, but also socialize with other dogs in the process.
And have I mentioned that I'm a big fan of the low, low price of free?
Free stuff is the best stuff, especially when it is stuff that you actually need. And man, we needed to find a solution to paying for daycare.
","tags":[{"name":"How to Save","slug":"how-to-save"},{"name":"Dogs","slug":"dogs"},{"name":"Save Money","slug":"save-money"},{"name":"Opportunities to Save","slug":"opportunities-to-save"},{"name":"Build Wealth","slug":"build-wealth"}]}},{"node":{"slug":"how-my-wife-and-i-are-flying-to-glacier-national-park-for-11-20-each","feature_image":null,"title":"How my wife and I are flying to Glacier National Park for $11.20 each","published_at":"2015-02-10T13:00:40.000+00:00","primary_author":{"name":"Steve Adcock","profile_image":"https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/ae0b2f8d459bad06e6d287fa4a74b1ea"},"html":"![\"We](\"https://thinksaveretire.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/pinterest-glacier-national-park.jpg\")
Traveling costs money, so how do we mesh together our desire to travel with our steadfast resolve to achieve financial independence and quit the rat race in 7 years?
By traveling to places like Glacier National Park for the cost of tax and fees: $11.20 each.
How did my wife and I essentially find free tickets to Montana this year? By using a very simple but effective technique that anyone - and I do mean anyone - can use. In fact, I may have written about it already on this blog.
This technique involves using the magic of credit cards and their point systems to your advantage.
The not-so-gory details: My wife signed up for two Southwest Rapid Rewards cards - the Plus and the Premiere. Spend $2000 in three months and receive 50,000 bonus points on each card (for a total of 100,000 points). Earn another 10,000 points on your own with regular spending between the two cards and receive a Southwest companion pass for the rest of the year as well as the following year, and the companion pass is where the real value lies with this deal.
What is a companion pass? A companion pass allows a passenger to fly for free (minus taxes or fees) on any Southwest flight as long as that person flies with the person who earned the companion pass. If the person who earned the companion pass pays for their airline ticket with points, that essentially doubles the value of the companion pass.
![\"Cheap](\"https://thinksaveretire.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/southwest-flight-cost-300x200.jpg\")
Here is what we did:
1. We signed up for the Rapid Rewards Plus and Premiere Cards.
2. We spent $2,000 on each card in the first three months and accumulated more than 100,000 combined points on the cards.
3. We accumulated the additional 10,000 points through regular spending between the two cards to reach the 110,000-point threshold to get the Southwest companion pass for the rest of 2015 as well as 2016.
4. My wife booked her flight to Spokane, WA (a couple hours from Glacier National Park) using 19,730 credit card points and paid regular airport fees amounting to $11.20.
5. We booked my companion pass for free and paid regular airport fees amounting to $11.20.
And bingo, both my wife and I fly up to Glacier National Park for $11.20 each.
A tip: With this particular deal, it is much more beneficial to achieve the companion pass as early in the year as possible as to maximize its availability for that year. For example, it would suck to get your companion pass in November, then only get to use it for December of that same year - along with the following year. Instead, it would be more wise to wait until January to accumulate your 110,000 points on that card. That way, the companion pass can be used for the remainder of that entire year as well as the following year.
Another tip: Get both the Rapid Rewards Plus AND Premiere cards to greatly expand your point-getting potential (to epic proportions!). With only one of the cards, your maximum point bonus is 50,000 after spending $2000 in three months, but with both cards combined and spending $4000 between them, your point bonus increase to 100,000, making the companion pass a cinch to achieve.
Oh, one more tip: Do not overspend for the sake of point accumulation. For this deal to be most effective to your ability to travel without screwing up your finances, only spend what you would ordinarily have spent on these cards. Plan accordingly and use your credit cards to their maximum potential. Believe it or not, there is a technique for doing just this.
Towards the end of 2016, I will probably get another set of these cards and we will repeat this process over again, setting us up for another couple years of extremely cheap flights to anywhere that Southwest flies.
Do you have a technique to travel on the cheap? What do you do to keep travel costs to a minimum?
","tags":[{"name":"How to Save","slug":"how-to-save"},{"name":"Travel hacking","slug":"travel-hacking"},{"name":"Travel and Lifestyle","slug":"travel-and-lifestyle"},{"name":"Save Money","slug":"save-money"},{"name":"Opportunities to Save","slug":"opportunities-to-save"},{"name":"Build Wealth","slug":"build-wealth"}]}},{"node":{"slug":"food-january-2015","feature_image":null,"title":"FOOD - January 2015","published_at":"2015-02-05T13:00:45.000+00:00","primary_author":{"name":"Steve Adcock","profile_image":"https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/ae0b2f8d459bad06e6d287fa4a74b1ea"},"html":"Audio introduction
This month we managed to stay under our $300 grocery budget even though we made every single meal all month long except for the 4 days we were in San Francisco. In truth....it wasn't that hard! Meal planning for the whole month my making use out of bulk buying options from Costco makes a huge difference. Here is where the money went:
Fruits and Veggies: $ 140.91
Canned Goods: $13.89
Vegan 'Meat': $9.26
Meat, Seafood and Dairy: $5.48
Dry Goods: $115.59
Alcohol: $0
House Supplies: $7.63
Minus 15 cents from our bag credits. Gotta love a little extra savings ;)
So obviously we eat very healthy and cook as much as possible from scratch. We mostly cook and eat vegan when at home and save indulgences like meat and seafood for when we go out. This can drastically cut the food bill.
The dry goods category was particularly high this month due to having to restock some spices, quinoa and the hubby's treats (k-cups and 5 hour energies). I don't expect it to be this high in February.
I'm happy to see that we spend a majority of our budget on fruits and veggies. The two biggest splurges in this category are our mushrooms and avocados. We eat mushrooms 1-2 times a week and the Hubby makes his WORLD FAMOUS GUACAMOLE at least 2x a week as well. Could we cut this back? Sure. Will we? No. Two healthy foods that make us very very happy are totally worth the cost in our books.
Alcohol was $0 this month. This is a little misleading. We don't drink much but we do have an occasional margarita or glass of wine. We are still plowing through the extra stockpiles of alcohol that we kindly procured for our wedding last October. So, we are stocked. Eventually we'll have to start buying this again but for now we'll make due with what we have on hand - and save some dough in the process.
I am thrilled that we kept to our budget! If we manage this easily for the next couple months, I may reassess and further lower our grocery goal. But for now we keep on doing what we are doing: eating amazing, healthy, and delicious food and saving money while doing so. :)
","tags":[{"name":"How to Save","slug":"how-to-save"},{"name":"Food budget","slug":"food-budget"},{"name":"Saving money on food","slug":"saving-money-on-food"},{"name":"Change Your Life","slug":"change-your-life"},{"name":"Save Money","slug":"save-money"},{"name":"Opportunities to Save","slug":"opportunities-to-save"},{"name":"Build Wealth","slug":"build-wealth"},{"name":"Money-Saving Habits","slug":"money-saving-habits"}]}},{"node":{"slug":"budget-january-2015-gotta-start-somewhere","feature_image":null,"title":"Budget January 2015 - Gotta start somewhere","published_at":"2015-02-03T00:45:01.000+00:00","primary_author":{"name":"Steve Adcock","profile_image":"https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/ae0b2f8d459bad06e6d287fa4a74b1ea"},"html":"Audio introduction
Ever since we decided that the path for us is out of the rat race and into an early retirement of our choosing, the Mr. and I have been keeping an eye on our finances and scaling down our spending. Neither one of us were complete clowns, but we certainly weren't looking out for our future selves at anywhere near the level we want/need to be.
So in comes the budget. Budgets don't work for everyone and in the future it may not be necessary for us but for now it is the way we are buckling down and meeting the tough goals we've set for ourselves. Read more about how we budget here.
This it the first month we have EVER kept track of every cent spent (hey, the rhymes!). We've saved all our recipes and entered them into our handy dandy excel spreadsheet. Lets see how we did:
So for our first month not so bad. In fact if you look at the big picture we're doing great!
Now, let's take a look at the money-shot numbers.
Total January 2015 income: $10,101.24
Total January 2015 expenses: $5,490.93
This means our total January 2015 Take Home Savings Rate came in at: 46%.
And our January 2015 Total Savings Rate: 66% (includes maxing out our 401ks).
Our net worth: $514,495.43. This number did not include a retirement account that I am now including in our net worth.
Not too shabby. I'd really like to get our Take Home Savings Rate to 50% and our Total Savings Rate to 70% but for our first month tracking we didn't do too bad. We also learned some valuable lessons about planning ahead.
Plans for February: Keep Saving. We'd like to work on long term saving by :
Stay tuned to see how it goes :)
","tags":[{"name":"budget","slug":"budget"},{"name":"Monthly statement","slug":"monthly-statement"},{"name":"Save Money","slug":"save-money"},{"name":"Get out of Debt","slug":"get-out-of-debt"},{"name":"Build Wealth","slug":"build-wealth"},{"name":"Money-Saving Habits","slug":"money-saving-habits"},{"name":"Getting Out of Debt","slug":"getting-out-of-debt"}]}},{"node":{"slug":"how-we-budget-monthly-expenses","feature_image":null,"title":"How we budget our monthly expenses","published_at":"2015-01-31T22:39:45.000+00:00","primary_author":{"name":"Steve Adcock","profile_image":"https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/ae0b2f8d459bad06e6d287fa4a74b1ea"},"html":"![\"How](\"https://thinksaveretire.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/pinterest-budget-expenses.jpg\")
Budgets aren't all that sexy (lots of numbers and stuff), but they can be effective if designed appropriately for your life and goals. If you ever cheat your budget, all you're doing is cheating yourself...or to be more specific your future self.
Don't cheat your future self. He or she will hate your guts for it. If time travel were possible, your future self might travel back in time to punch you in the face. Right now. And let's be honest - who really wants a black eye from our future selves because our current selves decided to be jackasses and cheat on the budget?
Okay, let's get down to business. My wife and I budget virtually every one of our expenses every month. We know exactly what we bring in and exactly what we spend...and on what.
While some subscribe to the \"don't buy shit\" budget, which basically means nothing is bought outside of absolute necessities, we haven't adopted this philosophy yet. We want to know exactly how much we are spending and where our money is going...and budgeting just makes that whole exciting process so much easier. If we ever need to cut costs, a quick inspection of our budget can easily pinpoint where we might be able to cut back a bit.
![\"How](\"https://thinksaveretire.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Current-Event-Cat-Rival-Budgets-300x200.png\")
I'll be honest - my wife is the meticulous one. She's the rocket scientist engineer with a masters degree in aeronautics, so I generally let her design the budget and work the numbers so everything adds up in the end. It's just easier on both of us that way. :)
Our budget is designed around a reasonable expectation of what our lives should cost every month. We do not feel constrained by our budget because, quite frankly, neither of us buy \"stuff\" anymore. The sensibility that took a firm grasp of our lives last year makes the acquisition of useless crap virtually nonexistent.
We have a simple Excel spreadsheet that gets updated nearly every day. We save all receipts for every purchase. We formerly used Mint to help visualize our purchases but have since upgraded to Personal Capital, a much more robust application for financial visibility.
Our spreadsheet is broken down into standard monthly costs (like mortgage and car payments), variable monthly costs (utilities, cell phones, etc), standard yearly costs (our dogs, backyard pool, car maintenance and insurance, etc), food costs and \"fun money\". We also budget for health-related costs, like prescriptions, gym memberships, bottles of Tylenol, etc.
What the hell is fun money? Our fun money pot is money that we can use to spend on things outside of our standard monthly or yearly costs. If I want a new jacket, for example, this would come out of my fun money. \"Don't buy shit\" people effectively don't have this particular budget category.
We do not put very much into our \"fun money\", and we also do not let any unused money roll over from month to month in an effort to keep us from making expensive purchases, even if they are technically budgeted for within our \"fun money\" pot of cash. Instead, any unused fun money at month's end goes straight into our savings account for the Sedona, AZ townhouse that we plan to invest in. The Sedona investment property is more important to both of us than buying new jackets Airstream that we intend to buy.
How do we account for larger purchases that do not fall nicely into one of our regular monthly categories, but surpass the cost of a single month's budget? Glad you asked! If there is a more expensive item that my wife and I need, then we make a new budget item for it and redirect some of our fun money into that pot and track it separately. Here, money can accumulate from month to month, and both my wife and I both need to agree that the purchase is important enough to break out into a separate budget line item.
It's all in the name of budgetary transparency. It also keeps us honest about the things that we are buying. If we still want it after a few months of saving, then we can be more certain that it is a reasonable purchase.
It is important to note that not every freaking dollar that we make goes into our budget every month. Yeah, we're complex like that.
Both my wife and I work full time, but we fund our budget every month by using just one of our two salaries (mine). We (and by \"we\", I mean my wife) did the math and we use about 91% of the money from my salary to fund the budget. Our goal is to get this number down to something closer to 80%. Whatever money is left over from my salary after our budget is completely funded (in other words, the remaining 9%) goes into our short term savings account for the Sedona townhouse Airstream. My wife's entire salary gets contributed into our savings.
Accountability. Knowing where our money goes is critical to maximizing our savings and pinpointing where we could probably cut back. For example, knowing how much we spent on gas in a month may encourage us to ride the motorcycle more rather than driving the pickup (the pickup was a mistake).
Starting point on which to improve. We never kept track of our spending to this extent before, so this budget gives us a baseline that can be used to perfect our monetary habits, especially as we roll closer and closer to jobless bliss.
Also, we don't necessarily spend everything that is budgeted. Yes, we have a certain amount to spend every month, but we think of our budget more as the upper limit of what can be spent, rather than what should be spent. The less we spend the more we save, and the more we save, the closer we get to achieving our long-term goals of financial independence and early retirement.
We have a bunch of monthly budget statements published on the blog. Take a look through them for a look at the numbers!
","tags":[{"name":"How to Save","slug":"how-to-save"},{"name":"budget","slug":"budget"},{"name":"Monthly budget","slug":"monthly-budget"},{"name":"Change Your Life","slug":"change-your-life"},{"name":"Save Money","slug":"save-money"},{"name":"Get out of Debt","slug":"get-out-of-debt"},{"name":"Opportunities to Save","slug":"opportunities-to-save"},{"name":"Build Wealth","slug":"build-wealth"},{"name":"Money-Saving Habits","slug":"money-saving-habits"},{"name":"Getting Out of Debt","slug":"getting-out-of-debt"}]}},{"node":{"slug":"using-etsy-to-generate-passive-income","feature_image":null,"title":"Using Etsy to generate passive income","published_at":"2015-01-29T14:17:49.000+00:00","primary_author":{"name":"Steve Adcock","profile_image":"https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/ae0b2f8d459bad06e6d287fa4a74b1ea"},"html":"Audio introduction
While an aggressive savings rate is, in my humble opinion, the best way to set yourself up for early retirement, passive income is a great way to enjoy at least some financial buffer even after retiring from required work. Some people rent out homes or other real estate. Others perform contract work. There are any number of ways to get involved in generating some passive income for yourself.
![\"My](\"https://thinksaveretire.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/photo-bag-300x169.jpg\")
One of those ways is to monetize your true passion in life, something that will keep you focused and dedicated through your retirement years. For me, that's photography.
A couple weeks ago, I opened up a store on Etsy - one of the Internet's most-visited creative selling services - to start getting my hands wet selling some of my favorite photographs online - before retirement.
Store link: www.etsy.com/shop/SAADigital
So far, this experience has been both fun and rewarding. The truth is I am still very much in the learning process of selling things online. For so many years of my life, my time online has been used primarily to put forth my own ideas and to simply display my creative work, but I was never real interested in supplementing my income from it. Until now.
I have four sales already, which is wonderful to see. I am heartened and delighted that the craft that I love so much, and the work that I put into capturing the stunning beauty that this world has to offer, appeals to someone else enough to spend their hard-earned money to enjoy in their own home.
I am not necessarily looking to make big money off of this endeavor, at least yet. I have thoughts of making photography my main source of income in the coming years, especially after my wife and I pick up shop and move to beautiful Sedona, Arizona travel the country in an RV. For now, I am using this as a learning experience that will prepare me to step forward into the business of photography as a profession more confidently and intelligently in the future.
I have had a passion for photography as long as I can remember. In high school I had my own dark room setup in an unused area of our basement and developed my own 6x6 medium format black and white photographs. I mean, start-to-finish development. In the dark, I would carefully [and often times frustratingly] wrap the film (negatives) around the metal film spindle that is used to hold the film during the development process, hoping that there were no creases or bends to the film as I wrapped - because that can screw up some of the frames. I'd pour in the chemicals and let the film develop.
Once complete, the film can be exposed to light. I eagerly unwrapped the film from the spindle and carefully inspected every frame under a light box - both as a quick assessment of how well I managed to develop the negatives and to determine what frames that I would like to try printing. I would generally print 5 or 6 frames out of each roll after deciding on what frames represented my better shots.
I used an Omega C700 enlarger as my printing rig that I bought with my own birthday money one year, and generally exposed these images onto Ilford photo paper. Though the smell of the chemicals were quite pungent in our poorly-ventilated basement, the experience was a lot of fun.
It taught me how to be both meticulous and patient. There were times where I had to spend 20 minutes trying to wrap the film around the spindle correctly. Even the slightest error can throw off the entire job.
Often, a mistake requires unwrapping the entire roll of film and starting completely over. This was a test of how mentally connected you were with your hands, carefully following every pull of the film, gently feeling the flow of the roll as you turned the spindle. Though it was dark in the room, I would often close my eyes because that seemed to help me focus on the task at hand.
I wasn't perfect. Every once in a while, I discovered a couple frames from one layer of the wrap would be stuck to the layer below it after development (which indicates there was a bend to the film that I did not catch). These frames were ruined. It sucked, but it made me realize again and again that perfection is that illustrious glimmer of light that can never be reached. Mentally, I made note of the mistake, cursed myself under my breath, and moved on. My ability to handle disappointment only strengthened through this process.
Through the years, my love for photography has only grown stronger. I no longer shoot film, though I am still hanging on to my once-top-of-the-line Nikon F5 35mm camera that I bought back in college (yes, this is called \"anti-minimalism\", but I prefer to use a softer term for this, perhaps \"collector\").
Now, it's digital only. I arm myself with a Nikon%20D7000 16.2 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm Lens (Black)![]("http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=goveg0a-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00OJNTBGI\")
Note: In the photography business, we \"make\" photos, not \"take\" them. :)
I will see how this process goes and will adjust accordingly. Until then, I will continue enjoying the learning experience of selling the results of my passion online in the hopes of turning this into my main source of income.
What hobbies do you have that could generate passive income?
And that's just the average.
![](\"https://thinksaveretire.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/wedding-2-300x199.jpg\")
$30 grand for a single bloody wedding? Surely this is a bad study, or one that just surveyed rich Manhatten folks who can afford to throw down some people's yearly salary for one night of dancing in uncomfortable clothing, so I continued my search.
Oh shit, now I really wish I hadn't done this.
CostOfWedding.com says the average cost is $25,000. A CNN article confirmed the Huffington Post number of $30,000. A TheKnot.com study found damn close to $30,000 was the average cost of weddings in this country as well.
And these numbers are all not including the honeymoon. Or, quite frankly, the rings.
Warning: What follows is going to feel like a narrative written by an incredibly judgmental prick (that would be me in this case). But, I am just as guilty as the next person when it comes to wedding costs, so I include myself in this discussion. I'm bashing myself as well. More on my wedding below.
Maybe I could understand if the average cost of rich weddings were $30k or more. But no, this is the number that the average person spends on a one-night celebration of their wedding.
People love to make themselves feel special in this country. Girls dream of an extravagant wedding from a very early age, drilled into their heads by television and magazines. We're talking the best venue at the best time of year, fine china, expensive catering and white table cloths. Even some men want their weddings to be the best fucking bash of their lives, complete with top-shelf liquor, live music and all that \"jazz\".
Of course, the big night comes after months of meticulous preparation. Trying on dresses and suits that will probably only be worn once, figuring out how much equipment like tables and chairs to rent, inviting people that you probably haven't spoken to in years, spending hours decorating the venue with various trinkets. Don't forget a ton of coordination of vendors and making sure everyone is in the right place at the right time with the right equipment so everything just falls into place. If anything goes wrong, it quickly becomes a nightmare.
I tell you, it's expensive and exhausting, all for a one-night blitz bash.
But hey, I get it - this is a wedding. This is supposed to be the best day of a newly married couple's lives. Everything perfect. Everything elegant. Everything they thought it could be. You only get married once (in theory), and wedding day is their opportunity to go wild and have some fun. So, why not spend a little?
So far I'm with you. But, does it really need to take an average of $30 grand and months of preparation to celebrate a wedding? Does it take the price of a mid-sized car to truly enjoy the thought of spending the rest of your life together with someone? How about another 5 years working at a job that you hate? Is one night of presumed bliss worth years of getting up at 6am for a job because you blew through a portion of savings?
How about planning a wedding the same way that you'd plan a dinner party or BBQ at your place? Really, what's a wedding party consist of...drinks and food, right? Maybe a band, but the low, low cost of streaming Pandora can easily make up for the needless cost of a collection of live human beings banging on drums or strumming guitars. Would you ever spend $30k for a dinner party?
Probably not. But it's a wedding, damnit, not a dinner party!
But we aren't Donald Trump, either. We aren't Bill Gates. We don't have millions of dollars lying around doing nothing. We don't have $30k of extra cash that needs to be frivolously spent on one evening of unabashed drinking and embarrassing dancing.
On the contrary, we are probably still working for a living. We get up every morning and commute to a job site in order to earn a pay check and pay for life's needs, as well as lots of luxuries in our lives. We don't have $30k to spend, but it's spent anyway.
Even if it's our parents doing the spending, it doesn't really matter. Money spent is money spent, and a bill of $30,000 for a one-night party is, however you slice it and whomever picks up the check, just damn ridiculous.
What about YOUR wedding, Steve?
Good question. We spent close to $20k on our southwest-themed wedding, which is still a damn ridiculous expense for a one night celebration. Worse, this cost was after stripping out a lot of what makes most weddings so expensive, like the venue and drinks.
Instead of renting out a resort somewhere, or having one of those \"destination weddings\", my wife and I got married at my in law's house in Scottsdale, AZ. Hardly a small place. We also personally picked out all the alcohol in the form of beer and wine and hand-delivered that stuff to the house days before the wedding. No hard liquor. Just beer and wine...and a few bottles of margarita mix with the alcohol already added in.
But, we also had a live band. That costs big money. We went with cupcakes instead of a traditional wedding cake. Catering was from Macayo's restaurant. We also ordained my brother-in-law and he delivered the reading at the ceremony and officially married us.
Even still, with the costs of the rental equipment needed for the wedding, food and drinks, the live band, the outfits, the photographer...basically, everything that goes into a wedding, we were still pushing the $20k mark for that night.
In the end, I am just as guilty of the extravagance of wedding spending as the next. We had a great time at our wedding, but what if we had a simple BBQ for a few of our friends and family members instead of the traditional celebration - complete with food and drinks? Guests would still have a good time. They could get completely hammered and enjoy the evening whether $1500 or $15000 was spent. Whomever brings the biggest camera can be the designated photographer. Whomever drinks the most beer can bring a few extra 6-packs cause, well, why not?
That friend who makes a killer risotto? Cool, that's one of the main dishes. That dude who makes an insanely large plate of nachos for his Superbowl parties? Yup, he brings the appetizer. Order some chicken wings or pizza for takeout if you can afford it and want some extra party foods.
In the end, you're still married. Guests still have fun. But, the bride and groom also deal with much, much less stress. If it rains, just bring the chicken wings inside and let that drunk guy dance around in the rain and have fun by himself.
It's a win-win, everyone's happy. And best of all, you get married and have fun for a small fraction of the cost of a traditional wedding...free of expensive fancy schmancy-ness.
","tags":[{"name":"How to Save","slug":"how-to-save"},{"name":"expensive wedding","slug":"expensive-wedding"},{"name":"Change Your Life","slug":"change-your-life"},{"name":"Save Money","slug":"save-money"},{"name":"Psychology of Spending","slug":"psychology-of-spending"},{"name":"Opportunities to Save","slug":"opportunities-to-save"},{"name":"Build Wealth","slug":"build-wealth"}]}},{"node":{"slug":"5-steps-to-better-gas-mileage-guaranteed","feature_image":null,"title":"5 steps to better gas mileage, guaranteed","published_at":"2014-12-14T13:00:41.000+00:00","primary_author":{"name":"Steve Adcock","profile_image":"https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/ae0b2f8d459bad06e6d287fa4a74b1ea"},"html":"Though I generally believe driving to be a miserable way to spend my time, I nonetheless drive when life calls: to the gym or grocery store, up to my in-laws' house for holidays and other occasions and, every now and again, to my client's fortress (also known as their \"office\") nearly 1.5 hours away. During these hours on the road, I realized something fairly shocking.
![\"2014](\"https://thinksaveretire.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/14Fiesta4dr_07_HR-626x362-300x173.jpg\")
I was driving like an idiot.
My driving style kept draining gas out of my car's gas tank faster than it should have, and it took years for me to realize that making a few simple adjustments to how I drive can effectively extend the reach of my gas tank - regardless of what kind of vehicle I drive.
Even a few MPGs north can save quite a bit of money on gas throughout the year, and that money goes straight into my get the hell out of the rat race fund. Some people call these collective techniques \"hypermiling\".
For all I know, you might be driving like an idiot too. If you find yourself always passing other cars, speeding up to \"close the gap\" between you and the car in front of you, or constantly out-accelerating other drivers at stop lights, then you're probably not maximizing your fuel economy. I sure as hell wasn't.
Start incorporating these simple changes into your driving style and watch your gas budget take you farther while on the roadway.
1. Stop braking. Brakes are there to keep your car from plowing into the one in front of you (or a pedestrian, stop sign or any other impediment). The problem is people misuse their brakes ALL THE TIME, primarily due to over accelerating when in traffic. Brakes are a big drain on your gas mileage.
Understand that traffic, like the ocean waves, ebbs and flows, and the severity is a direct result of how the majority of us drive (trafficwaves.org offers a decent break-down of what's going on with traffic waves). To decrease the time it takes to travel from point A to point B, the majority of drivers want to close the gap between them and the car in front of them because we link unused road with wasted time. They do this by speeding up (or continued acceleration) and then using their brakes to stop before a collision. It is this behavior that not only contributes to traffic jams, but it causes drivers to use their brakes and accelerator much too often.
My technique: Rather than kissing the guy's ass in front of me the whole time, I leave a bit of a distance between me and the car in front of me. This means that by the time that I coast up to the car in front, there is a good chance that the car has begun moving again due to the natural flow of traffic. If I time it just right, I don't use my break AT ALL, even in fairly heavy traffic. Not only does this help conserve my precious and expensive fuel, but it also helps to save my brakes.
2. Stop idling. I never used to turn off my car during an extended idle because I naively believed that starting the car winded up using more gas than the idle. But, that is not true. Whenever your car is turned on and the engine is running, the car is using precious gas. Add in the use of the air conditioner and you wind up using even more gas as your car fights to keep the engine cool (along with you). In fact, some vehicles blow through nearly a half gallon of gas during an hour of idling. Worse, AAA estimates about a quarter of a gallon of gas is burned during a 15 minute idle.
My technique: I turn the car off at an idle when I can. This means if I'm waiting for 5 minutes to pick someone up, I still turn off the car and enjoy some silence as my gas tank level stops shrinking. If it's cold, that's fine - I'll man up and get a little cold. If it's warm, then I find a tree and park in the shade. If you're not going anywhere, turn that car off.
3. Stop speeding. I have always been a bit of a speed demon, but I have nixed that habit after learning how severely faster speeds effect gas mileage. The speeding that I am talking about here goes beyond simply obeying the speed limit.
Most cars have a sweet spot when it comes to speed, and that is generally in the 50 to 60 MPH range. Driving faster than your car's optimal speed results in a disproportionate increase in fuel consumption and overall decrease in how far your gas budget will take you.
The exact numbers vary based on car, but studies have consistently shown a severe decrease in fuel efficiency at higher speeds. The California Energy Commission says that slowing down from 65 to 55 can result in a 15% increase in mileage.
Whatever numbers you happen to look at, it is clear and convincing that speeds above about 55 to 60 decrease your mileage.
My technique: Do I drive 60 in a 75 zone? Hell no, that's a damn good way to cause an accident. But, I have adjusted my overall driving technique so it no longer prioritizes speed, as it once had. If it's safe to do so, I might drive 70 in a 75. After all, when you're looking to retire early and enjoy a lifetime of true happiness, why rush?
4. Stop short trips. Believe it or not, the duration that you take your car affects its gas mileage. Similar to #3 where I discussed how driving above your car's optimal speed can decrease gas mileage, so can taking frequent short trips. This is because your car's engine operates most efficiently when it is completely warmed up. Especially in colder months, shorter trips give your car less time to warm up completely and results in a less efficient driving experience. This phenomenon is even worse with Hybrids.
Also, letting your car warm up before you begin your drive does not increase its fuel efficiency. Like I discussed in #2, any time that your car spends sitting at an idle is wasted fuel. Instead, simply drive your car in a reasonable fashion and let it warm up as you drive.
My technique: Rather than taking shorter trips throughout the week, I pre-plan my trips and opt to take care of several different errands during the same trip once or twice a week, which also helps my time management (which I find to be wasted behind the wheel of a car). By the time that I am on my way to my second stop, my car is usually plenty warmed up and operating at its most efficient. I also park the car that we use for errands in the garage, rather than outside in the driveway, to keep it warmer.
5. Stop hauling crap. For many of us, our ride is like another closet in our house. If your ride's trunk looks like a damn war zone, then you are probably hauling around way too much shit that your car's engine ultimately has to carry. Your car's weight has a direct impact on how efficient its engine operates, and the less your car weighs, the less your car carries.
Is it any wonder that large, over-sized pickup trucks and gigantic SUVs bring with it some monumentally crappy gas mileage? A 2015 Toyota Corolla weights in at around 2,800 pounds and gets about 31 combined miles per gallon (city and highway = combined). Compare that with a Ford Expedition. This fat boy weighs a whopping 5,500 pounds and gets right around 17 combined miles per gallon.
My technique: I have completely cleared out my car of everything but the essential items, like jumper cables and other safety accessories. I haven't actually taken the back seats out, but if you rarely use your back seats, consider removing them. I keep my car's trunk as clean and clear of debris as the day I bought it, and my car never stays packed full of stuff any longer than the time I need to drive home after finishing my errands.
Also - I drive a motorcycle around as much as I can (a 2004 Honda VTX 1300c that I bought used). Not only is my motorcycle a ton of fun to drive, I get about 50 miles per gallon on this bike, and in a comparison of money spent vs. gas used, motorcycles in general are darn tough to beat. I will fill up this bike every week and a half for about $8 bucks.
Have you discovered any other driving tips that help you conserve your precious fuel? If so, comment below and let us know. I'm always interested in hearing different techniques to extend the reach of my gas budget.
","tags":[{"name":"How to Save","slug":"how-to-save"},{"name":"How to Think","slug":"how-to-think"},{"name":"How to drive","slug":"how-to-drive"},{"name":"Change Your Life","slug":"change-your-life"},{"name":"Save Money","slug":"save-money"},{"name":"Opportunities to Save","slug":"opportunities-to-save"},{"name":"Build Wealth","slug":"build-wealth"}]}},{"node":{"slug":"travel-hacking-cheap-vacations","feature_image":null,"title":"I leveled up my travel hacking into cheap vacations","published_at":"2014-12-05T13:00:36.000+00:00","primary_author":{"name":"Steve Adcock","profile_image":"https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/ae0b2f8d459bad06e6d287fa4a74b1ea"},"html":"In my ripe old age of 34, I honestly don't spend money on much any more. After realizing that useless \"stuff\" doesn't buy happiness, I'm left with piles of left over cash that used to be spent on junk that usually ended up in the corner of my garage or back of my closet. Instead, travel hacking is generally where I devote my left over uninvested cash. Travel and experiences.
![\"travel](\"https://thinksaveretire.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/travel-hack-1024x687.jpg\")
When I was young, I never used to understand (or care to learn) the truly kick-butt virtues of a technique known as travel hacking. Now, I use many of these techniques to get free or low cost flights, upgrades and hotel stays with money that my wife and I routinely spend throughout the year.
We are planning a trip to Walt Disney World next year for my wife's birthday. We won't be paying anything for the cross-country flight to Florida, and travel hacking is how we do it.
What the hell is travel hacking, you might ask? Travel hacking is a technique used to take advantage of credit card points and miles offers to maximize travel potential. There are many incredibly informative blogs on this subject if you care to dive deeper. Stop by ThePointsGuy.com for one of the better, most complete resources on this completely badass way to travel the world.
In this story's sad beginning, Frequent Flier Miles used to be the only way to get free or discounted flights. The more you flew, the more miles racked up for that airline. After a certain number of flown miles (usually in the tens or hundreds of thousands), travelers could fly scott free to many destinations worldwide.
As most of us know, flying sucks. In the past, the only way to rack up the miles is to fly, and flying is becoming more and more of a pain in the ass these days.
Luckily, a whole new world has opened up that allows travelers to accumulate points and miles without ever setting foot on an airplane - it's the world of credit card points! Actually, this technique has been around for many years, but some recent organization and clever analysis has turned this into a straight up money-saver, dubbed \"travel hacking\".
Travel hacking is not complex, but it takes some discipline to get right. It all starts with credit cards and reward points for signing up. Credit card companies entice the public to apply for their credit card by offering generous rewards to new customers.
The process starts when regular folks sign up for a new credit card, spend a designated amount of money within a few months, and get rewarded with points that can be converted into miles for flights, or cash for hotels and rental cars. These points easily add up to tens of thousands of miles - all without setting foot on an airplane.
For example, as of the time of this writing, both the popular Chase Sapphire card and Barclay card are offering a 40,000 point bonus for new customers who spend $4,000 in 3 months ($3,000 in 90 days for the Barclay card). The points-to-dollars conversion is usually in the neighborhood of 100/1, so 40,000 in bonus points gives the credit card holder $400 to spend on travel, not including any trade-in bonuses.
After you spend the required amount of money to get the 40,000 point reward, you instantly have enough for a round-trip ticket to most places in the United States. Not bad!
But wait, there is more. Many cards (like the Sapphire card) give 1 to 1 dollar to point earnings throughout the year as well. This means if $10,000 is spent on that credit card during the year, then $100 (or 10,000 points) will be available for travel. The Barclay card is even better, offering 2 points for every dollar spent - on anything.
Hold on - there is more still. Many cards will also provide 2 for 1 (or greater) incentives on specific types of purchasing. For example, the Sapphire card gives a 2 for 1 return on all travel and restaurant purchases ($30 at a restaurant nets 60 points), or 3 for 1 at restaurants on the first Friday of every month. The Chase Freedom card offers quarterly 5 to 1 incentives on certain types of spending.
Hate Chase? Fear not, there are a TON of credit cards out there that give signup bonuses, but the bonuses change by the month. For example, that same Chase Sapphire card that I talked about above offered a whopping 70,000 bonus points back in October. Now, it's 40,000. Keep your eye out for the best offer and jump on anything that you think is a good deal.
Personally, I never signup for a card that offers less than 50,000 points.
Signing up for new credit cards is a rolling process that repeats every few quarters. Sign up for a new card, spend the money required to get the points, then cancel before the yearly fee. With a steady stream of reward bonus points every year, you will quickly find yourself in the position of cheap or no-cost travel for your next vacation - and quite possibly every vacation after that.
Wait, fees? You want me to pay fees? Good observation - here's the rub.
A lot of these cards with the higher reward bonuses require yearly fees. But screw that. You and I want to retire early, and we don't have the time or patience to pay a bunch of yearly fees just so we can get free flights. That cuts into our badassery -- not to mention our retirement.
To get around the fees: never signup for a card that requires a yearly fee during the first year. Many companies will waive the fee to get you to signup, but if you keep the card past a year, you will be responsible for the fee. So, pick a card where the first year's fee is waived, then spend the required dollar amount in the specific timeframe to reap the reward points. Then, simply cancel the card before the end of the year and you walk away with hundreds of dollars in travel money without a single penny spent on fees.
Let's be honest - free or cheap flights are not worth the effort of travel hacking if you are spending additional money just to get the points. You are doing it wrong if you spend an extra $1k on something that you do not need just to get an additional 1,000 points added to your account.
This lowers your badassery, and definitely pushes your retirement back.
Never spend more money for the sake of points. EVER. And, as always, pay off your credit card at the end of the month.
Also, do not signup for too many high rewards cards at once. Instead, spread out these cards over the year to maximize your money spent. For example, don't get yourself into a situation where you have three different 50,000 reward point cards at once and need to spend $4,000 on each card in three months. That is $12,000 in a quarter! Instead, spread these cards out over the year so your spending remains balanced and reasonable.
Further, make sure that you spend only the appropriate amount of money on each rewards card that you have. For example, my wife and I have a Bank of America travel rewards card that provides 1.5 points for every dollar spent. Our Chase Sapphire card only gives us one point for every dollar spent outside of their incentives (ie: restaurants). Can you see the best strategy?
We spent what we needed to spend to get the 50,000 rewards points on our Sapphire card, then continued putting the majority of our expenditures on the Bank of America card to take advantage of the additional .5 in point returns.
Make sense?
The more credit cards that you have, the better that you will need to keep track of your expenditures on each card. Be sure you know when each card needs to be canceled, and pay attention to how easy it is to transfer any unused points between cards. Some companies make this process easier than others.
I cannot stress this point enough - to successfully travel hack, do not spend any additional money that you otherwise would not have spent to get points or miles. Your regular budget remains intact. Your monthly expenditures do not change. Don't screw this up - you're better than that.
You are only changing WHERE these expenditures are being charged to. Rather than dumping a bunch of money on a card that offers no rewards, divvy up that money onto cards that do provide rewards.
It completely levels up your travel badassery - just like mine.
Enjoy your free travel.
","tags":[{"name":"How to Think","slug":"how-to-think"},{"name":"Travel hacking","slug":"travel-hacking"},{"name":"Change Your Life","slug":"change-your-life"},{"name":"Travel and Lifestyle","slug":"travel-and-lifestyle"},{"name":"Save Money","slug":"save-money"},{"name":"Opportunities to Save","slug":"opportunities-to-save"},{"name":"Build Wealth","slug":"build-wealth"}]}},{"node":{"slug":"how-i-turn-black-friday-into-an-adventure-in-frugality","feature_image":null,"title":"Black Friday: Turn this day into an adventure in frugality","published_at":"2014-11-26T16:11:15.000+00:00","primary_author":{"name":"Steve Adcock","profile_image":"https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/ae0b2f8d459bad06e6d287fa4a74b1ea"},"html":"On its face, Black Friday stands for absolutely everything that I rail against on ThinkSaveRetire.com. The day is built around sheer consumption and definitely contributes to the debt-inducing power of American consumerism. I still laugh at the thought of sleeping overnight outside department stores and the chaos that accompanies so many Black Friday shopping experiences.
![\"Black](\"https://thinksaveretire.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/black-friday.jpg\")
Using the right technique and a little dose of discipline, frugal Americans and early retirees can still enjoy Black Friday savings without overspending and coming home with bags of stuff that they don't truly need.
The idea is to use Black Friday's sales to buy things that are productive to your future that you would have bought anyway, not irrational impulse buys in support of luxury entertainment. In other words, drop that $500 iPad and pick up some half-off DVDs that you plan to give away as gifts instead.
Use Black Friday to buy things that you would ordinarily have bought during any other day of the year.
What might these things be? Even if we plan to retire early, we still buy things like gifts for birthdays, graduations, baby showers, Christmas, etc. If you know that you'll need to buy a graduation gift for your niece or nephew next March, consider using Black Friday deals to snag something at nearly half the price.
Need a new bike helmet for next summer's riding season? Find a good deal and pick one up. House warming gifts, retirement presents or going away surprises are also occasions that might require buying things. Make sure that these purchases truly are ones that you would have made independently of Black Friday.
After all, if you're going to buy, might as well get the best price.
Word to the wise - make sure that \"deals\" are actual DEALS!
It is easy to assume that prices on Black Friday represent a killer deal, but that is not always the case. Be aware that some items - especially electronics - tend to decrease in price closer to Christmas. Unless you are getting an obvious screaming deal (hint: those are rare), wait to buy electronics until closer to Christmas. Wait for winter clothing items as well (until summer). Retailers have no financial interest in giving you the best deal on winter clothing during...the winter.
When I am ready to shop, I don't just leave my house and head to the insanely overcrowded malls without a good idea of what I am looking for or how much money that I am willing to spend (my typical budget is around $100). Such a tactic is a perfect recipe for overspending.
Before I leave my house, I make sure that I:
I like to do business with retailers that give me the option of buying items at the discounted Black Friday price and picking up those items in the store after the crowds have dissipated. This helps to minimize shipping costs and ensures that the online purchase truly is cheaper.
Important note: As I mentioned before, this technique is only effective if items are purchased that aren't impulse buys. Use Black Friday deals to effectively lower your costs on necessity items rather than adding expenses on unnecessary luxuries.
Good luck in your shopping, and happy holidays.
","tags":[{"name":"How to Think","slug":"how-to-think"},{"name":"Change Your Life","slug":"change-your-life"},{"name":"Save Money","slug":"save-money"},{"name":"Opportunities to Save","slug":"opportunities-to-save"},{"name":"Build Wealth","slug":"build-wealth"},{"name":"Psychology of Money","slug":"psychology-of-money"}]}},{"node":{"slug":"happiness-meet-jason-he-quit-his-full-time-job-at-33","feature_image":null,"title":"Putting happiness first: Meet Jason Fieber - he quit his full time job at 32 and now writes","published_at":"2014-11-24T13:00:21.000+00:00","primary_author":{"name":"Steve Adcock","profile_image":"https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/ae0b2f8d459bad06e6d287fa4a74b1ea"},"html":"Jason Fieber is one hell of a guy. But, in the world of early retirement and financial independence, he's a regular badass. From Sarasota Florida, Jason quit his full time job at a car dealership and now spends his time doing what truly makes him happy, writing. Jason was 32 when he called it quits.
![\"Jason](\"https://thinksaveretire.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/jason-225x300.jpg\")
Visit Jason Fieber's investment and retirement web site over at dividendmantra.com.
Jason's inspirational story of self improvement strikes at the heart of just how possible it is to quit the rat race and focus on your life's true calling once and for all. Like so many others in this great country of ours, Jason's childhood included struggle. Financial mistakes turned into learning opportunities, and sheer drive and determination transformed his life into pure bliss, unapologetic happiness and true success.
I recently had the opportunity to talk with Jason and pick his brain about quitting his full time job and what it feels like to spend his days doing what he truly enjoys. Jason writes - his true calling - and believes anyone can duplicate his successes in life through frugal living, saving big and enjoying life.
1: What made you decide to officially quit your full time job? Was it something that happened, a sudden realization or was it planned in advance?
I quit my full-time job in the auto industry just days after my 32nd birthday, after more than eight years in the industry. It was something I had been thinking about for some time. I was burned out, as I was working more than 50 hours per week at a car dealership while also managing time for my true passion in writing.
I had been writing about investing and financial independence on my blog for more than three years at this point, and, due to the size of the blog and the time I was spending on it, I felt like I couldn't go on with both anymore. So, it was either the blog or the job in the auto industry, and the blog easily won that battle.
2: How did you feel the day after you retired? Were you excited? Nervous? A little bit of both?
Well, I'm not really \"retired\" right now. I'm still saving and investing my way toward financial independence. I don't consider someone financially independent until their passive income exceeds their expenses. I still have to \"work\" for a living, although I'm not really doing much work anymore. I write for a living now, which is incredibly rewarding and enjoyable. But I'm not really retired.
I will say, however, that I felt elated after handing in my two-week notice. And my last day of traditional full-time work felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I felt like I was finally freed from the shackles that were holding me down.
3: How does a typical family of 4 start down the path of frugal living? Start slow or dive in head first?
It's tough for me to give an answer to that question. I don't believe there is a one-size-fits-all answer. I believe it depends on what you're comfortable with, your income, and your current income situation. I can only say that I approached my life changes like the old bandage analogy: I just ripped it off.
I took advantage of every possible savings opportunity I could. I started with the easy stuff, like my mobile phone, food, and cable. I then moved on to the harder stuff, like selling my car and living car-free. Not long after that I moved to a cheaper apartment that was also located next to a bus stop (the bus that took me to work every day).
Each day that you are spending too much money is a missed opportunity and one less day of freedom, so I would go as fast as you possibly and reasonably can.
4: How did you make sense of the market before you started dividend investing? Books? Websites and forums? Which were most helpful?
I took advantage of everything I could. Books. Websites. Articles. I found a couple of books pretty helpful. \"The Ultimate Dividend Playbook: Insight and Independence for Today’s Investor\" by Josh Peters. In addition, I found \"The Single Best Investment: Creating Wealth with Dividend Growth\" by Lowell Miller very informative. The only thing I couldn't find anywhere was a true guide in putting the dividend growth investing strategy to work for early retirement, showing how that would work and what it would look like. So I put my website together as a case study, using my own life like a scientific experiment. No hypothetical or examples, just real-life numbers and results.
5: Saving 50% can be tough; how did you get started? What challenges did you face during your journey?
Like I mentioned, I started aggressively. I found it most important to focus on what I call \"The Big Three\". I'm not talking about the big three auto manufacturers out of Detroit. I'm talking about the three biggest drains on expenses: housing, transportation, and food.
I moved to a cheaper and smaller apartment, which not only saved on rent, but also utilities. In addition, less furniture is necessary to furnish a smaller space. I then sold my car. I used a combination of the public bus system and a 49cc scooter to get around town for years.
I also radically cut food expenses by eating like a college student for about a year. I wouldn't recommend it as a permanent lifestyle change, but eating really cheaply for a year or two can allow you to put away some serious capital to get a nice snowball of wealth working for you.
One other important point is that I moved from Michigan to Florida back in 2009, just before my journey began. I did this for a number of reasons. Florida has no state income taxes, which meant I would be saving more money right out of the gate. Also, it's a warmer climate, which would allow me to live without a car even easier. And there are plenty of free activities, like world-class beaches.
Lastly, the cost of living down here is really attractive. As an added bonus, I started making more money in the auto industry right out of the gate. So, my gap between income and expenses widened pretty sharply, allowing me plenty of capital with which to start buying stocks.
6: What is your advice for a 20-something person right out of college, who makes good money and wants to enjoy life?
Figure out what really makes you happy and go after that with all you've got. Money doesn't buy happiness. Flexibility, freedom, autonomy, relationships, love, and health are all major aspects of happiness, not the size of your house or the type of car you drive. You're young, but you won't be forever. Time is all we have. It's the most valuable commodity in the world, and it's non-renewable. Once time passes, it can never be re-gained. There are no do-overs in life, and every moment is a gift. Don't trade away your time cheaply. Pursue your passions.
7: Finally, what did you do last Monday?
I can't remember specifically, but it was probably like most of my days now. I woke up without the blaring of an alarm clock and then spent most of the day writing. I not only write for my blog, but I also freelance quite a bit. So I generally spend what most people consider a \"work day\" doing research for articles, writing, responding to emails, and answering questions for readers. I'm truly blessed.
","tags":[{"name":"How to Think","slug":"how-to-think"},{"name":"Change Your Life","slug":"change-your-life"},{"name":"Live Your Dreams","slug":"live-your-dreams"},{"name":"How Life-Changing Things Happen","slug":"how-life-changing-things-happen"},{"name":"Save Money","slug":"save-money"},{"name":"Opportunities to Save","slug":"opportunities-to-save"},{"name":"Build Wealth","slug":"build-wealth"},{"name":"Finfluencers","slug":"finfluencers"}]}},{"node":{"slug":"are-you-living-on-a-prayer-what-we-can-learn-from-jon-bon-jovis-1986-hit","feature_image":null,"title":"Are you living on a prayer? What we can learn from Jon Bon Jovi's 1986 hit","published_at":"2014-11-21T13:00:15.000+00:00","primary_author":{"name":"Steve Adcock","profile_image":"https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/ae0b2f8d459bad06e6d287fa4a74b1ea"},"html":"The 80s was a truly magical decade for music. Rock stars that we still hear on the radio today made it big, and some of the most recognizable song lyrics were popularized. Bon Jovi was no exception, and \"Living on a Prayer\" has far too many unfortunate links to people's financial situation in America these days.
![\"Jon](\"https://thinksaveretire.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Jon-Bon-Jovi-249x300.jpg\")
When it comes to financial independence, are you living on a prayer? Have you ever re-assured your spouse that \"Baby, it's okay, someday...\"?
How about this: \"For love we'll give it a shot.\" For the love of your spouse or kids, for the love of your family, for the love of your future self - or hell, for the love of all things small and furry, give financial independence a shot.
If you're always halfway there, you will never reach that point in your life when working becomes optional. Imagine for a moment waking up to the realization that your investments are holding strong, and your future happiness is no longer tied up in a job.
How many would jump for joy over the notion that work is completely behind them, and what they have to look forward to for the rest of their lives is pure and unapologetic bliss? Each day, happiness - doing what you want whenever you want. Imagine if that became your reality when you reached 40. Or, maybe 35.
If you start early enough, anything is possible.
And if you didn't start your quest for financial independence in your 20s (hint: I didn't), start now. It is never too late to begin putting true happiness in life first.
It is no fun living your life on a prayer. It won't be better someday unless you are proactive in your approach to saving money and reducing your spending. Start today by eliminating something from your life that you don't truly need. You probably won't have to look too far. I know that I didn't.
How about that morning Starbucks? Cut that expensive and needless habit out of your life and start contributing that same money to your retirement. For the cost of a Starbucks latte over 40 years, that money would add up to over $470,000 if placed in investments.
It's the same deal with cable or satellite TV, cell phone service, gas guzzling cars, weekly massages, gym memberships (if you don't use them)...
The point is to start somewhere, and START NOW. Financial independence is within the grasp of absolutely anyone, even if you don't plan on retiring early. The only question is whether or not you are prepared to change your life - I mean fundamentally alter your lifestyle - to turn early retirement into a reality. How important is that \"stuff\" in your life?
Is it worth another decade or two working for a living?
Rid yourself of a dependence on \"stuff\". Pick a day during the week and bike to work. Or at the very least, take public transportation. Use that same day to turn off all unnecessary electronics at home - the whole day. No computers, no cell phones, no television or radio. Nothing. Instead, spend quality time with your family. Take a walk or play ring toss in the backyard.
Take the opportunity to experience life from a whole new perspective. Happiness is not buried somewhere in your tablet. It's also not stuck in your television or computer. These are expensive dependencies, crutches for the sprained ankle of optimism and lifelong bliss.
Imagine being happy - deliriously happy, every morning that you wake up. Bright and full of energy, you are financially independent. You have no status reports to fill out, meetings to attend or presentations to give. You are truly free. Successfully, you have escaped the pull of retirement-killing American consumerism. Your neighbor might have a bigger television than you, but the hell with that. You're retired!
After financial independence, the only thing that you might work overtime on is that new patio that you are personally building onto your house, or tending to that out of control lettuce patch in your garden, or home schooling your kids. Things that matter. Things that derive happiness.
Baby its okay, someday. Make that \"someday\", TODAY.
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