Danny Lee Mrs. Frugalee and I have had “budget meetings” before, but I consider today our first REAL budget meeting. We both sat down to look at how much we actually spent in February (we tracked spending using the Every Dollar app/website) and examined each category together. I call this our first REAL budget meeting because … Read more
We started tracking our spending this month on the Every Dollar app/website. I created a trial budget for February 2016 to compare how much I think we spend in each category vs. how much we actually spend. I was pretty accurate on most of the categories since most of our spending is relatively fixed every month. However, … Read more
I made a small adjustment to my paycheck today and decided to max out my TSP (Thrift Savings Plan, basically the 401(k) for federal employees). The contribution limit is $18,000 in 2016 for those 49 and under. Those 50 and older can put away an additional $6,000. I get paid biweekly (26 times a year), … Read more
(Scroll down to the bottom to see Mortgage Goal Progress) UPDATE: We ended up selling this condo on April 19, 2019. You can read about it in the April 2019 Update here. I set a goal to pay off the mortgage by 2020. Now it’s time to think about what it’s really going to take, and … Read more
For the past three nights, after my son went down to sleep, I went out for a few hours to drive for Uber. Before I started, I figured I would quit after one day after seeing what’s it’s like, but it’s been really fun! Last night, I drove into D.C. for the first time as … Read more
“Contentment comes not so much from great wealth as from few wants.” – Epictetus Lately, I’ve been exploring and practicing minimalism, and I realized how much it goes hand in hand with improving personal finances. What is minimalism? Here’s how The Minimalists define it: Minimalism is a tool to rid yourself of life’s excess in favor of … Read more
If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans. – Woody Allen In my previous post, I mentioned my goal of achieving financial independence (FI) by 2025, but I truly believe that, ultimately, my plans are in God’s hands. With that being said, I also believe that if we are good stewards … Read more
I just turned 30 a few months ago, and my son (below) just turned 1 a few days ago. Both of these milestones made me reflect on my life and my family’s future. I decided to change the path we are taking and blog about it. What is this blog about? I’ll be writing about personal finance, financial … Read more