What Does Added Sugar Have to Do With Spending Money?
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If you make enough money, removing the “added sugar” from your budget is a great way to free up money – guilt-free! – for things you just *want* to buy.
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Job Search (& Survival) Tips: Figure Out the Bad You Can Live With
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During our lunch, Beverly told me she couldn’t give me a job, but she was happy to talk me through the job search process and share with me how she made her decision on which firm to choose from among her several offers. "No firm/job/boss is perfect. There are going to be bad things about any job you choose. The most important thing to do before and during the interview process is…”
Read MoreThe Time I Bought Amex Gift Cards with My Target Card: Desperate Money Hacks to Avoid Payday Lenders or Missing a Payment
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This list is intended to be for temporary financial situations - like a government shutdown, for example, or the time between graduation and a job start date. This list is not specifically intended to be used as a general money management strategy, but frankly, if it helps you get current on your bills, have at it. I’m not going to judge you improving your situation if improving your situation right now would mean a 16% interest rate on a credit card vs a 300% APR on a payday loan.
Read MoreSurviving Semi/Unemployment: I Lived Off of My Credit Cards Because Spending an Emergency Fund is Actually Terrifying
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I know using credit cards will cost you money. And this may not be the solution for everyone, but it worked for me, and you shouldn’t feel ashamed if you’re facing some kind of paycheck interruption and you don’t want to (or can’t) rely on your emergency fund for any meaningful length of time. Do what you have to do to stay afloat.
Read More2018 was The Year of Mental & Physical Health. 2019 is The Year of...
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2018 was the year I committed to my mental and physical health, pretty much no matter the cost. It was the year of 2x/week personal training, weekly therapy, binging ER, and letting my brain rest when I wasn’t working on my blog or doing things with my people. The foundation is sustainable enough that I can build on it BIG TIME in 2019 without spending nearly as much money.
Read MoreYou Need Emergency Friends Just As Much As You Need Emergency Funds
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A lot of people talk about, and even celebrate, burrowing on their debt free journeys. They turn down social invitations. They revel in their nights in, alone. Don’t get so caught up in a debt-free, wealth-building, or self-improvement adventure that you neglect to build that community.
Read MoreMoney Lessons I Learned From Friends: Chandler Bing
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One of the things I love about Chandler is his strong story arc. He learns to be in an adult relationship after he and Monica have their first fight and develops emotionally over the course of the show. He also ditches his corporate career near the end of the series to pursue something different, riskier, and more creative. And, of course, Chandler is a model of personal finance success.
Read MoreMoney Lessons I Learned from Friends: Ross Geller
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One of Ross’s “things” is that he enthusiastically loads up on hotel toiletries and other “free” items in hotel rooms. Chandler gets into it and returns with some great items (USA Today, two apples - “Nice! We’re only 4 apples short of a bushel!” squeals Ross), but the record scratches when Chandler reveals salt and pepper shakers. Ross is beyond appalled and tells him: “You have to find the line between stealing and taking what the hotel owes you.”
Read MoreMoney Lessons I Learned from Friends: Rachel Green
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Anyway, I was thinking about my previous post about Minimalism in which I mention “everyone should have a Monica Closet,” and I thought about all the other things Friends characters taught me about money. Turns out the Friends dealt with money in their lives and with each other quite often! And not always very well…up first, Rachel Green!
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For me, there has been an undercurrent of anxiety and grief that is hard to describe…but essentially, it hasn’t left room in my brain for much more than the essentials and, in my downtime, relatively mindless entertainment.