The subscription ran out on my MagicJack the other day. I knew it was going to happen; Katie needed money for her field trips so I used the budgeted amount on her instead. That is the beauty of applying minimalism to money; you take care of the important stuff and don’t worry about the rest. [...]
…Total strangers contact you just to hit you up for money. I had that happen recently on Facebook. Some dude hit me up to cover a $3,000 cold check he apparently wrote. I told him to give back whatever he bought, fix whatever caused the check to bounce and have a nice life.. right before [...]
I paid my bills today. All $473 dollars worth. For this money I receive: ● A snug home to live in. ● Electric to heat with, keep the lights on, use the computer, etc. ● Water to wash with and septic to flush it away. ● Trash collection (mostly used by my neighbor). ● Internet [...]
Tonight was the first of several after school rehearsals for the chorus concert next month. Rather than drop Katie off I took my laptop so that I could work while she practiced to save on gas. As they rehearsed I opened my latest project and continued from where I had left off—or tried to, anyway. [...]
In today’s world search engines are a must. Some kids resist using them, instead preferring to use Mom or Dad as their own personal encyclopedia. Katie was horrible for it. To combat this I gave her my Swagbucks account and told her she could redeem the points on whatever she wanted. She quickly earned enough [...]
There was a time when I thought running on the hamster wheel was the only way to live. I used frugality out of necessity but dropped it like an old rag whenever I could. I worked at a factory that made transmissions for riding lawnmowers. It was dayshift; I worked 8-10 hours a day, 4-7 [...]
When it comes to aquariums most folks think that if it doesn’t come out of the fish section of a store that you can’t use it in your tank. Nonsense. Last year I traded some computer work for a 55-gallon aquarium. I was literally operating on a shoestring back then but I still managed to [...]
I have heard from some readers that it is impossible for everyone to pay cash for a car. Some even accused me of being unrealistic. I disagree. Whenever you purchase a vehicle off a lot you have to present the dealer with a sizeable down payment. Instead of using that money for a down payment, [...]
Daniel Suelo left his last $30 in a phone booth 12 years ago and walked away. That was the last time the man used money. I heard about this man on one of the many articles sweeping the internet promoting Mark Sundeen’s book The Man Who Quit Money. The title definitely caught my attention. Was [...]
Five years ago in April of 2007 I bought a van for $500. It needed a transmission so I had a rebuilt one installed and factored that into the purchase price. As a result I managed to purchase a 1999 Ford Windstar van for $2,000 complete with a warranty on the transmission. Here’s Katie posing [...]
I combine minimalism with frugality to live the life of my dreams. I hope to inspire you to follow your dreams as well.
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