Ideas on Personal Finance
Most people are good at only a handful of things; and mediocre to utterly miserable at the rest. All our lives we are told to improve ourselves by working on our weaknesses. But when it comes to Financial Independence (FI), I have found this approach to be counterproductive. There are many ways to achieve financial … Read more
It is common to see headlines like “Inflation hits multi-decade high” or “Unless your salary goes up 8.5%, you are losing money”. While these headlines grab attention, they may not be relevant to you. Everyone’s inflation rate is different. The overall inflation rate is 8.5%, which is the average for everyone. Your rate could be … Read more
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Our Gifting Culture It was late at night. We had just returned from our cousin’s housewarming party when my phone rang. It was my cousin calling. ‘Did we forget something in their house?’ – I wondered as I picked up the phone. “Hey! Can you guys come back again tomorrow afternoon? We need help with … Read more
The simple difference between working for money and having money work for you can be the difference between being poor or becoming wealthy! It’s your lucky day… Someone comes up to you and offers to make money for you. Even better, they expect nothing from you! Initially, you think that it is a joke. But … Read more
The real cost of an item is not just the number that appears on the price tag. The Real Cost Before buying anything, it is important to know the cost of that item. Not the amount etched on the price tag, but the actual cost. The actual cost to you! The philosopher Thoreau said: The … Read more
Saving on utilities is easy and can lead to huge savings over time. Here are a few tips for saving money on utilities that I have used. Why Saving on Utilities Matters? Utilities are often an ignored expense area. Maybe because we take things like electricity, water, gas, internet, etc., for granted. However, it can … Read more
Why saving strategies don’t work Saving money is the most powerful way to get to Financial Independence (FI). However, spending money is fun and saving is not. So it is important to have saving strategies that are easy to follow and can be sustained. I learned this the hard way when I started saving. I … Read more
Transportation does not seem like a big expense item. But there are many components in the transportation area – vehicle cost, maintenance, repairs, insurance, petrol / gas, etc. Add all this together, and transportation can be up to 10% of monthly expenses. How I save money on transportation 1. Not Leasing or Financing a Car … Read more
I was skeptical if I should save money on health insurance. As it turns out, I was able to save a lot by making a few changes! Health insurance was the second biggest spend item for the Finer household (after housing). For the longest time, I did not pay attention to how much we paid … Read more
After struggling to track our spending for a long time, we came up with a simple method. This helped us gain many insights into our spending and eventually helped us get to Financial Independence (FI) a lot sooner. Background: Tracking Our Spend Just like everyone else, we were skeptical about tracking our spending. It is … Read more