Ideas on Personal Finance
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
Although I am a big FIRE fan, there are certain instances when Financial Independence (FI) may not be the right thing to do. Background on the List There is nothing that works for everyone, no matter how good it is. The same is true for Financial Independence (FI). Although I am happy to have been … Read more
Lifestyle Inflation is a silent killer of wealth. Thinking differently about Lifestyle Inflation may help in dealing with it. What is Lifestyle Inflation? Lifestyle inflation (lifestyle creep) happens when people spend more and more money to achieve a higher standard of living. Lifestyle inflation can occur in any area – from everyday expenses like a … Read more
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Working towards Financial Independence (FI) is great! However, the WHY of Financial Independence is also equally, if not more important. Importance of WHY Many years ago, I watched a TED talk on How great leaders inspire action. I was a consultant back then, and this talk was focused on how companies can get better. However, … 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
Thinking of retiring early? These three steps helped me create my Financial Independence / Early Retirement plan. Financial Independence / Early Retirement Planning Financial Independence / Early Retirement is a worthy goal, but it requires a lot of planning and preparation. Planning for early retirement is also important because we are good at short-term thinking … Read more