Could you Cover an Unexpected Bill in Cash?

cash

For many years our household could not cover an unexpected bill in cash. We simply did not have a plan for our money even though we had a large income. We were living paycheck to paycheck. This meant no cash savings. When an unexpected bill …

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Am I Frugal or Cheap?

Am I frugal or cheap is a question I recently asked myself. I consider a lot of things when trying to come to a conclusion. I considered my income, the things I am willing to pay for, and the things I am not.

After much thought, while mowing my lawn, I’m not sure of the answer. So I’d figure I’d open it up for discussion here on the blog in hopes to come to come to a final solution on my frugality or cheapness.

Before we do that, let me state my case. Here ‘s the overview of the three areas I consider when trying to answer the question myself.

Income

Now income, as a number I don’t believe can define someone as frugal or cheap but helps sets a baseline. The starting point for comparisons. Someone making twenty-five thousand dollars a year would have a different baseline than someone making seventy-five thousand a year for their level of frugality or cheapness.

Our family makes a six-figure income. So our baseline in pretty high. We do live in the Northeast. Long Island, New York to be exact, where property taxes are high, and general cost of living is above average. Here’s is one of my favorite memes to explain.

frugal or cheap

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Connecting More Offline in an Online World

Over the past couple of weeks, two of my favorite blogs were sold. There were various reason for their sale, but gaining back valuable time to dedicate to offline high priority items were a common goal for each site’s sales.

I can relate. It’s one of the main reasons I’ve moved to a once a week posting schedule here at Debt Discipline. It has been a fantastic move. Sure my overall numbers are down, and I haven’t produced any epic, earth moving posts with the additional free time, but my goal of connecting more in the real world is on track.

Blogging is a great outlet. You don’t need anyone’s approval other than your own to start a site. Its reach can be worldwide and often validated through readers comments and emails. It does, however, have a bit of an introvert feel to it. Similar to having all of your conversations via text or email. It can leave you wanting a bit more of a connection to the real world or real people.

That is one of the main reason I started volunteering my time and getting involved in my local community several years ago. I wanted to take what I was sharing and learned from my blog and other blogs to others offline, firsthand. One little step has grown into something larger, today.

offline

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My Parent’s Financial Story

I don’t ever recall my parent’s specifically sitting down with me to talk about the topic of personal finance. I do remember asking questions along the way when I was old enough and aware of money and the cost of things. Even though we did …

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