Is it better to work and be broke, or to rely on welfare? Recently, I was talking about my sister who works as a nanny, earning about $1,800 per month. After she covers work-related expenses and pays another nanny to take care of her own child, she’s left with about $350. Now, she’s also dealing…
This week I’m hitting the four-month mark here in Guatemala. Since catching the travel bug back in 2003, I haven’t spent many consecutive months in one country. After a round-the-world trip that ended in 2004, I lived in Guatemala from 2004 to 2006 but was always on the move, exploring the region, returning to Europe,…
It’s been a while! I’m using this quarantine period to dive back into journaling and blogging in a more personal way, hoping to keep both you and me entertained. It might seem like you’ve missed a lot of updates, but I’ll do my best to fill you in as we go along. In the meantime,…
In a recent post, I shared a simple method to calculate your debt’s weighted average interest rate. For example, if you owe $1000 at an interest rate of 6% and another debt of $2000 at 0%, your total debt is $3000 at an average rate of 2%. This rate is crucial because it represents the…
Planning for your retirement, and your financial future in general, is incredibly important. Given the current economic climate and the debt our governments are grappling with, relying solely on a pension isn’t a safe bet. You’re likely going to live longer than your parents did, and you’ll want to enjoy your retirement without the stress…
**Finding Your Community** This post is part of a 30-day series called the 30 Steps Program to Financial Independence. You can check out the list of other posts here. Over the past few days, we’ve explored ways to become more self-sufficient to achieve financial independence. The more you can do on your own, the less…
There’s been a lot of chatter lately about handling debt. On one side, some believe you should stop enjoying life until you’ve paid off all consumer debt, pouring every extra dollar into your debt snowball. On the other side, some argue that life is too short, and debt shouldn’t make you miss out on good…
Google Reader Here’s a list of some blogs I follow, which I usually check out through Google Reader whenever I get a free moment. The first few blogs are some of the top personal finance (PF) blogs out there. If you found my blog before these (really??!!), I highly recommend checking them out for some…
It’s been a while since my last blog! During this quarantine, I’ve decided to get back into journaling and blogging, using a first-person voice to keep both you and me entertained. It might feel like you’ve missed an entire season, but we’ll catch up as we go. In the meantime, stay safe and keep washing…
When I had a job in hospitality, a wealthy family came in one day with their daughter, who had just lost a tooth. I asked her if she was expecting a shiny coin from the tooth fairy, and her mother said, “Money isn’t very important to us. The tooth fairy usually brings nail polish or…