Johnny Moneyseed ← Spend Less. Work Less. Retire Early.

If credit cards are getting the best of you, something’s wrong 16

Jun

2013

Recently, the Atlantic had published an opinionated article, telling us all why credit cards are making us bad people. The author supports his claims with a decent amount of scientific research on the topic that “proves the concept” that credit cards can make you spend more money, which in turn makes you a bad person. ...

Why are people still paying full-retail price for things? 29

Jun

2013

A few months ago, Mrs. Moneyseed and I realized that we’d never been on a single actual vacation since we got married three years ago. We’ve taken a few trips to see our families, which have always been nice, but those can hardly be considered “vacations”. To fill the void created by lack of travel, ...

“I only spend like $200 a month on food!” and other money lies I tell myself. 37

Jun

2013

Preface by J. L. Moneyseed: Mrs. Moneyseed and I have just returned from our week away from Real Life, where we were basking in the sun in beautiful Orlando, Florida. Well, actually we spent most of the time inside since the weather was more like a monsoon than the tropical climate we were hoping for. ...

Don’t get caught up in investment analysis paralysis 20

May

2013

After Mrs. Moneyseed and I got married (about three years ago), we started aggressively paying off our debts. We owed about $60,000 between student loans, car loans, etc. We carefully mapped out a debt repayment plan, and figured out, pretty accurately, the date that we’d be debt-free. Once our debts were almost completely paid off ...

Empower yourself through goal-orientation 21

May

2013

Whether you’d like to believe it or not, I think that most people are generally pretty good about setting and completing goals. However, these “goals” that people are so good at don’t really deal with improving their finances, relationships, or physical fitness (ie, things that actually matter). They’re typically more like shopping lists, or “to-do” ...

Pay yourself first. Here’s how. Part 2 21

May

2013

Here’s an obvious yet terrifying fact: Nobody’s going to save money for you. So, if you’re not willing to save then you’re kind of shit outta luck with no one to blame (besides yourself). The government may be saving money for you too, but who really wants to rely on that? While it doesn’t hurt ...

You really, really can save money. Here’s how. Part 1. 19

May

2013

We all know by now that the only reason that we aren’t all rich is because most people spend more money than they make. Since you’re reading a personal finance blog, and I’m writing one, I think it’s safe to say that we don’t want to be the type of people that have steady paychecks ...

Do you have an emergency fund? 42

May

2013

When you’re living a fast-paced lifestyle, or just a regular one like me, you may come across some out of the ordinary expenses that can impact your financial world pretty substantially. Especially when you aren’t prepared. But, guess what. Being prepared isn’t difficult whatsoever, it takes almost no mental effort and hopefully no physical effort. ...

A small setback in our Real Estate plans 22

May

2013

I had a revelation a couple of months ago that we lived too far away from our place of employment and that the mortgage on our current house was way too big. We were rushed into buying it originally and didn’t do any prior research to see how houses in the area were priced. Instead ...

Having a high income doesn’t make you “rich” 34

May

2013

One thing that drives me absolutely mental is the current American cultural definition of the word “rich”. Back in the day if you were rich you owned cities, or huge areas of land, maybe an island or two. You at least had your own skyscraper or oil mine. Today, a family that has a gross ...