Well that happened. Apparently I now have a 800 credit score according to Equifax (not that I trust them at all – so many breaches. Goodness people). Nevertheless it’s fun to see and hilarious since I’m such a credit card churner. An 800 credit score with an average credit card age of less than 2 years 🙂 . It’s possible. To 850!
As part of my many retirement charts I’ve created one that shows visually how much I’ve saved in $10,000 increments. The market is already going gangbusters in 2018 (though who knows how long it will last) and as a result without any paycheck I have more than $250,000. Originally I was just excited to fill in another bubble on my visual net worth sheet and enthralled by the fun of thinking about having “a quarter of a million,” but I just realized something: $250,000 is half of what I need to retire. I’m halfway there! That’s crazy! And based on the magic of compound interest my money will keep working for me and start earning money faster than I can. It looks like I’m halfway to retirement money-wise and less than halfway in regards to time: 2 years and 11 months to go!
It’s about 30 days before my trip to Singapore: my first time in the country. I’m visiting because I was invited by a Seattle friend of mine (and former colleague) who grew up there. We’ll be staying in her Mom’s apartment in its many empty rooms. Luckily I’ve met her mother and got along with her well. It should be a fairly frugal trip all things considered. Continue reading “An Accidental ATM Fee”→
2017 is at an end. Let’s see how I did with my goal to decrease my spending $4,491.86 from $22,491.86 last year to $18,000. Reaching this goal would prove to me that I can live on $18,000 in retirement though I’m budgeting to withdraw $20,000. The $2,000 buffer would be used for additional healthcare expenses and unexpected costs. 10% of my retirement budget would be a buffer. This safety nets make me feel like I have a warm security blanket wrapped around me. So let’s see how I did!
We recently added a new hobby to our permanent repertoire. The stereotype of a Seattleite is a crunchy, liberal, outdoors person…and I must admit that’s pretty much accurate 🙂 . In Manhattan weekend activities included going to bars, going to bottomless mimosa brunch and complaining about your week. It was a bit of culture shock when we moved to Seattle because weekends are completely different. Continue reading “Frugal Mini Travel: Camping”→
I’ve been playing with the idea of owning a Kindle for over a year now. I vacillated between thinking it would be a helpful addition to my life and thinking it was too much for what it adds ($80). Currently I read on my phone or computer depending on where I am. I prefer actual books, but find them unrealistic to bring on a lot of travels. I also love the wonder of library eBooks that allow me to read anything without leaving my home (Laziness FTW?) Continue reading “Buying A Kindle For 50% Off”→
It’s been exactly 3 years since I became serious about my finances and as a result starting using the budget tool YNAB. In that time I’ve saved $129,653.89 on my own. That doesn’t include any stock market appreciation. That’s crazy. I saved an average of $43,217.96 a year despite being funemployed for a total of 6 months, paying big money to moving across the country and having 3 different jobs at 3 different companies. I also got a friend interested in the company and he ended up working there :). As a result I have some awesome YNAB swag and stories that make me fangirl. Continue reading “3 Years on YNAB”→
Well that happened. Apparently I now have a 800 credit score according to Equifax (not that I trust them at all – so many breaches. Goodness people). Nevertheless it’s fun to see and hilarious since I’m such a credit card churner. An 800 credit score with an average credit card age of less than 2 years 🙂 . It’s possible. To 850!
As part of my many retirement charts I’ve created one that shows visually how much I’ve saved in $10,000 increments. The market is already going gangbusters in 2018 (though who knows how long it will last) and as a result without any paycheck I have more than $250,000. Originally I was just excited to fill in another bubble on my visual net worth sheet and enthralled by the fun of thinking about having “a quarter of a million,” but I just realized something: $250,000 is half of what I need to retire. I’m halfway there! That’s crazy! And based on the magic of compound interest my money will keep working for me and start earning money faster than I can. It looks like I’m halfway to retirement money-wise and less than halfway in regards to time: 2 years and 11 months to go!
It’s about 30 days before my trip to Singapore: my first time in the country. I’m visiting because I was invited by a Seattle friend of mine (and former colleague) who grew up there. We’ll be staying in her Mom’s apartment in its many empty rooms. Luckily I’ve met her mother and got along with her well. It should be a fairly frugal trip all things considered. 
This year I had more than just monetary goals. They were:
We recently added a new hobby to our permanent repertoire. The stereotype of a Seattleite is a crunchy, liberal, outdoors person…and I must admit that’s pretty much accurate 🙂 . In Manhattan weekend activities included going to bars, going to bottomless mimosa brunch and complaining about your week. It was a bit of culture shock when we moved to Seattle because weekends are completely different. 
I’ve been playing with the idea of owning a Kindle for over a year now. I vacillated between thinking it would be a helpful addition to my life and thinking it was too much for what it adds ($80). Currently I read on my phone or computer depending on where I am. I prefer actual books, but find them unrealistic to bring on a lot of travels. I also love the wonder of library eBooks that allow me to read anything without leaving my home (Laziness FTW?)