SINGAPOREWelcome to Disneyland! Jk – it’s Singapore. And it’s basically a grown up Disneyland. I had no expectations when visiting Singapore, but was quickly blown away. I also realized that this is the first vacation I’ve taken in a few years that was not based on luxury and beach relaxation. Instead I was being a real explorer again! So I’ve decided to start a new series that catalogs tips I learned during my travels and how much it cost. Continue reading “Singapore: A Travel Blog”
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”
I wasn’t aware that I was a part of Navy Federal until my mom told me. Since my grandfather was in the military our family is able to join their bank. After becoming annoyed at the annual fee that’s tacked on TD Bank credit cards I explored Navy Federal’s options and found a wonderful 1.5% Cash Back credit card that I’ve been using for a few years. Continue reading “Good Bank Review: Navy Federal Credit Union”
I finally took the plunge. After 8 years I’m walking away from the iPhone and as a result breaking the shackles that tied me to AT&T. I was planning to wait until my contract with AT&T is complete in October 2016 before breaking my contract with them to avoid any early termination fee, but as I mentioned my phone bill recently doubled from $45 a month to $90 a month without even having unlimited data. And that is a straight up ridiculous amount to pay for a phone service I barely use (I’m mostly on WiFi). So I started thinking about breaking the contract early when something wonderful happened. I received the impetus I needed. Continue reading “Republic Wireless”
Learning about Personal Capital was another result of reading the amazing Mr. Money Mustache blog. Personal Capital, which I’d never heard of, is basically Mint.com but for investments. It also includes features similar to Mint.com that allow you to review your spending and income, but it is actually more difficult to add accounts to Personal Capital than to Mint.com and for that reason I haven’t added all of mine. In fact originally I only tried Personal Capital for a grand total of five minutes before closing my account because it was so unnecessarily difficult to add my accounts. Continue reading “Finance Tracker Review: Personal Capital”
Mint.com has been a lifesaver. For what it is, I completely love it. However, it does not deliver on its product promise, which is to help you understand where your money is going and as a result save money. Mint.com is wonderful for learning where your money is going. It makes it very easy to track every digital dollar and provides a colorful and clear explanation of your spending month to month and year to year. It’s seamless in that it draws information directly from your accounts like Personal Capital instead of you inputting it like in YNAB. Continue reading “Finance Tracker Review: Mint.com”
I originally turned away from YNAB (You Need A Budget) during my time using Simple (before the dark days) for a few reasons when I compared it to Simple:
Speaking of simple, this new age bank is unfortunately everything but. The original idea was a wonderful one: to do away with the old banks that we all have to deal with and replace them with one that puts customer service first and has no overdraft fees or minimum balances. I loved the concept and once I had heard from a few early adopters that their experience had been almost seamless decided to dive in. Continue reading “Bad Bank Review: Simple”