Maximize ROI & Saving Tips

While a few people in the personal finance blogosphere might truly believe that budgets are sexy, most people probably think of budgets as a pain in the ass, and I would tend to agree.  The thing is, however, if you have ambitious savings goals, you probably really need a budget to help you stay on track.

Budgeting depletes your willpower by pitting long term goals against immediate satisfaction, causing psychological and emotional pain and sometimes even aggravating otherwise healthy relationships.  But, hey, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it, and we would have a lot more 40-year-old millionaires.

Read moreHow to Succeed at Budgets Without Really Trying

How long would it take you to become a millionaire if you were maxing out your tax-advantaged retirement accounts and nothing else?  What about if both you and your spouse were doing that together?  And when would you be able to retire?

Maxing out retirement accounts is not easy by any means, but it is a really nice concrete goal to shoot for.

Read moreHow to Retire Using Only 401K and IRA

What is the better choice for mowing your grass… a manual push reel mower or a walk-behind gas mower (push vs. gas mower)?  It really depends on your situation and priorities, but for the average joe, a push mower probably saves more money even though it takes a little extra time.

Push mowers have a lot of other benefits as well, including being much better for the environment, producing less noise, and keeping your grass healthier with cleaner cuts.  But they do have downsides.

In my experience, manual push reel mowers miss a blade of grass here and there, and when the grass is really long the problem gets worse.  And forget about chopping through small sticks and yard debris… this stuff will just dull the blades and jam the mower.

Read morePush Vs. Gas Mowers: Overall Comparison From an ROI Perspective

Welcome to my first READER REQUEST.  I love ideas for new posts, especially from readers.  This is my inaugural reader request, and I hope to do many more going forward.  A big thanks for the inspiration…

In this ROI analysis, I’m going to take a quick look at whether or not a smart thermostat such as the Nest Learning Thermostat can save you money.

Read moreDoes The Nest Thermostat Save Money?

Ah, a quintessential image of American manliness, a dude changing his own oil. Grease-stained jacket, crew cut, work rag, socket wrench in hand. Self-sufficient to the max, except the part about needing a very expensive piece of machinery to get from point A to point B.

Not that I have any room to judge; being a two-car household means we need our fair share of oil changes too.  On average, I would say that our vehicles get their oil changed a little under two times a year, although it should be less now that I started biking to work more often.

Oil changes aren’t a huge yearly expense, but forking over that $30 dollars is never fun.  What is even worse, however, is forking over $100+ dollars for all the extras you think you need.  I’m talking new cabin air filter, transmission flush, reverse light, etc.  Anyway, the point is, if you can save some money doing it yourself, why the hell not?

Read moreShould You Change Your Own Oil?

I have been wanting to cover this topic for a while now because it is pretty fun and lighthearted. Luckily I got just the nudge I needed last week when my Dad decided to try his hand at home-brewing.  A few years ago, this would have surprised me, but I have come to realize that my parents keep getting cooler and cooler with age.

So of course I got him to fork over the cost and time details for his first batch of hefeweizen, and I hate to break it to you, but from an investment perspective, it ain’t pretty.  But, really, who is brewing to save money?  Not me, and not most of my friends.  Brewing is a DIY activity that most people enjoy and take pride in, in and of itself.  Sort of like cooking, but cooler and more populist.

I mean, being able to whip up a soul-warming pho or some homemade sweet plantain arepas is pretty sexy, but nothing sells like making your own beer.  It just appeals to the masses.  Beer is the great unifier… even people at The Harvard School of Public Health say you should probably be drinking more of it.

Read moreBrew Your Own Beer For Fun, Not For Money

It is about that time of the year again.  What has been a relentless winter for most of the U.S. is slowly giving way to green sprouts and flowering buds.  Spring is in the air, and gardening season is upon us.

Don’t be fooled by my introductory rhetoric, however.  I am not a gardener.  Last year was our first attempt, and even in the temperate, lush Portland climate, there wasn’t a green thumb between the two of us.

Our poor results last year were a big motivator for this post.  I was hoping to find out that gardening isn’t worth it, but sadly, it appears that it (barely) is, or at least can be if you plan well.  Last year we planted beets, pole beans, cherry tomatoes, and squash in a small raised bed.  The only crop we harvested reliably was the squash.

Read moreGardening Costs: 400 Square Feet And a Spade

Here’s the dirty little secret you won’t hear too often in the early retirement community: income matters, A LOT.  A typical handling of the income conundrum goes something like this: “Yeah, it can be hard to retire early / save a lot with lower incomes, but it is still possible if you are determined.”  The sad reality that this attitude conceals is that, while it still may be *possible*, retiring early with a low-to-average income requires significantly more sacrifices.

Specifically, the average American household earning $50k per year probably won’t be able to retire in less than 30 years, even with a budget similar to Mr. Money Mustache, unless they are willing to give up some other basic necessities, which is asking a lot and living a life out somewhat out of balance in my humble opinion.

Read moreThe Dirty Little Secret About Early Retirement

Here’s the thing.  I used to eat out at restaurants so much that I decided to start a food blog in 2010 to keep track of all the fabulous meals I was having around NYC.  I didn’t want to forget them; I wanted to savor the memories.  I will say, looking back at the blog for the first time in a few years, I’m still really glad I documented it.  I ate some amazing food in NYC (and Portland), and I probably would have forgotten some of those experiences otherwise.

Anyway, I don’t dine out as much these days, mostly because I took a hard look at my values and decided that the excessive spending on foodie restaurants didn’t really align that well with my life priorities.  Luckily I like cooking too.

We cook a lot more now and go to restaurants just occasionally, usually as a treat or to socialize, which are happiness-enhancing behaviors (delayed gratification) and also fit better with our priorities.  Life is good under this new paradigm, and if you have similar goals/values/priorities and a weakness for restaurant food (and drink), I would definitely encourage a test run.

Read moreCooking at Home vs. Eating Out