Flannel Guy ROI

Personal finance types, myself included, often recommend making small lifestyle changes to save more money for retirement.  A prominent example is the latte effect, which holds that cutting out a daily cup of coffee can theoretically save 1,000’s of dollars (it can).  This kind of advice, however, really gets under some people’s skin.

Take Annie Lowrey for example, one of my favorite economic reporters from the NY Times, now working at NY Magazine alongside another of my favorites (on the political side), Jonathan Chait.  Lowrey recently had a feature on Mr. Money Mustache, but before that she published a short critique of the latte effect advice typically dished out by personal finance gurus.

Read moreThe Trimurti of Household Budgeting

Without a doubt, car commuting is the Enemy of the early retiree.  Using a car regularly is costing you BIG dollars and keeping you on the financial treadmill longer than necessary.  Not that I don’t understand the allure of car ownership.  The car lifestyle is extremely convenient and enjoyable, but it is very clear to me now that it just isn’t worth the cost.

This is an important topic, so I plan to cover it in two parts.  This is the first part and looks at how much money you would save by getting rid of your car completely in favor of other modes of transportation.  The second part will be a similar exercise, but less severe since it assumes you keep your car and just use it less frequently.  The idea is that a 2+ person household could more easily eliminate one of 2+ cars while a single person household is more likely to simply use a car less.

Read moreCar Commuting: A Bad Proposition – Part 1

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