Category: Personal Finance

Book Review: Quit Like A Millionaire: No Gimmicks, Luck, or Trust Fund Required

Picture of a delicious-looking crêpe topped with ice cream sitting on a plate on a table beside the book Quit Like A Millionaire

This review is embarrassingly long-overdue. I won a free (signed) copy of the paperback in a contest on jlcollinsnh.com . It was a simple raffle, with no strings attached, but it is customary in circumstances such as these to review the book. Which has taken me a very long time to do because I am chronically ill/disabled, and for a long time, my brain was not working well enough to be able to read anything more taxing than social media or article abstracts. However, this year I have regained a bit of cognitive function, and have been able to read a few books, for which I am incredibly grateful. So, without further ado, here is my very tardy book review:

For a very long time, most of the voices in the personal finance space were male and white and economically privileged. In the US, that started to change in the 80s and 90s, with books like Making the Most of Your Money, by Jane Bryant Quinn (1991); Your Money or Your Life (YMOYL), written by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin (1992); and The Tightwad Gazette I, II, and III, written by Amy Dacyczyn (1992, 1995, 1996).

Personal Finance books started to reflect some societal changes, such as women in the workplace, with credit cards in their own names, money to invest, and the desire to plan for their financial security and their retirement. But the voices were still predominantly white and higher socioeconomic status (SES). Even the book The Millionaire Next Door (1996), which featured examples of men who had become wealthy in (mostly) blue-collar professions and who discussed their down-to-earth lifestyles (as contrasted to splashy millionaires on TV like those featured in Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, or fictionalized in the shows Dynasty and Dallas), mostly referred to their wives as stay-at-home coupon-clippers (in other words, they could afford to be single-income families, and the husband was the breadwinner).

As I began my adult life, I learned to get rid of debt and to begin to save. But once I reached that point, I was baffled about what to do next. No one *I* knew had investments or retirement accounts. The most financially-savvy people I knew had Christmas accounts, which saved an allocation from your paycheck each month so that you could withdraw your savings at the end of the year and be able to afford the extra expenses of the Christmas holidays. (That’s what they were called, and no one seemed to acknowledge that not all employees celebrated Christmas.)

In fact, to back my story up even further, I was a first-generation college student. And, boy, did I *not* know what I was doing when I went through middle school, high school, and college! The expectation that I would *go* to college was crystal clear and frequently reinforced, but how to get accepted to college, how to select an academic major, and how a college degree translated to getting a “good job” afterward were pretty mysterious to me. I pretty much flailed my way through all of it.

As I tried to learn about personal finance, I eventually turned to the personal finance section of my local public library and read nearly the entire section. Most of those books were helpful, but didn’t represent my circumstances. So imagine my delight, years later, to read a book written by someone who came from similar circumstances. In fact, in many ways, her childhood circumstances had been far worse than mine. While I grew up below the poverty level in America, Kristy Shen was born in abject poverty in Communist China.

In Quit Like a Millionaire, Kristy talks about things I never saw mentioned in other personal finance books, such as:

“When you’re poor, your choice isn’t between Barbie and My Little Pony. Your choice is between food, heat, and medicine, in that order.”

Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung, Quit Like a Millionaire, p.4

I remember My Boomer Parent begging the apartment manager for more time to come up with the rent payment. I remember the phone or the electricity being turned off because the bill hadn’t been paid. I remember having no medical insurance for most of my childhood, and therefore never seeing a doctor or a dentist. I remember finding ways to get to extracurricular activities (in order to have a college-worthy resume) because we couldn’t afford to own a car. But these are experiences I seldom saw represented in the personal finance/Financial Independence (PF/FIRE) communities.

Most people are talking about how to go from being well-off in affluent countries to being even better off, so that they can afford to stop working altogether and even travel the world. (Which is, in fact, what Kristy and Bryce have done – quit working and travel the world.) But Kristy is one of the only people talking about getting to that point after starting at a point so very, very far away from that – a point at which her family lived on forty-four cents a day.

While I enjoyed all of Kristy and Bryce’s book, the parts that resonated the most with me were the ones in which Kristy talks about education.

“Around the world, education often remains the only way out of poverty.” – Kristy Shen & Bryce Leung, Quit Like a Millionaire, p.24

Education was my pathway out of poverty, and it was Spousal Unit’s pathway out of poverty as well. And when I read chapter four, in which Kristy talks about how she selected both a college and a degree program based upon how much the associated career would pay after graduation in relation to how much the tuition was to attend said college and complete said degree, I suddenly flashed back to ninth grade.

Where I grew up, middle school/junior high consisted of grades 7, 8, and 9, and high school consisted of grades 10, 11, and 12. In the spring semester of ninth grade, guidance counselors came from the high school to the junior high school to help process our transition between schools in the fall. I distinctly remember the guidance counselor asking me what I wanted my academic major to be in high school. I was not prepared for this question. Not only did I not know I would be asked this question, I didn’t know what an academic major was, let alone which one I should select. The guidance counselor was very patient with me as I asked him numerous questions, but he refused to answer when I asked him which major was the “best” or which one I “should” major in. He insisted that I had to select for myself, and that he would not influence my decision.

I’ve thought about this moment a lot over the years, but it wasn’t until I read Quit Like a Millionaire that I finally fully understood this interplay. The guidance counselor might have had many reasons for not wanting to influence my decision. But he never understood my fundamental questions, which I didn’t myself know how to express: “Which academic major in high school is going to lead to the most career opportunities later in my life? Which academic major is going to lift me out of poverty? Which academic major will lead to financial security?” Eventually, I chose to major in math and science in high school, which led to a full-ride scholarship for college, a guaranteed job after college, and ultimately, financial security and financial independence.

But in ninth grade, what I was really asking the guidance counselor was, “How do I prepare in high school for a secure job in the future where I can make enough to pay my bills?” However, as well-meaning as my guidance counselor was, he couldn’t understand the questions I didn’t know how to word, because he didn’t have the same frame-of-reference I did: Poverty and determination to get out of poverty. Like Kristy, I wasn’t thinking about what classes I might enjoy in high school, or what my passions were. I was thinking about survival. The guidance counselor was asking me clarifying questions like “What do I enjoy?” and “What are my aptitudes?” None of that mattered to me then. From a survival mode, all I wanted to know is how to secure a J-O-B. “What would make me marketable?” Like Kristy and her dad, I wanted to know how to turn education into financial security.

Unlike me, Kristy found a way to express and quantify this idea, and her Pay-Over-Tuition (POT) calculation (pp. 27-28) has stayed with me ever since I read this book, and it’s a tool I highly recommend to others.

If you are financially comfortable, you might have the luxury to study whatever you desire. If you’re not, then Kristy’s calculations can help you decide where to go to college, how much to pay for college, and what academic major/future career to select, in such a way as to pursue the greatest potential rate-of-return.

Of course, as we’ve seen with the recent upheaval in the computer technology career space, there are no guarantees. Economies change. Politics change. The best you can do is make the best decision you can at the time with the information you’ve got. Quit Like a Millionaire helps you make those decisions.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading Quit Like a Millionaire and hearing voices and experiences represented with which I could identify. I hope we will continue to see more personal finance content that represents a broader range of the human experience and the financial experience. Everyone can benefit from access to financial information and financial conversations, and sometimes it helps to hear from a voice with which one can more closely identify.

NOTE: I was not compensated in any way for this review, other than having won a free copy of this book in a contest in exchange for my honest review.

Our Biggest Financial Liability is My Boomer Parent


Personal finance is personal – each person/family has a unique set of circumstances. Many of the loudest voices in the personal finance space are those of privileged individuals who have not had the additional struggle of providing for family members. But the experience of providing for or assisting family members is not uncommon, and I think it’s important to see that experience represented, and to talk about how it affects one’s financial journey.

We recently received our annual property tax estimate for the home in which My Boomer Parent lives, which prompted us to sit down and calculate how much it currently costs us to keep a roof over My Boomer Parent’s head. Which, in turn, caused me to realize that My Boomer Parent is our greatest financial liability. (Although the mortgage on the house in which we live is currently our biggest monthly expense, the expenses for the additional house in which My Boomer Parent lives is our second-biggest monthly expense, and would be our greatest expense if homeowners insurance hadn’t soared here in Florida. Between insurance where we live and taxes where My Boomer Parent lives, the costs of both houses keep increasing, and compete for which one costs us more. But we also occasionally help My Boomer Parent with other expenses as well.)

Supporting My Boomer Parent started out slowly and increased over time, much like the proverbial frog being cooked in a pot of water. First, my step-parent lost their job and was forced into early retirement. Without my step-parent’s income, my parents could no longer afford the monthly rent on their apartment in a high cost-of-living area (HCOL).

So, we moved them to a much lower cost-of-living (COL) area and bought them a house to live in. We figured this way we wouldn’t have to worry about them not being able to afford housing. They agreed to reimburse us for the monthly mortgage payments. This arrangement worked well until my step-parent abruptly passed away.

My Boomer Parent has always refused to discuss their finances, but they’ve always been working class. There isn’t much money to stretch. I helped them apply for Social Security benefits after my step-parent passed away. There was also a very modest pension. But, over time, their mortgage reimbursements to us dwindled and then stopped. We could afford to absorb the expense because Spousal Unit was still working, because we were frugal with our spending, and because we had purchased the house in a low COL area before house prices had skyrocketed. We took over the house payments because we felt like keeping a roof over My Boomer Parent’s head was the right thing to do.

A few years after my step-parent died, My Boomer Parent wanted to move to live closer to family. The new location was a higher cost-of-living area than where they had been living, but lower than where they had lived when step-parent had to retire. We sold their house and bought them a new, more expensive house (but still before housing prices skyrocketed). Spousal Unit was still working. We discussed the fact that this house was more expensive, but My Boomer Parent did not offer to reimburse us for any of the expenses. (They do pay for their utilities.)

Property taxes are much higher in the new location. (Their old state was in the lowest quintile for property taxes. Their new state is in the highest quintile.) The new house is located within a Homeowners Association (HOA), which has an annual fee. (Previous house did not have an HOA.) We also pay for insurance on the house and maintenance and repairs to the house and property.

More years passed. Real estate prices skyrocketed. Property tax assessed values increased significantly. And Spousal Unit has been retired for over a decade. We have worked diligently to decrease our fixed expenses. But the expenses for My Boomer Parent’s house keep increasing.

Spousal Unit and I are financially secure, due to a lot of hard work, some privilege, and some luck. [I acknowledge the role that all three play, and credit Angela Rozmyn of Women’s Personal Finance with putting the idea into words.]

As we toiled to become financially secure, we also assisted and provided for our parents and several of our siblings and nieces and nephews along the way. There are a lot of emotions that go along with that, but I am grateful that Spousal Unit has never resented our decisions to provide for our family members, even after I stopped working and Spousal Unit was carrying more of the financial burden. (Although, after more than two decades of paying for an additional house for My Boomer Parent to live in, and as the costs continue to climb, Spousal Unit is getting a little frustrated.)

To be honest, we never expected, when we made the decision to help my parents, that we’d be paying all of the expenses for decades. We thought we were helping My Boomer Parent and Step-parent get back on their feet after a setback, and helping them transition from a situation that was no longer sustainable to one that would be. I guess we are a cautionary tale about unintended consequences. Despite everyone’s good intentions, helping a family member financially can put a big strain on your own finances. Also, be very careful about deciding to co-sign a loan or a lease for a family member (or anyone else), because you might be stuck making the payments and if you can’t, your credit rating will be damaged and the debtor can sue you. It’s normal to want to help your loved ones, just try to do it in ways that won’t destroy your own financial security. [We’re fine. Just trying to pass along some financial wisdom.]

Reaching financial security while assisting family members and providing housing to several family members along the way has been more difficult than doing it without those extra expenses/responsibilities. Not gonna lie, sometimes I envy people whose parents have assisted their journey through life. But I also appreciate what I have gained by standing on my own two feet and working hard to leave poverty behind and reach financial security. However, I acknowledge that not everyone has the same privileges I have had, especially health privilege when I was younger, to be able to reach financial security through hard work. I also acknowledge that the current economy is very different than it was when I was working toward financial security.

If you choose to help your family financially, one challenge is to help them without enabling them to become financially dependent on you or enabling them to continue to make bad financial decisions. And another challenge is to be able to help loved ones without undermining your own financial position, if for no other reason than that you cannot continue to help them if you have nothing left to give. While we have succeeded at the second, I’m afraid we may have failed at the first. Given My Boomer Parent’s age and financial situation, we will most likely be paying for their housing expenses for the rest of their life (unless/until they need assisted living care). And while I do not want to see them out on the street, it’s also hard to avoid occasionally thinking about all of the other things Spousal Unit and I could have done with all the money we have spent housing My Boomer Parent for decades. There is an opportunity cost to spending one’s money helping others financially.

These are just a few aspects of the choice to help one’s family financially. There are others I didn’t cover here, such as the potential strains it can put on a marriage/partnership. Furthermore, helping one’s family financially is not just a financial decision, but also can be an emotional, spiritual, and/or culturally-based decision as well. No matter how you frame it, helping family members financially multiplies the number of people in your financial plan, and makes reaching your financial goals more challenging. It’s time we acknowledge that, and include these voices/stories/case studies in the personal finance space.

Have you helped family financially? What lessons have you learned from the experience? What advice would you give? Please share in the comments below.

Resolution Update: One Week

[This got lost in the ether. It should originally have published 15 JAN 2024]

It’s been a week since I posted my resolution to update my estate paperwork.

So how am I doing with my resolution? This week, I have been working on my annuity. I transferred the funds to a different investment (same account, same company, different sub-account), and I printed out the hardcopy paperwork required to update my beneficiary.

I also looked at outlines for updating my will, advanced health directive, and Power of Attorney. The U.S. Air Force has online guidance that enables you to prepare in advance before meeting with an Air Force lawyer to complete this paperwork. This news article gives a good overview of the Air Force legal assistance website. And this link is where you create an account and get started. The data you input is retained for 90 days – after that, it is dumped and you would have to start over. This legal assistance is free of charge for active duty military, their eligible family members, and retirees. In some circumstances, it is also available to reservists.

This week I also did some research on my burial arrangements. Spousal Unit knows the basics: how, where. But I did a bit of deeper digging into the specifics. I do have Croak Book materials that I purchased and downloaded, but we haven’t created the binder and filled it in yet. [A Croak Book is a binder full of information about your bills, investments, funeral arrangements, etc. that you leave behind as a road map for your executor/next-of-kin.] I purchased a copy for My Boomer Parent and created a binder for them to (hopefully) fill in, to make it easier for the family when they pass, but haven’t created ours yet. The burial arrangement information would go in this binder, to make it easier for our survivors/executor.

It’s going to take a while to complete everything on my estate planning checklist, but I’ve made a start. Now I’ve just got to keep making progress.

How are you doing with your New Year’s resolutions?

How Did I Do with My 2024 New Year’s Resolutions?

It’s another new year. So how did I do with my 2024 New Year’s resolutions? Well, let’s just say that I’m carrying most of them forward to 2025.

My resolution for 2024 was to review and update my estate paperwork. This consisted of multiple parts:

  • Update my advanced medical directive/living will
  • Update my medical power of attorney
  • Update my VA advanced medical directive
  • Submit my updated advanced medical directive/living will to my healthcare system (specifically to the hospital ER I use when injured)
  • Update my will
  • Review the beneficiaries on my investment accounts and update as necessary
  • Make sure my designated executor knows where to find my updated estate paperwork

In all honesty, I didn’t get very far with these tasks in 2024. After a couple of false starts, the legal paperwork remains un-updated. The only one of these objectives I accomplished in 2024 was to review and update the beneficiaries on my investment accounts. One of seven objectives accomplished. So I’m rolling the rest of these over into 2025.

I have no new resolutions for 2025. I’m just gonna keep working on last year’s. Leftover resolutions, if you will. These are important, so I’m just going to keep working on them until they’re done.

New Year’s Resolution 2024

I got sick after Thanksgiving and I continue to run behind. Christmas Cards have hit a snag and not gone out (yet?). And I didn’t think I was going to make any New Year’s resolutions this year either. (I often don’t). But inspiration has arrived (a week late), so here is my 2024 New Year’s resolution:

I resolve to update my estate planning paperwork this year.

To begin with, my will is very out-of-date. I need to change the primary and secondary executors, and I probably need to change the secondary beneficiaries as well. While you should update your will with every major life change (marriage, divorce, children, etc.), it’s also a good idea to review your will periodically as other circumstances change. For example, if one of your executors or beneficiaries dies or becomes estranged from you. Or as your net worth grows. Maybe your designated beneficiary would not be capable of handling a larger inheritance, or would need assistance to do so. This Kiplinger’s article includes 12 reasons you should update your will, including a few I hadn’t even imagined (like losing the hardcopy of your will). In my case, no major life events have affected my will, but some minor ones have, and I wasn’t periodically reviewing my estate paperwork, so I didn’t notice that I would no longer be satisfied with the outcomes of my estate settlement as written.

I’ve mentioned this before, but it’s really important to stay on top of this paperwork. In the military, I saw death benefits distributed to ex-spouses rather than current spouses or children simply because the service member had not updated their paperwork. In my own life, I’ve seen what happens when someone dies with an outdated will or when the named executor for a couple has a conflict of interest. It’s painful to experience an estate being settled in ways that you know go against the deceased’s wishes at the time of their death. And it can even lead to legal battles or extended probate that can be very draining for the estate, the executor(s), and the loved ones. Do the work now so that your loved ones don’t have the hassle later. Do the work now so that the government doesn’t wind up with assets you could have avoided giving them. Do the work now so that your beneficiaries are provided for in the way you wish them to be. Whatever your motivation, use it to propel you into action.

While I’m at it, I’m also going to update my durable power of attorney and my advanced directive for healthcare. Interestingly, when I became eligible for VA healthcare, I was required to do separate advanced directive for healthcare paperwork with the VA – they would not accept the one I already had. The VA paperwork, however, did not need to be drafted by a lawyer or notarized. I simply filled it out at my VA healthcare facility. However, since each VA facility is different, I don’t know whether my current VA facility (in a different state) still has my advanced healthcare directive paperwork on file and whether they accept it. Even if they do, contact information for my designated healthcare representatives has changed. [So that’s a reminder for me to check with my current VA facility and ensure it’s squared away.] Also, now that more healthcare “paperwork” is online, many healthcare systems are requiring that you bring a copy of your directive to the facility to be entered into their online systems. So don’t assume that a loved one bringing a copy of your advanced directive while you’re in the hospital receiving care will be sufficient anymore – you may need to have gotten it accepted by the relevant healthcare system ahead of time.

We don’t carry life insurance as we have no income that needs to be replaced or children that need provided for, but if you do have life insurance, you would also want to periodically review it to make sure you have enough coverage for your current needs and to update beneficiaries as necessary.

If you are in the military or are an eligible veteran, you also should periodically check DEERS (the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System) to make sure your beneficiary information is up-to-date and correct. This includes the who, how, and where. Make sure the DoD knows who all of your beneficiaries are, how much you want to leave to each (percentages of benefits), and how to contact each of them. If you don’t review this data and make sure it’s current, this is how money winds up going to an ex-spouse or other beneficiary you no longer want your death benefits to go to.

Additionally, you should periodically review the beneficiaries on any investments that you have. Make sure your accounts have primary and secondary beneficiaries that reflect your current desires. IOW, make sure your money would go to the people you want it to go to. This often changes over time, so you can’t just “set it and forget it.” (Unless you don’t care what happens to your money after you’re gone.)

In summary, if you care what happens to your hard-earned money after you’re gone, you should review your estate planning paperwork periodically (and in conjunction with every major life event) to keep it up-to-date and make sure it reflects your desires as you progress through life and circumstances change.

Since I very much care what happens to my hard-earned money, in 2024 I resolve to:

  • Update my advanced medical directive/living will
  • Update my medical power of attorney
  • Update my VA advanced medical directive
  • Submit my updated advanced medical directive/living will to my healthcare system (specifically to the hospital ER I use when injured)
  • Update my will
  • Review the beneficiaries on my investment accounts and update as necessary
  • Make sure my designated executor knows where to find my updated estate paperwork

Does anyone else want to commit to updating their estate paperwork in 2024? Let me know in the comments – we can be accountability buddies.

Financial Concerns – How a U.S. government debt default would affect my military family

Right now, the U.S. political parties are at an impasse over raising the debt ceiling. According to the latest projections from the Treasury Department, the U.S. government could start defaulting on its debt as soon as 5 June (2023).

The U.S. government has never defaulted on its debt. If it were to do so now, the effects would be felt throughout the world, due in part to the use by other nations of U.S. Treasury bills and U.S. dollars. Not to mention possible effects on the U.S. stock markets and those reverberations globally.

Such brinksmanship has happened a few times previously in the U.S. And government shutdowns have also happened before (as they are threatened to possibly happen again now). But this time it feels different, for a couple of reasons.

My primary reason for concern is the bitter, unyielding, mean-spirited partisanship that we have seen on display in the Congress (and the U.S. writ large), for several years now. I no longer have confidence that politicians will be rational actors, concerned for the well-being of the nation. Instead, they prefer to fight like junkyard dogs, concerned only for their definition of “winning.”

My more immediate cause for concern is the fact that my primary bank, USAA, has previously given its members “guarantees” on their government pay during previous government shut-downs, in the form of depositing our paychecks, pensions, and disability checks as normal and making the funds available to us despite not having received the money (yet) from the government. This has been invaluable to many military families.

But USAA suffered its first ever loss last year ($1.3B net), and I don’t know whether they will again front us the money if the government shuts down, which would cause a serious liquidity issue for our family.

To be sure, USAA is not required to make funds available in our accounts which the U.S. government has not released. They have done so in the past as a courtesy. If they were unable or unwilling to do so this time, I would not hold that against them. But we would definitely have to tighten our belts!

Right now, military pension and VA disability are our only sources of income. Spousal Unit started teaching a course at the local college this year, but SU’s summer course didn’t get enough enrollment, so no teaching income this summer (right when it could matter most).

We are very fortunate that we have investments, which we could use to pay our bills, but we’d really rather not pay a higher tax bill this year because we needed to cash out some equities to cover an unexpected loss of income due to political shenanigans.

What about an emergency fund? Aren’t I always recommending one? Yes. Touché, dear reader. In fact, we had been in the process of rebuilding our emergency fund when this manufactured crisis reared its head. We currently have only 1-2 months of expenses in our emergency fund (which is still better than nothing!). The money lasting 1-2 months is predicated upon us turning off pay-in-full autopay on our credit cards (which we were using for home improvements) and only paying the minimum balances until the crisis is over.

We will also have to postpone the financial and physical help we were planning to extend to several family members this year. Financially, we can’t give what we don’t have, and the physical help would require travel plus the purchase of materials for the project, and that suddenly isn’t in the budget anymore.

Additionally, we are concerned about My Boomer Parent, who would lose their Social Security check if the government defaults on its debt and shuts down. We have always been financially secure enough to assist them until now, but losing all of our income could make us unable to help them this time. (Or, again, we could help them by dipping into our investments and paying a higher tax bill to cover government malfeasance.)

We have been living a comfortable FIRE lifestyle, cash-flowing our expenses from our secure military pension. But we have lived much more frugally in the past, so we have skills to draw upon.

Belt-tightening Measures: During the ride to my medical appointment this week, Spousal Unit and I discussed the expenses we could trim. Cable TV, which we’ve only had since I became chronically ill, would be first to go. We will also be eating down the pantry, which is full of staples like lentils, rice and beans, and the chest freezer, which is full of meat bought on sale, and only buying fresh produce from the store.

We also have some canned meat (chicken, tuna) in our pantry, as well as plenty of rice noodles. Proteins stretch further when served in dishes like soups, stews, stir-frys, casseroles, etc. [Learned that in Survival School!] So we’ll be stretching our meals with noodles, rice, beans, etc.

Thanks to a tip from the blogger known as Military Dollar, we have a stockpile of dehydrated refried beans in our pantry. They’re a great staple and we eat them at least once a week. All you have to do is add water and heat!

We can easily catch fresh fish here, which we have been eating about once a week – we can eat fish more often. We learned from Alaskans to substitute fish for other proteins in dishes like spaghetti or lasagna.

We don’t have much of a garden yet. We currently grow lemon grass, ginger, and pineapples. Growing more produce is something we’ve been wanting to do, though we don’t have much land. We will be able to harvest seagrapes once they mature late this summer. We typically make syrup from them, as we haven’t been able to make it set for jelly. We could probably also harvest coconuts from obliging neighbors. As long as we buy some limes, we should be able to prevent scurvy. 😉

We will also review our accounts for recurrent charges. We don’t have very many – we try to avoid monthly subscriptions – but it’s always good to periodically review as they can creep in.

Rainy season has begun in South Florida, so we will be watering our plants less, which should help reduce our water bill. Cutting cable TV will help with our electric bill. We have plenty of books to read, and can get more from our public library (including with the Libby app).

Other Income Streams: Spousal Unit will be teaching again in the Fall, which will bring in a little income. If necessary, they could teach more classes per semester, which would bring in more (non-federal) income. I could consider monetizing this blog. We could withdraw money from our investments. We will almost certainly use up our emergency fund.

Stop-Gap Measures: We could look at Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) interest rates and compare them to the interest rates on our credit cards. It might be cheaper to apply for a HELOC than to run up credit card bills, if the rates are more favorable. We could also look into loans against our equities, which I know very little about, but have learned about recently. We could also turn off the “reinvest interest and dividends” option on our investments, so that these would be paid to us directly, rather than being reinvested.

To be clear, Spousal Unit and I will be okay. It’s (hopefully) just a short-term liquidity issue. Many of my chronically ill/disabled friends will feel the pain of a default/shutdown much more direly, especially the ones whom the government prevents from having assets. I am acutely aware of our privilege.

I’m blogging about this for several reasons:

  1. To reduce my stress by thinking through my options.
  2. To highlight the effects of the default/shutdown on military families (and government employees, and seniors, and the disabled, and…)
  3. To acknowledge that the current U.S. political climate is making me reconsider my retirement plan. Our military pension and VA disability benefits are not as fiscally secure as they once were.
  4. To consider the ripple effects through our family if we can’t help family members due to our own lack of financial security. A big enough crisis takes down us all.

Bottomline: Given today’s political climate, it would behoove us to increase our emergency fund to 6-12 months worth of expenses, as a shock absorber, whenever we’re able to do that. In the meantime, we’ll brush off our extreme frugality knowledge and skills and tighten out belts. We’ll also explore stop-gap liquidity measures and re-evaluate our retirement plan.

Note: While I rarely talk about politics on this blog, as this post shows: personal finance doesn’t happen in a vacuum – politics are embedded in finance and vice versa.

Note: If you, too, need to tighten your belt, and you’d like some frugal ideas, I recommend The Tightwad Gazette books (also complied in one volume now as The Complete Tightwad Gazette), written by the Frugal Zealot, Amy Dacyczyn. She’s one of the OG’s of frugality, FIRE’d *before* FIRE was a movement, *and* did it all as an enlisted member’s military spouse. Her book(s) are chock-full of great frugal ideas.

No Spend January – Results

So how did I do at not spending any discretionary income in January? Well, I did spend more than $0, but I have no regrets.

As planned, I spent discretionary income for one restaurant meal – our quarterly dinner on the way home from medical Botox injections. Spousal Unit & I thoroughly enjoyed it, as usual. [We ate in our vehicle, because we’re still not dining indoors.] We also bought lunch at the grocery store on this trip, but one could argue that belongs in the groceries category, rather than discretionary income. Either way, it’s what we do once every quarter, and I always enjoy it very much.

Other than that planned expense, I also spent discretionary income this month on presents for a couple of family members. In addition to these presents, we also paid for postage to pass along a few things we no longer use to 1. a family member and 2. a friend who wanted them. [Downsizing for the win!]

And I bought more anticavity fluoride mouthwash, which arguably would fall under a budget line item for sundries, but it is notable as the only thing I bought from Amazon this month.

So I did spend some discretionary income this No Spend January but I still consider it a win because the spending fast *did* reset the profligate mindset I had in December.

[Note: When I reconciled my credit card statement for January, it reminded me that I also spent for Patreon support of my favorite podcast, The Golden Ratio. Gotta remember those subscriptions!]

I was strongly tempted once this month to get takeout, but was saved from myself by the fact that the restaurant was closed when I attempted to place an order. (Thus leading to my discovery that they’re only open for breakfast and lunch.) Since then, I have had no major cravings for takeout.

I was also tempted several times to buy things I need/want for ongoing house renovations (which arguably are also things one could plan for in one’s budget). But I resisted because the greater goal was to reset my spending mindset.

Since I am an abstainer, once I go off the rails in December, I need a spending fast in January to get back on track. (Resetting from ALL to NOTHING.) However, it is also true that I could just set aside a designated amount to spend during the holidays and stick to my budget, and hopefully that would prevent me from getting into the SPEND mindset. Maybe I’ll try that this year.

As far as the criticism that some people manipulate the challenge by shifting their spending to the month before or the month after a no-spend month? To be fully transparent, I do intend to order some of those home renovation items in February. My goal for January was to reset my spending mindset, which I believe I have done. But the projects still need to be completed.

However, I will continue to try to resist takeout meals in February. We have house guests coming in March, so I hope to defer my eating out and entertainment spending until then.

In the mean time, we will continue to eat down the pantry, and we will continue to catch fresh seafood. It’s really not a deprivation to avoid takeout when you have the ocean’s bounty to (sustainably) enjoy.

RESULTS: I did not succeed in spending no discretionary income in January, but I spent in alignment with my values (one treat meal, presents for family, healthcare item, podcast that brings me joy).

CONCLUSION: I found that this No Spend January made me reflect on the excesses of the holidays (not only spending but also eating). I think I’ll try this year to resist the temptation to buy ALL THE THINGS and eat ALL THE THINGS by being mindful of the fact that I am an abstainer and that it is so easy for me to get derailed by the holidays, and by enacting some safeguards ahead of time to keep me from getting off track and needing to spend at least a month afterward recovering.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: I acknowledge that it is a privilege to have discretionary income, and that it is a privilege to have enough money to be able to splurge at the holidays. It is also a privilege that I did not have any emergencies come up during January to force me to spend money, discretionary or otherwise.

BOTTOMLINE: No Spend January *did* reset my spending mindset, as expected. If you are a moderator, you may not need this or find it helpful. If you are an abstainer, give it a try and see what you think. It might be just the ticket to get you back on track.

Curating our lives

We’ve still got too much stuff for our small house. So we’re sifting through it, piece by piece, item by item. To use a current buzzword, we’re “curating” our lives, winnowing down to the essentials. The things that are beautiful or useful, as William Morris said.

‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be beautiful or believe to be useful.’

William Morris

It’s difficult *not* to accumulate stuff in America, given our consumerist, capitalist society. Manufacturers and merchants use psychology to manipulate us, to entice us to buy more, to spend more. Growing up in a soup of advertising, we assume consumption is what one does and we influence each other to do it, reinforcing the messages we see every day.

In the early Nineties, Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin challenged us to figure out what our personal “enough” was. Their book, Your Money or Your Life, was more than just a challenge to figure out how much money you need in order to pay your bills without working. They were also challenging us to figure out how much “stuff” we really needed to be happy, and how we can focus outward instead of inward, sharing with others when we have more than enough.

How much stuff do I need to be happy? The first time I went to Saudi Arabia, we stayed in 10-person tents in very basic conditions. We each had a cot and a foot locker (to keep the rats and spiders out of our stuff). The tent had one light bulb – the entire tent was either “light” or “dark.” And the tent was an open bay – no privacy.

But over time, as we returned to this base on future trips, the accommodations gradually got somewhat upgraded. We each got a nightstand. Then we each got a small lamp for our nightstand. That felt like a huge luxury – we could each have light when we wanted it, without having to negotiate with the entire tent’s inhabitants! It felt like such a luxury. Eventually, we even got dividers for our tents, so we could each have a small private section of the tent. That meant we could grab naps when we needed them, without being disturbed by other people’s lights or noise.

We really had very little, but it felt like enough. In fact, it felt like luxury. (Those lamps – a big deal!) And when I came home from these trips, the amount of stuff I had in my house felt overwhelming. SO MUCH STUFF! Far more than the basics plus a little luxury. Far more than “enough.” Rather than making me happy, my stuff was stressing me out.

Every time, I’d vow to get rid of extraneous stuff. I wanted to have that same feeling at home as I did overseas – that I had the amount of stuff that made me grateful. But American life is also overly busy, and I’d get distracted after maybe giving away a box or two of stuff or selling a few things.

So here we are, many years later, still surrounded by too much stuff. We’ve been able to give away some things this past year to people who could really use them, which feels good. But we still have a ways to go.

Wish me luck as I use this No Spend January to reflect on my spending and face the fact (again) that I already have more than enough.

Feeling Resolute

What can I say? After years of no New Year’s resolutions, this year I’m overflowing with them. Mostly because I seem to have gotten an energy bump this January, so I’m taking advantage of it.

This particular resolution, if that’s what you want to call it, is to spend no money in January. IOW, this January I am reigning in my discretionary spending. I tend to be perhaps a little too generous/spendy during the holidays, so I find being intentional about my spending in January helps me reset that spending mindset (which is strongly encouraged and reinforced by all the holiday marketing!).

I find that I get into a mindset of not being as critical of my spending during the holidays, and this helps me reset so that I stop and think before I spend. Plus, an uber frugal January helps offset the excesses of December and get my budget back on track.

Although I got the idea from Mrs. Frugalwood’s “January Uber Frugal Month Group Challenge,” I don’t participate in her groups when I do my January reset. For me, it’s enough to know that it’s January and I’m on a spending fast. However, if group support would be helpful for you, consider joining her group challenge next year. (I don’t know if this year’s groups are still open.)

I acknowledge that it’s a privilege to have discretionary income (money left over after paying bills, buying gas & groceries, etc.). And that it’s a privilege to be able to spend freely (however one defines that) during the holidays. When I was young, my family did not have that privilege, and I am grateful for it now.

So far, it’s January 10th and I haven’t spent any money. But I will be making my quarterly trip to the VA hospital for medical Botox injections later this month, and I plan to stop for Mexican food on the way home – my quarterly treat. (AKA, one “cheat day” from my spending fast.)

Otherwise, no restaurant meals this month. (Which we’re still getting to-go, because COVID.) We’ve got plenty of food in our pantry and freezer (also a privilege), and of course we can buy groceries as part of our normal monthly expenses. And no rationalizing other discretionary spending.

Hopefully after a month of resisting the urge to spend, I can break the holiday-inspired attitude of “I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it.” The January uber frugal money fast usually does the trick.

[This approach works for me because I am an abstainer, not a moderator. If you are a moderator, perhaps a different approach would work for you. Or perhaps you moderate your spending during the holidays and don’t need to get back on track after the holidays because you never got off-track.]

Do you splurge over the holidays? What techniques/tricks/hacks do you use to get your budget back on track in January? Or do you set a spending budget for November/December and stick to it? Please comment below.

Baby Stepping During the Global Pandemic: Money Steps

This post will make more sense if you’ve seen the movie What About Bob?

In the movie, Bob has many fears and they severely constrict the way he lives his life. Until a helpful therapist suggests that Bob take baby steps to conquer his fears – tiny actions that Bob can accomplish, which will give him confidence and enable him to live a better life.

There is a lot of fear, during this time of COVID19. Health fears, money fears, safety fears, relationship fears…

I am proposing that baby stepping our way can help us to cope with our situations despite our fears.

Crew Dog, onesickvet.com

I want to talk about money, and money fears, during this global pandemic, but it is challenging for me. I spend most of my time online in two communities: Personal Finance/Financial Independence Retire Early (PF/FIRE) and Chronic Illness/Disability (CI/D). There are financially struggling individuals in each community, but the topic of money feels much more fraught in the CI/D community – many folks are struggling to have their basic needs covered, many are unable to work at all or unable to work full-time, many are dependent upon others for financial support, and disability “benefits” don’t pay enough to cover essential expenses.

How do I share my money story without sounding inconsiderate or oblivious to their struggles? My story is not the same as the stories of people who have been CI/D their entire lives, or whose disabilities are much greater than mine. My chronic illnesses/disability started after I had built a firm financial foundation. I am acutely aware of this privilege.

So who am I to talk about money fears in a time of global pandemic? In the interest of transparency, I feel compelled to acknowledge that I am currently financially secure. However, Spousal Unit and I both grew up working class and experienced the struggles of keeping a roof over our heads and food on our tables.

In fact, our parents’ financial struggles are what motivated us to become first generation college graduates, seek secure jobs, and save money.

We each transitioned from scarcity to sufficiency. In my case, I decided in the early days of my military career that I needed to learn about money and how to handle it wisely. So I went to the public library and checked out books on personal finance. Books on how to save money and books on how to invest money. Books on *why* to save money. Some of these books I liked so much I bought my own copies, which have survived numerous moves across continents and still reside on my bookshelves.

Now, of course, there are blogs and podcasts and vlogs and so many other methods of learning about money.

But if you have fears about losing your income or stretching your income to meet needs in a time of pandemic, I recommend you take a baby step or two. Start with Amy Dacyczyn’s books: The Tightwad Gazette (available in three separate volumes or as a compiled volume with some additional content).

Amy Dacyczyn’s books describe how she managed to achieve her dreams of having a large family and buying a “rural pre-1900 New England farmhouse (with attached barn)” as a SAHM with a military enlisted spouse. IOW, in the early 1990s, this family had an average income of less than $30,000/year. Nevertheless, they saved 43% of their gross income, had no debt, bought their dream farmhouse (with attached barn), and had six children. They were FIRE way before FIRE was a thing – Stone Age Frugal.

Yup. In order to accomplish these goals, Amy and her husband Jim were stone cold frugal. In fact, friends and family called Amy “The Frugal Zealot.” Because she had big dreams and small income, Amy pinched her pennies until they screamed.

In her books are practical, tangible methods for ways to save money. Some of these, like shopping at yard sales and thrift stores, you won’t be able to do during the current restrictions. But many of them you will. These books are packed with information ranging from how to give an inexpensive but fun birthday party to how to cook inexpensive meals from scratch. Amy does research and answers questions such as whether it is cheaper to hand wash dishes or use a dishwasher, and what you can do with dryer lint (assuming you don’t line-dry your clothes).

I promise you that I will make nothing if you buy these books. (I haven’t even figured out how to set-up an Amazon affiliate link.) In fact, I suggest you get them from your library if you can. I don’t know Amy, I’ve never met her, and we’ve never corresponded.

But when I was young, I learned how to be smartly, efficiently frugal from Amy Dacyczyn (The Frugal Zealot). And when I was newly married and neither of us knew how to cook, we learned how to make cheap, easy, tasty meals from these books. We learned which penny-pinching techniques were worth our while and which weren’t.

So I highly recommend The Tightwad Gazette in this time of economic upheaval. Baby step your way toward feeling more in control of your economic situation by reading and applying these books.

Readers: If you have other resources to recommend for money baby steps in these trying times, let us know in the comments. Thanks!