LivingAlmostLarge - trying to live large  ...one step at a time

Slacking Off Pays

October 26th, 2008 · 10 Comments · Savings

Does being lazy help you save money? It does for me.  I am pretty lazy when it comes to doing things so I try to automate everything.  I automate most of our bills and most of our savings.  This way we can pay all bills on time and without worry.
Should you automate yourself?  I have [...]

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Paying Bills Once a Month

October 22nd, 2008 · 5 Comments · budgeting

I pay all my bills once a month.  Unless I had a lot of unexpected charges on the credit card, say an expensive mattress, home repairs, tuition, etc, I know approximately what my bills are on the 1st of every month.
I keep like I’ve mentioned before a large buffer in my checking account, about one [...]

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Short, Middle, and Long Term Savings

September 12th, 2008 · 9 Comments · Savings, budgeting

Yesterday I talked about life “after debt”.  I questioned if it’s easy to live after debt and when your life lacks focus. I found it a lot harder than life while paying off debt because I didn’t have any set guidelines for how to save.  I still don’t have hard fast rules but I’m trying to [...]

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After Debt?

September 11th, 2008 · 25 Comments · Debt, budgeting

I noticed a lot of people are very focused on getting out of debt.  They are “gazelle” intense and snowball or snowflake their debt out of their lives.  But what happens “after debt”?
When people become debt free does their lives change?  Are they able to revert back to their free spending ways or has their [...]

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California Budget Crisis

August 20th, 2008 · 2 Comments · Economy, budgeting, career

I got a phone call from a friend in California.  Apparently California is in a budget crisis and state lawmakers are refusing to ratify a budget.  Okay so what does this mean? 
Well she and her fellow workers were informed that they would be getting paid minimum wage from 8/1/08, until the budget was ratified.  They [...]

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Should we deviate from our goals?

July 28th, 2008 · 13 Comments · Debt, Spending, Student Loans, budgeting

At the end of 2007, I set out goals financially for us to achieve here.

Max out 401k - on track
Max out Roth IRA 2008 - done
Max out ESPP - done
Cash Flow $20k tuition - done
Not take out student loan of $8500 - debating
All cash month - done

It’s not yet the end of the year but [...]

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To buffer or not?

July 3rd, 2008 · 17 Comments · Spending, budgeting

The age old question of whether you should buffer you checking account is one many people ask?  Honestly, I think you should have a buffer in a checking account.  But how much?
A lot of people say they take their checking down to $0 or $5.  Most people who do this, will pay their bills and [...]

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Poll: Grocery Spending

July 3rd, 2008 · No Comments · Frugal, Spending, poll

Well I guess it’s time to post my results.  What do most people spend monthly on groceries?  It appears that the majority of people spend at least $100/month per person to over $150/month.  I am in the $100-$150/month category personally and I think it’s dead on. 
I could probably do it cheaper but with rising prices [...]

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