Today I had the opportunity to ask Glen at Free From Broke a few questions about his personal finance goals and history. Free From Broke is a top quality personal finance site. It chronicles a journey from credit card debt to being, as the name implies, a lifestyle free from debts and worries.
This guest post was written by Jason, the proprietor of Live Real, Now, a blog focused on spending–and saving–in the real world. It was written for a blog swap run by the Yakezie personal finance blog network to answer the question “What motivates you to be financially responsible?”
I am on an unpaid leave of absence due to the birth of my daughter last spring. I was given a very generous leave of absence (14 months!). I am using this as a trial run to see if we can live without my salary so that I may stay home when my kids are little. As a result, I have to question every single purchase every day.
Like all of you, I sometimes feel frustrated with my financial progress. We read big numbers about compound interest, saving, investing, and having a better future. Some days, however, we look at our accounts and feel like we are not making progress. I have a few methods to overcome financial frustration that I want to share with you.
Chances are, you have a bunch of bills to pay each month. I pay my credit card, power bill, phone/internet bill, two student loans, water/trash bill, and my rent each month. All but one of those offers “Autopay,” a direct withdrawal from my bank account each month to automatically pay my bill. Is that a good deal?
I live paycheck to paycheck. There you go, I admit it. However, I am there intentionally. We all make choices in our lives that impact our financial situation. Sometimes those choices have the unintentional affect of making us live paycheck to paycheck. Others give themselves enough financial flexibility that they don’t worry about their bank account balance. I propose something completely different.
