Consumer Debt? Think D.E.B.T.!

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Consumer Debt? Think D.E.B.T.!

I’ve read a lot about personal freedom recently on social media.

My conclusion? Despite what marketers try to sell us, personal freedom does not come from having all the right stuff.

If anything, our pursuit of "having it all" ends up costing us years of work and clutters up our living spaces, our garage and even *gasp* a rented storage unit or two.

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We Accumulated $429 of Stupid Tax In Just Three Days

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We Accumulated $429 of Stupid Tax In Just Three Days

The online Personal Finance community talks a great deal about the cost of payday loan operations—especially now that they’re popping up on every corner and seem more pervasive than McDonald’s. We also talk about our out-of-control consumerism that leads us towards spiralling levels of debt, especially credit card debt and HELOCs. But there’s one thing we don’t talk about enough when it comes to what can put a dent into our finances: fines & traffic violations.

Mr. F2P and I were painfully reminded of this fact last week. He and I had a lot on our plate and a scarcity mindset [in this case a lack of time] created by our respective preoccupations left us a distracted mess.

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Here's What Kills Our Negotiation Power - Part 1

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Here's What Kills Our Negotiation Power - Part 1

A recent post by J. Money over at Budgets Are Sexy called “11 Awesome Money Ideas!” provided some unique and creative ideas from fellow readers of his blog on how to help us think differently about money, all thanks to clever actions dreamed up by these eleven contributors. 

I appreciate the curation of ideas such as these because thinking differently about money is usually the easiest way of changing our behaviour, even though it can feel a bit chicken and egg sometimes.

That blog post also caused me to reflect on this idea of thinking differently and how doing so has changed our approach toward many monetary transactions, especially when it comes to negotiating. 

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Exercising Good Judgement: How Money Affects Our Behaviour

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Exercising Good Judgement: How Money Affects Our Behaviour

I’ve often heard that money only amplifies who we are. If we’re a giving person, money will only make us more giving. If we’re an a**hole, money will only make us a bigger a**hole. 

I don’t disagree with the above, but I think we’re ignoring the other end of the spectrum: believing we don’t have “enough” can have the same effect. 

Being tight on money because we have too much debt or don’t feel we’re where we need to be in life (career, love, savings) also amplifies who we are and how we use money to affect others.
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My Kind of “Polished”

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My Kind of “Polished”

I used to get a manicure and pedicure every month or so in my spendthrift days, but now I go for a pedicure only once or twice a year or when my feet are in major need of a little TLC .

Now that I’m doing more public speaking, which means wearing uncomfortable dress shoes more often, it was time for another appointment. I asked if Mr. F2P if he wanted to come with me, given his feet could also use some attention thanks to the abuse they endure at the hand of his nasty steel-toed boots. He said "Absolutely!".

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