Net Worth Update: $339,921.97 (Down $40,000!!!) + MORE

June Highlights and Lowlights

Vacation! – We took a 2 week road trip vacation to California. It was a ton of fun, but we also spent quite a bit of money. We paid for the trip in May and June so it’s spread out over two months.
Net worth – It’s mid year so I thought it would be a good time to update the value of our properties…

Living in a developing country definitely has its unique challenges, many of which I’ve written about before. However, the one prevailing complication throughout my entire time living in Grenada has been banking. I pay my bills in two different currencies, and I pay all of my bills in cold hard cash!
For example:
Rent: U…

If you have a net worth of $1 million or more, I’d like to interview you for an upcoming post (you would be anonymous, I just need you to answer some questions.)
If interested, drop me a line.

Now that kids are out of school and summer is in full swing, you might be looking for something to do to keep everyone busy and make sure they’re having fun. Here are some free things you can do with your family this summer:
1. Go to a local water park
Most larger cities have free public water parks that they open up in the Summer…

When it comes to making a career change, we usually get caught up in the mechanics of the change itself. Do I have the necessary skills? Can I learn those skills if I don’t? How quickly will I be re-employed? How secure will the new career be? Will I have to make a geographic move?
Those are all important to considerations, but if you have time to prepare for the career change in advance, you might want to take a close look at your finances…

My hair is usually really short. When I wash my hair, I want to use just a little bit of shampoo – makes sense, right? It doesn’t take much to fully lather up my hair.
The problem is that shampoo virtually always comes in a squeeze bottle. When I grab that in the shower and turn it over to get just a little bit of shampoo, it’s incredibly easy to get way too much on my hands…

Put good stuff in.
Keep bad stuff out.
I’m writing close to a dozen posts on preventing and containing health care costs over a two week period, but if you take nothing else away, let it be this: in order to keep your health costs down (before insurance comes in to play at all), you must:
1. Put good stuff in to your body (nutrition, healthy food, rest, sleep, water, clean air, exercise)
2…

Ugh. What a perfect storm.
Between moving, renovating, losing my wife’s income, and just having an overall crap month in the markets and with business, our net worth takes a major nose dive into the 10% mark and gives us our biggest drop we’ve quite possibly ever seen since tracking our worth…

This post is from staff writer Kristin Wong. A couple of weeks ago, I sent off my quarterly estimated tax payment. This is never fun, but there’s always a part of me that’s thankful when I drop that envelope in the mail. I’m thankful that I’ve budgeted for this payment. I’m thankful that it’s not coming out of my emergency fund, the way it did a couple of years ago, when I lost all of my savings to one giant tax payment…

We recently shared how to get the best sunscreen for your money. But if you skimped on lotion or just forgot to apply it, there are some remedies to avoid.ShopSmart magazine, published by Consumer Reports, has a list of things that won’t help with a sunburn:Pain-relief sprays. Most of these contain benzocaine or another anesthetic, which some people are allergic to…

There are two main ways of getting ahead. Do everything you can to improve your own situation or try and cut others down to come out with a stronger competitive advantage. The second way is obviously the loser way to get ahead. Anybody who employs this method will likely always be dissatisfied with what they have because they will be constantly envious of others…

If only we could charm all police officers into letting us off a speeding ticket. Unfortunately, not all of us are so charismatic…or attractive. If you’re breaking the legal speed barrier, it’s best to see the cops before they see you. Otherwise, you could be in for a painful court appearance and a hefty fine…

How are you pursuing your financial freedom?Independence Day is a great time to celebrate with friends and family and reflect on our many blessings. It is also the perfect time to pause and take look at our own lives.
How can you take back control of your finances and invest in your financial independence? The holiday weekend may be the perfect time to take stock in your finances and career to help you gain a foothold…

Many people don’t enjoy grocery shopping. It takes a lot of time and effort to find affordable, high-quality, and healthy foods.
My wife and I have shopped for groceries in cities across the United States, which means that we rarely have a home store. When we need to save and be efficient, there are a few things we keep in mind…

The locals in Grenada call an engagement ring a “married ring.” It’s really cute. The kids here always ask to see my married ring, and on the rare occasion when I get my nails done, the ladies in the salon always seem to ask me about it too. I love it because it was an affordable engagement ring that’s unique because it has two stones, and it belonged to my great-grandmother…

Money wasters in life are great threats to your savings. They could even risk your riches and set you on a downward decline. You need to identify them and cut them completely from your life. Here are the five money wasters you can cut from you’re your life.
i) Using convenience stores
Convenience stores do not purchase items in high quantities like the groceries stores do…

The economy is slowly improving but there are still a lot of people out there who can’t find work. It can be demoralizing and frustrating. However, it doesn’t have to be. Instead of worrying that you’re never going to get to do the career of your dreams, start figuring out how you can earn money today…

When I was a teenager, I remember a house in my community burnt to the ground. It was a beautiful vacation home, that belonged to what appeared to be an affluent family from out-of-town. The home was on the water, within a well-known gated community that most couldn’t afford.
When the house burned down, the community learned that the owners of the home didn’t have insurance on it…

Sit back and enjoy the ride. I’ve twisted Girl Ninja’s arm enough to get her to write a blog post for y’all today. Hope you enjoy
When our realtor called to tell us they accepted our offer, I felt a little bit like Lindsey Lohan in the movie Freaky Friday; when she woke up and looked in the mirror to realize she was in her mother’s body…

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This week’s topic: 4th of July! Learn about enjoying your 4th of July without breaking the bank! Tell us about your 4th of July plans and share with us your favorite money-saving 4th of July tips!
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