when saving is really spending

How We’ll Live Beyond Our Budget in Early Retirement

By Tanja Hester on October 16, 2017 • ( 100 Comments )

In just two short months, we’ll be retired and living on a constrained income for the first time in ages. But we’re not worried, because we have a whole bunch of ways to live beyond that budget, especially once we have time to invest in research and deal-finding. (Plus, we can live a pretty sweet life for not a lot of money, so it doesn’t take much budget stretching to feel like we’re living a life of luxury.) Check out our plan for living beyond our budget — and then let us know what we missed!

Financial Independence, Fight Club and the Mindless Consumer Zombie Narrative

By Tanja Hester on September 20, 2017 • ( 108 Comments )

I know you’ve heard this one before: the narrative of “working a job you hate to buy things you don’t need to impress people you don’t like.” It’s what I’ve come to call the Fight Club narrative, a distinct strand of the FI movement that posits consumerism as public enemy number 1. And while it’s a compelling narrative, here’s my case for why it’s harmful, and what we should be talking about instead.

Why “Saving Money” Usually Means Spending Money, and the Mindset We Foster Instead

By Tanja Hester on June 7, 2017 • ( 76 Comments )

It is a natural thing to want to save money, and those of us pursuing huge financial goals innately find the idea of saving even more powerful. The problem comes when marketers deliberately blur the line between saving and spending, convincing us we’re doing one when really we’re doing the other. Today, recognizing when saving money is actually spending money, and how to keep the focus on the saving itself.