Over the past several weeks, changes in my team at work have significantly increased my workload as well as the number of projects under my oversight. As a result, my stress level climbed. Coming from the long hours and overwhelming workload of public accounting, work-related stress is not new to me. The most important things are pursuing your passions outside of work and finding a healthy source of stress relief.
Many folks in the personal finance community consider debt to be a tool of the devil. They would say it encourages overspending and that if you can’t pay cash for something, you can’t afford it. That’s an aggressive stance, but it’s not completely off base either. Few could imagine buying a house without a mortgage, and a mortgage is an accepted source of debt. So then why are car loans so much different? Why is credit card debt demonized but a mortgage is healthy?
Money Under 30 recently wrote about the costs associated with eating out. The article also provided a lot of good tips on minimizing and avoiding those costs. ($3.25 for an iced tea? Come on now.) Now I already know what you’re thinking, eating out is probably the most over-analyzed topic in the personal finance world. But give me 5 minutes and I’ll illustrate in real world terms how you can save $60,000.
Credit card rewards have been growing in popularity and generosity over the past several years. There are entire communities online who research different offers to maximize their reward earnings. (Looking at you, NerdWallet!) Sometimes these offers sound too good to be true, and then you find out there is an annual fee attached. Deal breaker?!
For as much as I read (and write) about frugality and keeping up with the Joneses, sometimes it’s worth taking a step back and thinking about what all of this is for. Family, friends, hobbies, sports, whatever puts a smile on your face is what I’m talking about today.