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Spending Review

February 2022 Spending Review

Dang, the months really start to fly by don't they? As of this writing, it's March 9th and it feels like Christmas was last month. Life is good. It's cold, but getting warmer. Work is good. Nothing really to note. Our spending is in control, but this month was a good example of the need for preparedness. Let's jump into our February 2022 spending review! Housing I'll tell you this, I am grateful for owning a home every time we do the budget. That housing expense column feels like a win every month because we've gone from renting at $1,800 a month to owning at $845.…

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March 11, 2022
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The Cost of Coffee Beans

I've done a post about how to save money on coffee and why you should try. But for this post, I wanted to publish my notes and thoughts on the cost trade off coffee beans. Over the last couple years, I've swung wildly between saving money at all cost and buying the best regardless of cost. This post is exclusively focused on looking at the cost of coffee beans at a few different places and discussing the practical implications of optimizing for the cost of coffee beans. Let's begin. Coffee Beans Are Cheap. Coffee Isn't. If I went to Starbucks right now and ordered an 8oz…

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March 9, 2022
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My Opinion of Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps

So basic right? What personal finance blogger hasn't written a post about their opinion of Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps? I can almost hear Dave sarcastically mocking the bloggers who debate his baby steps. But honestly, I gotta give it to the man, he's done well. Personally, I think he's created a fairly fool proof (say that 3 times as fast as possible) system for fixing the country's finances. And it all seems to center around his attitude towards debt - Also a hotly debated topic in our country. Anyway, since I have you on the edge of your seat now, allow me to share my opinion…

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March 4, 2022
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Little Habits Over Time

The older I get, the more obvious this little truth is - Little habits, over time. This phrase can be said in a lot of different ways to describe a lot of different things. But it's true. We tend to think life is about these grand gestures or big wins. But the truth is, as we get older, we start to see the power of little habits over time and what they can either create or destroy in our lives. Little Habits, Over Time - Our Finances Yes, what Frugal Feline post would be complete without mentioning our finances. For those of you nerds out there,…

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March 2, 2022
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What Are Switching Costs?

I've mentioned switching costs a few times as good opportunities to either earn more or save more money. Switching costs are all around us. We interact with them every day. Smart businesses exploit these to make more money. But we can exploit these to both save and make more money ourselves if we recognize the opportunities. Let's define switching costs, bring to light where they pop up in our lives, and talk about how to exploit these for our benefit. Switching Costs Defined Switching costs are the mental, emotional, time, and financial costs of changing. Okay that was my stab at it. But since I learned…

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February 25, 2022
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5 Ways To Save $50 Bucks a Month

As much as I'd like to think that we are all just looking for ways to stash as much cash as possible in our savings, I know not everyone rolls like that. And that's cool! Whatever reason brings you to a post about saving an extra $50 bucks a month, I'm just glad you're here and hope one of these ideas works for you. Now, I'm no frugality expert. I am simply a practitioner and student. I have gone from spending over $6,000 a month to just over $3,000 a month this past January. And while some wins were big! Most wins were small and cumulative.…

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February 23, 2022
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The Best Breakfast Sandwich

I've always said that behavior modification is much easier than behavior elimination. The idea is - let's take an expensive habit and replace it with a less expensive, but better quality product done at home. And that's what led me to want to write this post. My wife and I are fanatical about our breakfast burritos. Seriously, fanatical. But those are kind of a pain in the butt to make. So we've experimented a bit with breakfast sandwiches and have found a recipe that almost entirely removed our desire to eat our for breakfast. This is, of course, the recipe for the famous Frugal Feline Breakfast…

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February 18, 2022
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Staying Fit Without a Gym

I have been a lot of people in my life. From the guy who spent 6 days a week in the gym for at least an hour each day, to the guy who hasn't been in a gym for over 2 years. And for most of my life, I've been the former. Staying fit required that gym membership. The basketball courts, the sauna, the ritual. It took a move to a new state that had 330 days of sunshine a year to finally break my gym membership religion. But even after leaving an ideal climate for working out outside every day, I've stuck to my guns.…

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February 11, 2022
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One Car Family – One Year In

A year ago, we decided that it was time. It was time that we put our money where our mouths were. We had been listening to various people in the financial independence community discuss their decision to move to a one car family and we wondered if we could do the same. We imagined how much wealthier might feel with one less car insurance payment, one less registration, and one less car to get maintenance done on. Our cars were paid off, but sometimes they still felt like an unnecessary expense. I worked from home. Mrs. Frugal Feline worked a mile away, easily bike-able. We had…

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February 9, 2022
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What Is Lifestyle Inflation?

Dang. There it is. That's the question. Or, maybe the answer to why we all suck so much with money. Oh, you're good with money? Congratulations, you're the exception. Maybe you've identified and kicked lifestyle inflation in the teeth. But look around at your broke, paycheck to paycheck friends and family. You know, your friends who are on financial outpatient care. Or your sister who struggles with money but won't ask for help. We never make enough money to save. We are always waiting for a big break. A windfall of income to start saving. Debt is just part of life. It's necessary! Everyone has debt!…

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February 4, 2022