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Tired of hearing the same old advice about saving money and living frugally? It turns out that sometimes, being anti-frugal can actually pay off. Here are 10 financial tips that go against the grain but have proven successful for those who dare to break the mold. Pay a Mechanic Instead of DIYing Your Oil Changes Some people can do an oil change and change the brake pads themselves…. but never do. It gets to the point where they drive the car twice as long as supposed to between changes and start to get worried, but still don’t do it. For people like that, paying a mechanic is much more frugal than ruining a car through negligence. For every frugal tip, you have to know whether you will actually do the tip or never get around to it. Try a Meal Delivery Service Not liking cooking and not being good at it doesn’t have to mean defaulting to fast food. A meal delivery service can be faster than fast food, and since the meals arrive ready to make, it can cut grocery trips from weekly to every other week. For those budgeting $600/month for groceries, a meal kit service can make it significantly easier to come in right at that number, without going over or blowing the eating-out budget. Take advantage of new customer promos that give you the best deal, and you can try different ones. Here are some monthly delivery services you can check out: Dinnerly Gobble Marley Spoon FlexPro Meals Home Chef Hungryroot Only Drink at the Bar It might run up a regrettable tab sometimes, but having and drinking beer at home can lead to worse financial decisions, like buying things online until passing out, ordering Uber Eats for chicken wings at 1:00 am, or making late-night donations to GoFundMe campaigns. There’s also the atmosphere factor. And honestly, most people drink less out. A few $8 pints are pricy enough. At home, there’s no issue drinking the whole $8 six-pack. So if you will have a hard time making sure you keep it under control at home, then maybe take it to the bar. Consider a Car Payment Over a Beater Conventional wisdom says avoid car payments but sometimes they’re the smarter move (gasp!). After a car is totaled in a city with poor public transit, the options can come down to spending all savings on a 20-something-year-old car for $1,000 that will have countless problems, or taking out a $15K car loan on a used Corolla with low mileage. Even with a low-mileage, reliable car and a high APR due to a thin credit history, it can still be the more financially sound choice in the long run. Eating Cheap Food Being locked into making recipes that are always cheap can mean never eating the food you actually want. Making things that are slightly more expensive (don’t go overboard) will make your meals that you will actually eat. That means making beef stew
Money management and personal finance are often learned behaviors passed down from our parents. Many of us grew up watching our parents pinch pennies, save every receipt, and hunt for the best deals, and we rolled our eyes and vowed never to live like them when we became adults. But as time passes and life throws us curveballs, we may find ourselves adopting the very frugal habits we swore we’d never do. Take squeezing toothpaste to the very end, or turning out every single light in a room, even when leaving for just a minute. For many of our grandparents, these weren’t just quirks; they were a way of life, and now, for many adults, they’re making a quiet comeback. Here are some of the most relatable frugal habits people have rediscovered and why they make a lot more sense now. Save Bacon Grease Why throw something out if you can reuse it? Many people now save bacon grease and aluminum foil that isn’t too badly burnt. What once seemed like unnecessary clutter in the kitchen now looks like smart resource management. Less waste and less money spent are a win-win. Wash and Reuse Glass Jars and Containers Empty glass jars and large yogurt cups have a second life. Washed out and run through the dishwasher, they work perfectly as food storage for soups or as seedling starter pots for a home garden, or as toys for your kids. Use a Safety Razor Modern razor cartridges can run $4 a piece, which adds up fast. A safety razor offers a simple alternative: 200 double-edge blades can be purchased for around $10. It’s one of those small switches that save you small amounts of money that add up quickly. Sneak Snacks Into the Movie Theater A small soda at the movies can cost $5 or more. Bringing your own drinks and candy (tucked into a pocket or purse) is something many people once considered embarrassingly cheap. Now, for those who treat a movie outing as a once-in-a-while splurge, it’s just common sense. Freeze Bread A loaf of bread can go moldy before a single person finishes it. Putting it in the freezer significantly extends its life, and while frozen bread does taste slightly different beyond a certain point, it’s far better than throwing it out. It’s one of those habits that only makes sense once you’re the one buying the groceries. Keep the Thermostat Low in Winter Keeping the thermostat below 65°F in winter and just putting on a sweater is another habit that hits differently when you’re paying the utility bill. T Here’s also a practical upside: a blanket is more flexible than a heated room, especially if you come home already warm from being outside. Use Coupons Coupons once felt embarrassingly lame. Now, with so many stores offering digital coupons through apps, there’s really no excuse not to use them. A little time spent before shopping can lead to consistent savings. Work on Your Own Car Keeping an old
May is when small household problems start piling up. School is almost out, kitchens get more use, yards track in more dirt, and summer visitors somehow reveal every missing cleaning tool you forgot you needed. Dollar General has some useful under-$10 buys right now that are not just cheap for the sake of being cheap. […] The post 18 Useful Dollar General household buys for May under $10 appeared first on Wealthysinglemommy.com.
Most financial planning questions don’t start with pricing, but at some point, they tend to land there. If you’re considering working with a financial planner in Seattle, the conversation usually shifts to: What does this actually cost—and what am I paying for? Let’s walk through it together: What you’re paying How pricing works And how to think about the value behind it What Does “Fee-Only Financial Planner” Actually Mean? At its core, fee-only means: Your […]
Everyone tells you a budget will improve your financial life. But if you’ve never managed your money before, that’s not very helpful. How do you … Read more
I used to think that the purpose of budgeting was to get your spending as close as possible to what you predicted you would spend when you set your budget amounts at some earlier point, maybe a month, or even a year, in advance. No wonder so many people hate budgeting! That sounds like an impossible task! Allowing your budget to be flexible is the key to success! It’s okay to pivot mid-month when you […]
It can be challenging to sort through the huge list of budgeting apps to find which might work best for you and your family. In this Simplifi vs. Monarch Money review, we’ll examine two of the best budgeting apps available and present their benefits and downsides. While both Simplifi and Monarch Money are great choices, there’s probably one that you’ll prefer based on its unique features. Let’s look at each and see if we can […]
If you’re searching for the best breakdown of YNAB vs Monarch Money. you’re probably trying to answer one simple question: Which budgeting app will actually help me manage my money without making my life harder? I’ve personally used both budgeting tools over the past several years. I tested YNAB multiple times, used Mint for years, and eventually switched to Monarch Money after Mint shut down in 2023. Today, my wife and I use Monarch Money […]
The post How Long Will Your Retirement Savings Last? A Practical Guide to Planning Smarter appeared first on Dividend Power. At some point, everyone asks the same question: how long will my retirement savings last? It’s a simple question with high stakes and no easy answer. With longer life expectancies, rising living costs, and fewer traditional pension plans, retirement today looks very different from what it did a generation ago. The good news? You’re not powerless. With […]
Helping young students stay organized can be challenging as they begin balancing homework, reading assignments and classroom responsibilities. The right planner can be an effective tool in keeping students on track and helping them build organization skills from an early age. Why Elementary Students Benefit From Using Planners A well-designed planner can helpKeep Reading The Best Student Planners for Elementary Schools was originally published on WhatMommyDoes.com
The Short Version: The Senate passed a near-unanimous bill forcing institutional giants to offload their single-family home portfolios but the real story isn’t what they’re selling, it’s where that capital flows next Most coverage celebrated this as a homebuyer win, and it partially is but the affordability math reveals why the fix is smaller than advertised Institutional capital doesn’t disappear when a lane closes. It finds the next available structure and the data already points to where that is The bill specifically carves out passive LP investors from its restrictions, which means one category of real estate investing just got a quiet regulatory endorsement Passive investors who understand the rotation pattern from 2008 and the post-pandemic office collapse will recognize exactly what’s happening here In March 2026, the US Senate passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act 89 to 10. Bipartisan. Near-unanimous. The bill bans large institutional investors from buying single-family homes and forces them to offload what they’ve already accumulated. Most of the coverage framed this as a win for first-time homebuyers. And sure, to some extent it is. But there’s a second story buried inside this legislation that almost nobody covered. For passive real estate investors, it’s probably the more important one. When institutional capital gets pushed out of a market it spent a decade growing inside of… it doesn’t disappear. It finds the next available lane. Understanding where it goes next tells you a lot about where the most interesting opportunities will show up over the next 18 to 36 months. What the Bill Actually Says The legislation targets what it calls “large institutional investors” — entities with direct or indirect investment control over single-family homes at scale. In plain terms, we’re talking about the Invitation Homes and BlackRocks of the world. Once the bill takes effect, those entities must divest their single-family portfolios. They get up to seven years to do it. Tenants in those properties get the right of first refusal to purchase before the home hits the open market. If no buyer steps forward within 60 days of public advertising, the compliance obligation lifts. A few categories get carved out. REITs face different treatment under the tax code. Senior housing communities with residents 55 and older fall outside the scope. Properties acquired through foreclosure or loss mitigation sit in a separate lane. But for the core institutional buy-to-rent playbook that emerged after 2012 — when firms started buying distressed single-family homes at scale and converting them to rentals — the model faces a structural shutdown. The Homebuyer Win Is Real but Smaller Than Advertised The instinct to celebrate this as a housing affordability fix makes sense on the surface. Institutional investors accumulated hundreds of thousands of single-family homes over the past decade. Removing them as buyers should reduce competition and bring prices down. The reality runs more complicated than that. Even at their peak, institutional investors owned roughly 3% of single-family rentals nationally. Concentrated
🎙️ Episode #487 – Feel behind on retirement? Don’t panic. Here’s how to build a “rental pension” in 10 years without taking big risks. Listen… The post Starting Late? The 10-Year Rental Retirement Plan appeared first on Coach Carson.
Learning how to budget and save money can feel confusing in the beginning, especially when you are trying to balance your needs with things you enjoy while also thinking about the future. Many people assume budgeting is about strict rules, but it can actually be a flexible way to understand your money and make better […]