The team-of-one at We Want Guac proudly presents: Darcy’s 2024 finances in review! 2024 Spending This is the first year I’ve spent living in Los Angeles! I expected my spending to go up a little, similar to last year. It went down instead, much to my surprise. For reference, here’s how much I spent every year since 2017: Year Spend 2023 $45,969 2022 $46,647 2021 $43,442 2020 $30,722 2019 $29,999 2018 $24,985 2017 $13,280 I’ll […]

Even as the sea threatens, he seeks the shore and safety – Homer, The Odyssey, Book V.297 The post Year in Review and Monthly Portfolio Report – December 2024 appeared first on The FI Explorer.

It is that time of year again that is feared most by cats and dogs: New Year’s Eve (or “Oudejaarsdag” in Dutch). The time of year when the Netherlands goes crazy and vaporizes about 118 Million Euros in the name of fun and tradition. It is by far the best way to see your money go up in smoke! The best way to see your money go up in smoke! How to vaporize money, a crash course. As a frugal family, we should obviously not spend any money on this non-sense. Don’t get me wrong, I (Mr. CF) still have a soft spot for fireworks (something to do with childhood memories). And as a family we have often gone to firework shows, competitions, and love watching it in general. Heck, Mr. CF even has been to NYC to watch the 4th of July firework show near the Brooklyn bridge, and it was awesome! The downside of vaporizing money… other than the money But as I get older, the fun starts to wear off and the other aspects of it start to become clear. For example, our last dog was terrified of it. It quite literally didn’t go out for almost 24 hours and stayed under the table shaking. It was heartbreaking to see. Unfortunately for us she passed away back in October. But fortunately for her, not another year of hell to go through. Beside the obvious noise & air pollution, terrified war refugees plus all the damage done to public property like street furniture, trans cans, etc. (which we all indirectly pay for) it makes you wonder why on earth we keep doing this. Now, I realize that it’s primarily the illegal stuff that’s causing most nuisance, not the stuff that one can legally buy and light up on the 31st of December and 1st of January. Albeit the second is still not pretty either. Doing new years eve with drones, lightshows and/or the occasional professional firework stuff would be great too. But I don’t see that happening any time soon, albeit there is definitely a trend away from fireworks. As with all traditions, it takes time to change them. Still a bit of smoke… So, this year we opted for just a tiny bit of firework fun with some Category 1 stuff for mini-me. She loves it and I kind of want to give her a taste of the fun I had when I was a kid. But, I refuse to spend any more money on this than is absolutely “necessary”. Anyhow, let me finish off with wishing you all a happy new year and all the best for 2025! Did/do you vaporize a lot of money with new years eve? The post The best way to see your money go up in smoke! appeared first on Cheesy Finance.

The landscape of retirement savings is evolving, with changes on the horizon for IRAs and 401(k)s that may impact how you plan for your future. Staying informed and staying ahead of these changes is key to maximizing your savings potential and avoiding any penalties that may come your way. One important change to be aware of is the SECURE 2.0 Act, which introduces several adjustments to retirement plans over the next few years. These changes […]

Today is the anniversary of my last day of work six years ago. At the end of the workday on December 31, 2018, I became free in a sense. That was the day my early retirement began. If you’ve dreamed about early retirement for a while like I did leading up to this, there’s a little surprise in store that you might not know… It’s not going to be exactly the way you envisioned. That’s […]

If you are a regular reader of this series, let me warn you. This list could end up feeling like … The post My Year in Books – 2024 first appeared on Elementum Money.

Earlier, I mentioned my plan to travel four times a year while maintaining a full-time desk job. In 2024, I managed to travel five times, as two trips occurred close to the beginning of the year. This was my first trip to Bali, and I tailored the experience to suit my needs. My primary goal was relaxation, so I avoided overloading the itinerary with pre-planned activities. The trip focused on  dining (with advance reservations due […]

Day 21: On the road from Seville to Madrid Our breakfast choice, La Mala, felt like a café in Brooklyn. But it gave us options beyond coffee, pastries and sandwiches, which is more typical. I had multigrain bread with avocado, spinach, tomato and mushroom. Scott had a ham and spinach omelet, as well as a croissant with Nutella (smart addition!). Then, we were off to Madrid. Madrid is about six hours from Seville, and the […]