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In case you haven’t noticed, prices are still high and show no signs of going down anytime soon. Now more than ever, frugal people are being careful to spend less and make their paychecks go further. Here are 13 things frugal people won’t be spending their money on, and neither should you! Extended Warranties Every once in a while, these work out, but mostly, companies make pure profits on services people almost never use. Plus, you usually know if you have a clunker before the regular warranty runs out. Bottled Water More and more, we’re learning about how plastic waste is clogging waterways, ending up in our oceans, causing pollution, and harming wildlife. America has safe drinking water. Take advantage of it with reusable bottles and containers. New Cars Inflation didn’t spare cars, and while it affected both used and new cars, the sticker prices on most new cars are eye-popping. You get much better value with a later-model used car in good condition, and you avoid the huge loss in value that comes the second you drive a new car off the lot. Brand-Name Foods and Items In the grocery store, you can often buy generic brands that cost less and have the same quality as name brands. The same often applies to clothing, where even if the store doesn’t have its own line, you can still get better value by avoiding the biggest names. Cable Cable has been in decline for some time now, and for good reasons. It’s expensive, customer service is notoriously awful, and there’s so much junk. With streaming and other media content services widely available now, frugal people are cutting the cord, so to speak. Store-Made Coffee Coffee at places like Starbucks is expensive, and it usually isn’t any better than products you can brew yourself. It’s okay to treat yourself once in a while, but frugal people don’t make a habit of sipping away their paychecks with frequent trips to the barista. Fast Fashion Hot fashion trends sweep the nation and then flame out all the time. Don’t chase after these trends. But functional, reasonably priced, good-quality clothing that’s comfortable, looks good, and will last. Impulsive Purchases Buying on impulse is a classic budget-killer, as these purchases tend to be on things that catch our eye but which we don’t actually need. Frugal people avoid this by making lists and sticking to them. The Newest Phone Model Phone manufacturers are infamous for launching the latest, greatest version of a smartphone just a year or two after releasing the last latest, greatest version. Don’t fall for this; use your current phone until it’s obsolete or no longer works well. Books No, this is not an attempt to discourage reading! It’s a reminder that your local library has books you can borrow for free. If you like e-books, find online libraries or services that allow
EDITOR’S NOTE: Deadline alert! Today is the final day for submitting nominees for WCI’s annual Financial Educator of the Year award. We need your help in finding those who have worked to make financial literacy a priority in the medical community. The educator of the year winner will receive a $1,000 prize as a heartfelt thank you, and the one who nominates the winner will receive a free WCI course. To submit your nomination, fill […]
A durable retirement income plan is not just about generating income. It is about making a series of interconnected decisions that must hold up over decades. It needs to provide reliable cash flow, manage risks such as market volatility and longevity risk, preserve flexibility as circumstances change, and support long-term goals like leaving a legacy. In practice, the difference between a plan that looks good on paper and one that actually holds up often comes down to […]
Maine, long known for its modest economy rooted in timber, lobster, manufacturing and tourism, has joined a widening movement among Democratic-led states to tax top earners. Lawmakers approved a new 2% surcharge on annual income over $1 million, signaling that wealth-focused taxation is no longer limited to states dominated by tech billionaires or hedge-fund wealth. Read the rest
Do you believe that the best things in life are free? If you want to save money and love free things, read on and stop wondering, “How to get free stuff near me?” Due to the rising cost of living, saving money by receiving free stuff flooks attractive to most of us. We would want to save and spend money for more than our basic needs, right? While many people may believe that nothing comes […]
New data released by the U.S. Department of Education shows that more than 643,000 student loan borrowers are still waiting on applications for repayment plans and loan forgiveness. While this represents an improvement from prior peaks, the backlog remains substantial and highlights persistent administrative challenges. The delays come at a critical moment, as millions of borrowers prepare to transition to new repayment options. Read the rest
Try as we might to be thorough, some things always slip through the cracks. Now, with Tax Day behind us, … Read more
Tell me if this sounds familiar. You finish a full day of patients, you’ve got a clinical question in the back of your mind, and you know you should look it up. So you open PubMed. You get 300 results. You skim three abstracts, get pulled in two directions, and close the tab. You’ll get back to it later. Later never comes. I’ve been there more times than I can count. And honestly, the problem […]
Citizens Bank is offering a $400 checking bonus with relatively simple requirements. However, they only offer checking accounts to residents of certain states mainly in the Eastern and Northeastern US (CT, DC, DE, FL, MD, MA, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VT or VA; they will use your zip code to verify). Thanks to reader Steve for the tip. Bonus requirements. You must open your first new personal checking account between 4/1/26 and […]
Am so behind on everything. Not a great month for me health-wise and not helped by a mad busy month at work. I’m not counting down the days/months to my FIRE but I’d be lying if I said thoughts didn’t … Continue reading → The post March 2026 Savings, plus other updates appeared first on Quietly Saving.
Background The mega backdoor Roth is one of the most powerful tax maneuvers available to someone whose 401(k) plan allows after-tax contributions and in-service withdrawals. The basic idea is straightforward: you contribute after-tax dollars to your 401(k), then move that money into a Roth IRA, where it grows tax-free forever. No income limits. No conversion drama. What most skip over is what happens when your after-tax bucket has been sitting long enough to accumulate investment gains. At that point you… Read More Read More The post The Mega Backdoor Roth When Your After-Tax 401(k) Has Gains appeared first on A JOURNEY TO FI.
Don’t miss an episode of our podcast, Personal Finance for Long-Term Investors. Tune in on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Here’s the latest episode: My accountant is a great guy. He’s sharp. He cares. There’s a reason I’m using him as my tax preparer. But… Tax season is busy. Most accountants report working ~60+ hours a week during tax season. It’s easy to make mistakes on a tax return. Even a “simple” tax preparation might involve 10+ sub-documents, various inputs, transposing numbers, etc. Then, most importantly, there’s the knowledge required to understand how all these numbers work together. More knowledge is required to ask the right questions of your clients, to recognize what might have changed between last year and this year, etc. etc. My point is that prepping taxes isn’t easy and mistakes will happen. Period. That’s why it’s vital that you, reader, review your tax return. Or, at the very least, ask someone knowledgeable to help you review your tax return. If you need an anecdote, here’s my $12,000 example from this spring. A $12,000 Tax Mistake On April 10, my accountant sent me a draft version of my Federal tax return. I was startled to learn that I would owe the Federal government $6,000 and receive a $1,000 refund from New York. On net, I’m paying $5,000! I was expecting a refund, not to owe. $5,000 is a big sudden expense. Clearly, I must have made some bad assumptions. Where did this $6,000 come from?! I got curious. I went through the 1040 line by line, making sure I understood how each box was arrived at. Of course, the BIG data points for most “typical” taxpayers can be found in Line 24 and Line 33 – Total Tax and Total Payments, respectively. Total Tax is the sum of all your Federal tax liabilities for that year. Total Payments shows how much you paid during the year, typically through payroll withholding (i.e., what you see on your paycheck) or estimated quarterly payments. As I reviewed my draft return, my Total Payments seemed…quite low! Perhaps too low, I thought. This could be the cause of my consternation. Tax Problem Solved Sure enough, there was a small-yet-huge mistake. The Draft version showed $15,873 in Total Payments. A simple transcription error meant that the number should have been $23,996 instead. That ~$9,100 difference, once fixed, is dollar-for-dollar in our favor! Instead of owing $6,000 to the IRS, we should be getting a ~$3,100 refund! But wait, there’s more. We All Make Tax Mistakes Because you might make a mistake too. I sure did! Between bank accounts, investment accounts, our mortgage, local taxes, donations, and payroll, we had more than 20 individual documents to submit to the accountant. As I reviewed the draft tax return, I realized I had forgotten to submit one of our documents. This particular document accounted for more than $10,000 in deductions. These deductions lowered our tax liability by $3,000. Meaning, we owed an additional $3,000 refund. In total, instead of owing $5,000, we will receive $7,000 in refunds. A $12,000 postive swing in the outcome. All else equal, those ~30 minutes I spent reviewing our tax return might have been the most valuable work I’ll do
Have you ever pulled up to the gas pump, watched the numbers climb, and started wondering if there are any real ways to save money on gas that actually make a difference? Well…you’re not alone. Even now, gas prices seem to go up when we least expect it, and it doesn’t take much driving before it starts to take a real bite out of the budget. When you pair that with higher grocery bills and […]