Written By Paula Pant
Yes, it’s true. “Don’t buy lattes” may be a personal finance cliché, but I literally buy a Starbucks coffee every day. I pay $1.78 for a tall (which is Starbucksian for “small,”) plus 54 cents for a refill. Daily damage: $2.32.
That’s $71.92 per month, if I go daily (which I […]
Written By Paula Pant
My former partner and I bought our third rental property in May.
We paid $0 down. We collect $15,000 per year in revenue. After expenses, including the financing, we pocket $3,000 per year in passive income from this rental property.
Not bad, eh?
NOTE: This article was last updated in July 2016 (and all numbers […]
Written By Paula Pant
A few years ago I went camping in southeastern Utah with a group of friends.
“I love this place,” I said, gazing at the towering sandstone canyons. Then, ever so casually, I commented, “Hmm. Maybe I’ll come live here for a summer. Just two or three months. Could be fun.”
One […]
Written By Paula Pant
We ought to spend time and money in a way that’s aligned with our values. In reality, our spending habits are often tied to other people’s expectations of us.
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Humans are social creatures. The people in our lives influence us, both consciously and in subtle ways we never realize. We […]
Written By Paula Pant
You know that expression: “Whatever your renovation budget … double it?”
That happened a few months ago. I predicted that renovating one of my rental units would cost about $5,500 and would raise the rent by an extra $150 per month. I was waaayy off base.
In reality, the remodel cost $17,021 […]
Written By Paula Pant
Myth: You can either have free time or you can make lots of money. But not both.
Fact: Money buys time.
When I was a kid, I didn’t care about making a lot of money. I’d rather have the time, flexibility and freedom to enjoy my life, I thought.
In hindsight, I was […]
Written By Paula Pant
Today is the 20th anniversary of the day I learned I was adopted.
On the afternoon I learned the news, I sat in a beige office in a government building.
My dad sat to my right; my mom was perched to my left. An Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) bureaucrat sat on […]
Written By Paula Pant
Time for a round of Answer the Reader’s Question: Ignorance vs. Bliss.
Today’s question comes from a reader in his twenties who says:
“I was wondering if you have ever written an article on converting the (financial) ‘non-believers’?
“I’ve been trying to get my girlfriend to … help us be financially […]
Written By Paula Pant
You know that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach, when you decide to remodel your kitchen …
… and you think it’ll cost $5,000 ….
… and it ends up costing triple your estimate?
Yeah.
[…]
Written By Paula Pant
Two weeks ago I went camping in the desert, without a phone signal or Internet connection.
During the 10 days when I was “unplugged,” a handful of urgent issues formed. A nasty virus infected Afford Anything, triggering “malware” alerts every time a reader tried to visit. Google de-listed me from its […]
