Love nerding out about behavioral finance or building better habits? Curious to know how our brains work in relation to either? This is the place for you.
I used to be obsessed with optimizing. I opened new checking accounts if a bank offered a $50 sign-up bonus. I monitored gas stations near me to know where fuel was 5 cents cheaper. I once wasted an hour to save $3.60. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I started making real progress once I figured out two truths: #1: I wasn’t…
“I want an iPad!” “I want a pony!” “I want to take my family out for a $100 dinner, followed by $60 for a set of four movie tickets, $20 for popcorn and sodas, and $75 to fill up the gas-guzzling SUV that I bought on credit. And it’s SO HARD to save money! How can I…
A few days ago, I slept in my own bed for the first time in more than a month. I’ve been on the road nearly nonstop for the past few months — including trips to Costa Rica and Ireland — and the last 30 days really took the cake: from San Diego to New Orleans…
I’m about to tell you something that most travel and lifestyle bloggers are afraid to say. I’m going to reveal the truth about the “digital nomad” lifestyle. The term “digital nomad” (or the phrase “location independent”) refers to people (like me) who have the freedom to work from anywhere on the planet with an internet…
You want to escape the ordinary … But you also want a practical plan. You’re as pragmatic as you are adventurous. You’re a rebel with a retirement plan. How do you start? **** After last week’s post, several Afford Anything Rebels asked me how to prepare for a massive leap into the unknown. Some…
You’re home alone and you walk into a dark room. What do you do? You flip a light switch. Duh. But what if an electrician moved the location of that switch this morning? Would you reach for the new location? Nope. Not yet. You’ll reflexively reach for the old location until you break that habit — despite the fact that…
People eat at restaurants for many reasons: It’s convenient. The food is delicious. We crave social interaction. We want a new environment. We like novelty. We can’t read nutritional labels – out of sight, out of mind. I used to dine out frequently. A few years ago, I resolved to cut back. But I can’t snap my fingers…
Today, Afford Anything turns one year old. Exactly a year ago today I wrote my first post on this website, and geez, it was a terrible post. I’m too embarrassed to link to it. I had no clue what I was doing when I started this site. I didn’t know HTML coding. I didn’t know…
I spent the weekend slaying the distractions in my life. I flung the junk out of my file cabinet. I brainstormed goals for the New Year, ranked them, and eliminated most. Most of us are pulled in too many directions: too many goals to chase, skills to learn, career avenues to attempt. There are too…