Is Thing On?: An OFB Update
Our Freaking Budget | A Budget & Personal Finance Blog
by Joanna
2y ago
The time is well overdue for an OFB update. Don’t give me that look. I know you’re giving me that look. Okay, okay, yes, we deserve the eye roll. And you’re right. This update is way, way, way overdue. Like WAY. Now that we’re square, let’s get back to the business of updating. Unlike a phone update that you ignore for six months, this one won’t take much time. And you hopefully won’t regret it afterwards. Remember the post from October 26th, 2015, almost exactly four years ago? The one titled “So We Started a Business”? Well, this post could probably be called “And We’re Still Working on Tha ..read more
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Filing Your Taxes: The Ultimate DIY Project
Our Freaking Budget | A Budget & Personal Finance Blog
by Johnny
2y ago
Just a heads up, this post is sponsored by the folks at TurboTax. This should go without saying, but all content and opinions are our own and came straight from our own noggins. When I was a freshman in college, I took one of those personality tests that would analyze your characteristics and spit out some careers that you might be well suited for. I had pretty lofty expectations for what they might suggest. A CEO? Maybe even a US Senator? Nope. Not even close. Ready for their top recommendation? A librarian. I was Dewey decima-ted. (I’m surprised they didn’t say comedian, am I right?) After ..read more
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Home Shopping: Comparing Properties – Apples to Oranges
Our Freaking Budget | A Budget & Personal Finance Blog
by Tyler
2y ago
In 2013 my company moved our entire office from Santa Monica to Austin. This post is part of a series about things we learned while being first-time home buyers. In 2013 we were moving cities (compliments of Mr. Employer), and we decided we should explore buying a place of our own. Because the move came about rather abruptly, we didn’t a have pre-determined idea of what we wanted for a starter home. I was open to almost anything: single family homes, apartments/condos, townhomes, duplexes, etc. What I soon found out was that it was hard to compare them with each other. The industry standard s ..read more
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A Chunk of Change: Generational Money Shifts
Our Freaking Budget | A Budget & Personal Finance Blog
by Joanna
2y ago
Just a heads up, this post is sponsored by the fine folks at Chase. This should go without saying, but all opinions are our own and came straight from our own noggins. Just recently, Johnny and I were driving through our college stomping grounds when we passed the abandoned building that once housed the local Blockbuster Video. We got to talking about how our daughters will never have the joy of combing the movie rental aisles, searching for the last copy of the hot new release, and leaving with a physical rental to watch at home. They’ll never know about misplacing their Blockbuster card, r ..read more
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The Right Time to Buy a New Car
Our Freaking Budget | A Budget & Personal Finance Blog
by Ashley
2y ago
The kids and I love it when TJ gets home from work. First, it usually means a much-needed break for me while TJ builds Legos with our boys. It also means I get to speak with a human being about topics other than going potty or not using mommy’s Anastasia Brow Pen as a $30 brown marker. The best part is, I don’t even have to get a phone call or text to know he is heading home. All I have to do is listen for the deafening sounds of TJ’s car struggling down the freeway. TJ has had his 2000 Chevy Prism since his early years on a college campus. Now, eleven years later, though his situation in lif ..read more
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2017 Financial Priorities
Our Freaking Budget | A Budget & Personal Finance Blog
by Joanna
2y ago
It’s 2017! And even crazier, we’re already a week and a half into January. It’s that time of year for new goals, new plans, new beginnings, and yup — new budgets. There’s no better time to prioritize (or reprioritize) your finances than now. Johnny and I have a few things we’d like to reprioritize this year, the first of which is OFB. We’re just as passionate and nerdy over personal finance as ever, but we haven’t had the time to write about it very much these past few months. 2016 was our first full year of self-employment, and running a small business was a round-the-clock job. Truth be tol ..read more
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Goldilocks and Replacements: Preventive vs. Corrective
Our Freaking Budget | A Budget & Personal Finance Blog
by Tyler
2y ago
The other day I got home from work and noticed a small puddle in my garage. It had been raining all day, so my first reaction was to look for water coming in from the outside. There were no obvious signs of it coming from under the garage doors or leaking in from the ceiling. I noticed there was as small trail from the puddle that lead right to the baseboard at the base of the closet where our water heater is housed. Super. Actually, I consider myself pretty lucky that it was only a small trickle into the garage and not throughout the house. Things could’ve been a lot worse. I’ll spare you fr ..read more
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Ashley’s Getting-Out-of-Debt Story
Our Freaking Budget | A Budget & Personal Finance Blog
by Ashley
2y ago
When TJ and I met, I could tell right away we came from different financial backgrounds. He had worked hard every summer doing sales in California to pay for his tuition and living expenses, he had thrifty parents who had been able to help him along the way, and he may have had a reputation among his roommates as the one who would do anything for a free meal. I once gave TJ some leftover McDonald’s bucks coupons I got from a babysitting job, and to this day he insists it’s the greatest gift I’ve ever given him. (I’ll try to forget the $200 air compressor I got him a couple Christmases ago…) O ..read more
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Does Your Budget Have a Bike Lane?
Our Freaking Budget | A Budget & Personal Finance Blog
by Tyler
2y ago
Budgets help direct our spending, but by nature they constrain us. While that doesn’t sound very fun, these restrictions are for a good cause. By voluntarily limiting short-term spending, we can stay out of financial trouble and work toward achieving longer-term financial goals. Though it sounds contradictory, we achieve financial freedom by choosing to limit ourselves. In theory, if we could predict all of our expenses then we could live on the bleeding edge (paycheck to paycheck) of our income and not have to worry. In practice, it ain’t happening — at least not long-term. ‘Life’ happens to ..read more
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Making Money As a Stay-at-Home Mom
Our Freaking Budget | A Budget & Personal Finance Blog
by Ashley
2y ago
When TJ and I started our budget, I had a hard time accounting for every single purchased item. Coming home from a shopping trip started to feel like an interrogation, even though I’m sure TJ didn’t mean it that way. “What did you buy? How much was it? Did you use a coupon? Can I see? Do we really need a Tiffany blue casserole dish?” (Answer: yes, always.) I felt like I was suddenly on an episode of Law & Order every time I bought groceries. After an open and honest discussion about my feelings one day where I definitely didn’t raise my voice or cry hysterically, we created my own small a ..read more
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