The Wanderlusting Penny Pincher

Hello to all of my wonderful readers! I would like to connect you to some information and tools that are financially beneficial: 1. There are many great books out there about money. I have recommended a few in some of my previous posts, but if you can only stand to read one, let it be Your New Money Mindset  by Brad Hewitt, the CEO of Thrivent Financial (the awesome company that helps me on my wise with money journey), and James Moline, a licensed psychologist. Here is a quote from the book that sums up it's message and my heart's cry: "Before you can remake your habits, you need to remake your heart." That deserves an Amen! I would also like to encourage you to take the free online assessment tool from the book. It will give you insight into your current money mindset and how you can grow. It's brief and fun!  Click here to take the assessment. 2. Switching gears, my next helpful tidbit is an exciting new offer! In a previous post, I recommended keeping your

Right off the bat, allow me to answer the titular question; credit cards are not your friend!  We hear about the growing epidemic of credit card debt all the time. I recently read a statistic that said around 75% of American adults have at least one credit card. That means that 75% of American adults are in the habit of buying what they cannot afford outright.  Yes, many people claim that they only use their credit cards for the essentials they already plan to buy in order to accumulate airline miles, points or cash back "rewards" and that they pay off the balance every month. That sounds sensible at first, but let's explore it further.  Many credit cards have done away with annual fees...aaaand many haven't. The fees often negate any "rewards."  Here's a public service announcement: Cash back rewards are designed to make you spend more and to increase their bottom line.  How many times have you been shopping with every intention of on

Welcome to the Wanderlusting Penny Pincher blog! I have taken an unintentionally long hiatus from posting as I was moving and traveling and then regretfully never got back into the routine of posting...until now! The pastor at my church has been doing a sermon series the past few weeks about having a godly perspective on money. ( Click here to listen ). This series has gotten me so fired up as it echoes my heart's cry about money and much of what I have written about in my previous posts. So here I am, back at it just in time for the upcoming holiday season!  For many, what is supposed to be the most wonderful time of year, has become the most stressful, anxiety-inducing time of year. It all starts with this question:  How will I be able to afford nice, meaningful gifts for all of my loved ones?  But friends, it doesn't have to be this way! You are not obligated to go broke and max out your credit card(s) to buy gifts for your privileged peers!  "Privil