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  • Doing without in your 20s -- by choice

    Posted Aug 27 2008, 09:28 AM by Donna Freedman Rating:

    It's tough to be frugal in your 20s, according to a Smart Spending message board reader posting as "byebyestudentloans." Your peers seem to spend most of their time in malls, restaurants and nightclubs. And you?

    "I'm brown-bagging my lunch, limiting my driving, work a full-time and part-time job," says the reader, who contributes to a 401(k) and has two other financial goals: pay off student loans and save to build a home. And all in the next two years.   Read More...

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  • Money rituals that reassure

    Posted Jun 30 2008, 09:37 AM by Donna Freedman Rating:

    Lately I've been feeling better about things financial. The bottom line could be healthier, but I'm trying to concentrate on what I have rather than what I don't have. To wit: retirement monies from my previous career, an emergency fund, a university scholarship, a part-time writing job, a well-stocked pantry and cheap rent due to my gig as apartment house manager. I also have the useful life skill of being easily amused: long walks, yard sales, meals at home, writing to friends, going to the library and doing The New York Times crossword puzzle all make me happy.

    Still, I sometimes get jumpy about the lucre. This tends to happen after I've read the newspaper or online news sites with stories predicting doom, gloom and recession. It also occurs whenever I pay attention to grocery prices for very long. The anxiety is vague and free-floating, but the hypervigilance it inspires is very focused indeed.   Read More...

    Discuss ( 4 comments) 4,182 Views Digg this | Email this | Link to this