Affluent but Frugal

Cute house right? This is what I dream of...but didn't buy. The single largest expense for most people is their home. Reducing housing expenses are key to keeping a budget under control. Here is how we kept our housing costs low and saved a bunch of money using house hacking. The first step is to buy a house that doesn't max out your budget. Seriously, I know this is hard but do not trust the bank when they tell you what you can afford, you will end up house-poor which is not where you want to be. I have gotten pre-approved for a house three times (two primary residences & 1 rental). The first time, the lending officer recommended for me to put my student loans in deferment so I could qualify for a larger loan and then take them back out after the closing (seriously, who suggests this?). This would have left me stretched to pay the mortgage and I am so glad I ignored them. The second time I asked for pre-approval for 150k and the gave me 175k, I still bought below

Last year we spent a fantastic week in Barcelona and traveling a little by car through France and we only spent about $1500 total for flights, hotels, food and shopping. The sad thing is, we could have spent less if we hadn't rented a car which sucked up a lot of our funds (tip: don't rent a car in France). Here's what we did and how it all worked so you can do it too! Plan in Advance The key to traveling on the cheap is advanced planning. No, I'm not talking about booking early because we all know we should do that when we can but when I know I'm taking a trip, I will try to rack up as many miles and credit card points as a I can up to a year before booking a thing. If you have a history or problem with credit card debt, this tip is not for you. This only works if you can control your spending and not pay any interest charges! You want to look online for the best credit card point offers and maximize what you can get for free. For this trip, I relied