Affluent but Frugal

Let me say that I am not a landlord expert but I am often shocked at the horrendous advice offered up as wisdom on landlording forums. Don't get me wrong, networking groups (online and in-person) can be a great resource as you try to learn the ropes but be wary of some advice - even if it's what you want to hear! So here it is, the worst advice you can take when starting your landlording journey and my alternative advice! Photo by  PhotoMIX Ltd.  from  Pexels 1) Get an FHA loan, even if you're not going to live in the house. When someone is trying to buy a property but doesn't have enough money to put down, "get an HA loan" is often tossed out but this kind of loan is only for owner occupied properties and when you apply for it you're agreeing to live in the house for a certain length of time. I am shocked when I see this suggested to people online, not only is it mortgage fraud but those suggesting it are pretty cavalier to suggest it ...

Last year, I bit the bullet and paid for a weight loss program for the first time with a goal to lose 20lbs. I did Weight Watchers online for about 6 months, after my intro price ended it was $20 a month but I did loose the weight I wanted. Now, for something that works, $20 a month doesn't feel like too much to me and I wasn't doing well with the free solutions like My Fitness Pal. I think when there is money on the line I am more willing to do the hard work! Nevertheless, I want to save money wherever I can. In some online Weight Watchers groups, I heard about itrackbites. It's basically a Weight Watchers knock off and I do like a good generic! Itrackbites has several free options for old Weight Watchers plans and a lot of people use it when they want to follow an older plan. For the newest Weight Watchers plan, Freestyle, you have to pay for the yearly fee. This also gives you access to some additional options on the itrackbites app like the food scanner and a restau...

This post isn’t about my personal finance journey but to chronicle my personal challenge to exercise at least 30 minutes every day for 30 days. This past year has been very up and down for me in terms of diet and exercise. In 2017 I gained some weight, so I decided to do weight watchers with a friend in early 2018. We started at the end of February and I did it until August, with a net loss of 20lbs. It was the first time I ever paid for a weight loss program and I was overall pleased with the results. Pretty happy with my weight post WW, but I would like to lose another 10lbs. I’m not really overweight, even when I stated WW I wasn’t, but I weigh a little more than I would like and I am a person who really likes food. My husband does this strange thing where he doesn’t eat if he’s not hungry…such a weirdo. J My kitty doesn't trust the FitBit! I have always exercised somewhat but not consistently. I was hooked on Zumba for about 5 years and then had a multi-year ...

It was really hard for me to think about spending money to use the Weight Watchers program. I always thought, "Why should I pay for a program when I could use a million other things for free?" It seemed like a total racket. However, after struggling to lose weight for several months on my own and making zero progress, I signed up with a friend for Weight Watchers online. We agreed to do it together and encourage each other. This was my first-ever experience in trying Weight Watchers as I always opted for the free option before! When I signed up, I had a goal to lose 20 pounds and I thought I could do this during my discounted promotional period of 3 months. I paid around $50 for the first 3 months and it was $19.95 each month after that. At the end of my three months I was pleasantly surprised with how well I was doing and I had lost about 12 lbs, since it was working I decided to keep going. It took me 6 months to reach my goal to lose 20 lbs. So what makes WW worth it...

You can spend a lot of money on different programs to help you lose weight but which ones are worth it? One of these is workout streaming service Daily Burn. Here is my unbiased review after trying the service. Daily Burn is an exercise streaming service where you get access to a new workout every day, or you can also do it live at 9 am. The library has thousands of on-demand workouts and there is always something new to try, since something is added daily. I tried Daily Burn because I was looking for something to replace my gym membership. My favorite instructor left which led to my favorite class getting cancelled and I just didn't feel like it was worth it any more. I firmly believe a gym is worth the money if you go but without my favorite class, my motivation to go was very low and I couldn't justify the $50/month I was paying anymore as a result but this left an opening in my budget to spend up to $50/month on something else that would help support my overall healthy....

Trader Joe's has long been one of my favorite places to grocery shop! Not only do they have staples but they have amazing frozen food and lots of unique items that other stores don't carry. It's basically a hippie paradise of alternative foods. It's also amazing when you don't have lot of time to cook or meal prep because they have so many great pre-made and frozen foods. We can't meal prep all the time now can we? The really annoying thing about my TJ's store is there is NO internet or cell reception! Which means I cannot check point values while I'm in the store. Thus, it has been challenging for me to shop there and took a lot of trips to put this list together. If there are other must-haves from TJs please comment and I will update! If you're looking to save a few bucks on more basic items, check out my Aldi shopping list here . Or if you are new to WW check out my tips for getting your kitchen ready. All point values below were upda...

I have learned that planning is key on Weight Watchers (WW). If you prepare for success, you will be more likely to be successful. Other than healthy food, here is what you need to get started working the plan. Food scale I already had a food scale when I started WW from past healthy eating forays but when starting with WW, I actually bought a second one for my office! It is much easier to count many things by weight and it's more accurate. To be able to count your servings correctly a food scale is a must. You need 3 basic functions tare, weight in oz and weight in grams. This is the one I bought for my office , there are lots of options of Amazon for under $15. Non-stick pans One of the challenging things about cooking on WW for me was to use less oil for cooking. Using a little olive oil would quickly make my 0 point vegetables 1 point, or more if I was too heavy handed! Using less oil is great but you need good non-stick cookware to do it. I don't like Te...