December 2016 - Northern Expenditure

The Money Moose Survey!

By MaggieBanks

On December 21, 2016

In Research Highlights

Alright, friends! The time has come! Drumroll, please….

Introducing, the Money Moose Survey!

How You Can Help Me:

Go and Take the Survey. It will take 5-10 minutes. Be honest in your responses.
Make all spouse/significant others/random dinner guests take the survey. Don’t discuss its contents, just set it in front of them and say: “While I whip up dessert, I have an important study I would like you to participate in.”
Share with your blogger and personal audiences. If you are a blogger, share the link and say something like: “A large-scale study about money! Help a sister out!” When you post it on your personal Facebook/Twitter feed say: “My good friend Maggie [because I consider you a friend if you are here reading this blog… I mean, you know more about me than most of my Facebook friends!] is doing a large-scale research project. Please take 5-10 minutes of your time to participate.”
Post the link in public bathrooms. Bribe people. Withhold Christmas cookies until they take the survey. *Ahem* I’m sorry. I got a bit carried away there… I don’t want anyone to be forced… (am I coming off as desperate?)

The link to share is:

http://www.moneymoose.space

(please note it is .space, not .com … who wouldn’t want to click on that?!) Again, please don’t discuss the survey contents. You can say it’s about money (I put it right in the title!) but please leave the rest hidden. I don’t want to skew results by having people think about the answers before they take the survey.

Challenge: Share it far. Share it wide. Can we get 500 responses before I return on January 9? I’ll let you know how many we have when I return.

HAPPY HAPPY HOLIDAYS FRIENDS! You are all the greatest. Seriously. I’m thankful for you! And I’ll see you Next Year!

What Does Your Remarkable Life Look Like?

By MaggieBanks

On December 19, 2016

In Plan Updates

Several years ago, I caught a glimpse at my doctor’s notes in my chart. Mine didn’t say “difficult patient” like Elaine in that one Seinfeld Episode, but I was equally confused and offended by a statement in mine:

Bones and joints unremarkable.

Um, excuse me?! I think my bones and joints are VERY remarkable! I jest about my offense, of course. As Mr. T pointed out, in the medical world, that is probably a compliment (and since Lui’s birth, my joints are probably now medically remarkable). But “unremarkable” feels offensive.

Roth IRA Challenge: Start Early

By MaggieBanks

On December 16, 2016

In Roth IRA Challenge

Everyone has a story to tell and today, TJ Pridonoff is here to share his! TJ has a self-titled blog that is awesome. He’s getting ready to take off on an epic road trip. During his preparations, he’s written about his spending, his investment portfolio, and other personal topics. His perspective is always fresh and you should definitely go check him out. Without further ado… Take it away TJ!

After I read Ms. Montana’s fantastic take on the Roth IRA challenge, I knew that I had a unique story to tell. Like probably all my blog posts, this is full of first world problems that several readers are just not going to relate to. If that’s not your jam, I promise that Maggie will post something a million times more awesome on Monday!

For those who aren’t familiar with my story, I’ve had a very fortunate upbringing and we are (I am?) counting down the days until I get to quit my job and travel America by automobile and AirBNB room rentals/campgrounds. After that, I plan to “settle down” in a lower cost of living area so that I can understand what my future expenses look like and then work on how to generate the necessary income to supplement my investments in supporting that spend. If that means no full time job, then I get to call myself early retired. Wouldn’t that be fun?

Santa Baby for Savers

By MaggieBanks

On December 12, 2016

In Saving Money

I can’t tell you how excited I am to share this with you today! As our Christmas present to you, Mr. T and I have written and recorded a brand new Christmas Carol for Personal Finance Geeks and Money-Savers alike! Enjoy!

NOTE: The Google ads in the video were not added by us, but by the owners of the copyright of the original song.

Northern Expressions: The Right Investments

By MaggieBanks

On December 9, 2016

In Northern Expressions

Happy Friday, friends!

Today’s Northern Expression comes from Helaine Olen & Harold Pollack in The Index Card:

Your time is valuable. Your happiness and economic security depend on your marriage, your family, your success at work and in your relationships. Investments in those areas are almost certain to pay off.

Every choice you make with your money or your time is an investment. If you invest too much time into something, you inevitably neglect another. Make sure your life asset allocations align with your priorities.

It’s possible to be economically secure AND happy. This balance requires prioritizing. You vote for your priorities with your time and your money. Vote wisely.

Love, Maggie

The Future is Full of HOPE

By MaggieBanks

On December 7, 2016

In Kids

We’re going to start off with a little riddle:

A father and his son are in a car accident. The father dies instantly, and the son is taken to the nearest hospital. The doctor comes in and exclaims ‘I can’t operate on this boy!’
‘Why not?’ the nurse asks.
‘Because he’s my son,’ the doctor responds.
How is this possible?

An old one, for sure. Do you remember the first time you heard it? I do! I was still a kid. Of course the answer is “The doctor is the boy’s mother.” Duh. And I remember saying: “Oh duh! (probably with a forehead-to-the-hand smack)” but I totally didn’t get the answer. It was, indeed, a riddle. You could blame this on my upbringing, except I was raised by incredible, feminist parents that instilled very young that I could do anything I wanted to do even though I was a girl. So, I’m blaming society as a whole. We knew women could be doctors. We even knew some female docs, but they were usually male.

This week, I told this riddle to my children.

November 2016 Plan Update

By MaggieBanks

On December 5, 2016

In Plan Updates

What a roller coaster of a month! I’m happy to report that things are going great inside the Stock house. The kids are at great stages right now and our house feels very merry and bright! Outside our little house and in the big, big world, I can’t say I feel quite as safe and happy. The hate is coming out of the closets and seemingly taking over the world. It’s important to be kind and as Mr. Rogers said:

When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’

(Mister Rogers has always been my favorite!)

This Christmas season, we’re making an increased effort to be those helpers!

This month is BIG for the blog. Coming soon: we have a very exciting Christmas post that’s definitely out of the ordinary. (Mr. T and I spent hours putting it together and you’ll LOVE IT. I promise!) In two weeks, I’m introducing something BIG and I’m super excited about it… details coming Monday, December 19th! YAY YAY YAY YAY! Ahem. Okay… what you came here for…

Roth IRA Challenge: Making the Most of Missed Opportunities

By MaggieBanks

On December 2, 2016

In Roth IRA Challenge

I can’t express how excited I am to have Ms. Our Next Life on the blog today. She blogs over at Our Next Life and has one of the best, most grounded, reassuring perspectives on the journey to early retirement out there! Seriously, if you’re not already a fan of Our Next Life, it’s time to figure out what all the buzz is about! Go! On top of that, though we’ve never actually met in person (yet!), she’s one of my real friends and I’m delighted to feature her and a bit of her journey here today…

Before we dive in, I just have to share with you guys that Maggie is one of our very favorite humans in PF blogland. She will never tell you herself how awesome she is, but it’s true. I’m especially grateful for her friendship and support since our blogs were both baby blogs – and, of course, all the Clueless GIFs. So needless to say, I’m thrilled to be here.

Month: December 2016

How You Can Help Me:

The link to share is:

HAPPY HAPPY HOLIDAYS FRIENDS! You are all the greatest. Seriously. I’m thankful for you! And I’ll see you Next Year!