I graduated with a Master’s degree last month, which I reflect on here. My wife had graduated with a Master’s degree in May of 2019. The median grad student took out $54,500 in student loans to attend grad school at public universities like the ones that we graduated from. However, the two of us did not bring over $100,000 in graduate student loans into our marriage. In fact, we were both able to use assistantships…
Lifestyle inflation is the basis of the phrase “more money, more problems.” It means that as your income increases, so does the cost of your lifestyle. So instead of becoming more wealthy when you get a raise, instead you accumulate more stuff/more payments on stuff. It’s the driver behind buying too much house, a fancier car (that you don’t need), a boat, or any number of “luxuries” that are supposed to make life more pleasurable.…
On December 14th, in the year of Our Lord 2020, I submitted my Master’s Thesis. This 75 page document gave me unmeasurable stress between August and December. I worked nights and weekends, through multiple rewrites and corrections. There were times that I thought I wouldn’t finish on time and have to go an extra semester. With twins on the way in March and a job offer for February, I couldn’t afford to miss the December…
It was the summer of 2017 when I first became interested in finance. I worked the previous few summers and saved money. I wanted to test the stock market. It’s an overwhelming thing if you don’t have any prior knowledge, so I started googling. I read articles about beginner investment strategies. My grandparents subscribed to Money magazine, so I would go to their house and read the backlog of issues. After a while, I decided…
One of my favorite descriptors for Ebenezer Scrooge (in the book and A Muppets Christmas Carol) is “as solitary as an oyster.” I think it’s something we can all relate to throughout the pandemic. We’ve all missed seeing family and friends at times. If you’re like me, you missed seeing family for Thanksgiving and you’re doing the same on Christmas. For the past few months, I’ve had another reason to be solitary: finishing my Master’s thesis.…
One day, I decided that it would be to have a fish tank. The more I thought of it the more enamored I became with the idea. I read articles online about the best fish for beginners. I joined a fish tank forum site. After putting all that time in researching, I even convinced my parents to let me keep the fish tank in my bedroom. But this is not a cheery tale. I learned…
As a single guy living the grad school life, budgeting was simple. I didn’t have student loans, my 2003 Honda was paid off, and my food costs were pretty low. I just had to balance my spending with my research assistant’s paycheck. That was always easy to do. One paycheck covered the rent, the other paycheck covered everything else. Over my two years of grad school, I even managed to squirrel away a decent chunk…
Though the world might be ruled by capital, each person shouldn’t be. I certainly don’t want to have my life ruled by money concerns. This is my impetus for being Frugal Jon. I want to live without money stress as my paramount concern. This doesn’t mean deprivation, only a rearranging of financial priorities. The goal of my blog is to share frugal tips and strategies while showing that you can be frugal and live life…