On the Money: Not Buying Lattes Will Not Solve Your Money Problems

How is your Sunday going?

Mine is great. I’m packing for my next trip – this time to Georgia the Country – while looking at a very large Christmas tree and writing this note to you, friend.

Why the hurry?

Because I just realised that I have not chatted to you for some time. Wanting to me helpful, I’ve been publishing long, researched and lecturing posts.

Yes, these are helpful because you can learn. But you can learn at many places; what I can offer you, apart from learning, is a chat about life and money.

Hence, I’m starting a new rubric on these pages. It is called ‘On the money’ and will be published every Sunday. This is where I’d chat with you about the comings and goings of the week; about life and money; and about money writing/news I’ve come across.

I’m not a patient woman. Once I knew that I’d like a good heart to heart with you, friend, I couldn’t wait to start.

Grab a coffee and let us begin.

How has my week been overall?

If I had to tell you in one word about my week, it will be ‘sedate’.

I did some writing, I did some reading and I did some resting. Nothing very straining or ambitious.

You see, after my epic traveling schedule of the last two months, I reckon a week of calm is long overdue.

I told you that I slept in 12 different hotel rooms in six weeks, did I?

It was all work as well.

What went well?

I had a big, great surprise last week.

The Money Principle is one of the Vuelio top ten personal finance blogs. (It is in third position but given that Miss Thrifty is lower on the list I suspect it is not ranked.) If you’d like to see who else was on the list, click on the banner to the right (you can’t miss it; it says ‘top 10’ and is large and colourful.)

Money moves

Over the last week I made three money moves:

#1. Bought some cryptocurrency. Yes, I know what I’ve said about Bitcoin and I stand by it. This doesn’t mean that I can’t experiment, right? So, I bought a bit of Bitcoin, ETH and Litecoin. We shall see how this one works out. In four days, it’s been very much down (from what I bought it at) and now I’m where I started and going up.

#2. Changed my mobile phone plan. This was a hard decision. You know that I like my gadgets. Still, my iPhone 6+ is perfectly fine and there is no need to upgrade. My new plan is £27 cheaper; add John ‘upgrade’ that is £10 cheaper than his previous plan and you get to £37. Add free Spotify that come with my bundle (and I’m cancelling my subscription to iTunes) and you get £47 less going out of our account per month. I call this a win, don’t you?

#3. Did some money sums which left me warmly glowing.  John insists that I shouldn’t tell you about this. I disagree; I want to tell you not because I want to brag but because I want you to remember that wherever you are with your money, you can start building and get where you want to be. I arrived in the UK in 1990 with $20 in my pocket. In 2009 we had £100,000 consumer debt. Yesterday I realised that we are (de facto) financially independent. This means that I don’t have to go back to work after my sabbatical if I don’t want you. Do you know how it feels? I can taste the freedom. (I just must figure out what I really want to do.)

Money articles you should read

The 5 best (and worst) frugal living tips we know (I Will Teach You To Be Rich): This is my favourite by a long run. It not only deals away with the silliness of some popular frugal tips but is very clear on the tips that really will get you ahead in the money game.

Start Investing: A Complete Guide for Beginners (Dough Roller): Yes. Just read this and take notes (and I know it is a competitor for us at The Money Principle but kudos where it is due.)

How to invest like a couch potato (I Will Teach You To Be Rich): People are different. Some like to be hands on, understand everything (not that this is possible) and have glorious feeling of control. Others, prefer to set things in motion and forget about it; just do other stuff, you know. If you are in the latter group, read this blog.

This is all from me for today.

All three articles share one powerful message: not buying lattes is not where your path to financial health and wellbeing is. Get creative with the big gains and invest the proceeds.

Have you made any money moves last week? Please do share.