The 7 Personal Finance Articles We Loved This Week

It’s Thursday, and you know what that means: time for another round of awesome personal finance articles hand-picked by ESI of Rockstar Finance!

One thing we’ve been talking about lately here on TFD is the concept of boundaries. Boundaries in your professional life can keep you from being overworked and help you achieve better work-life balance; personal boundaries can ensure that your relationships stay healthy and fulfilling, not enabling or codependent. And when it comes to your money, it’s always best to know your limits — what’s worth your time and energy, and what really isn’t. For example, we all reach a point when we know we’re worth more than what’s being offered.

But on the flip side, we have to know our personal boundaries when it comes to what we won’t sacrifice to earn more money. I loved reading this post, all about one blogger’s personal values and limits when it comes to reaching financial independence. I love what she has to say about the importance of being yourself, even if it means not becoming a millionaire:

I never want to become a “dishonest” person just to become a millionaire. I never want to sell products I don’t actually believe in myself just to make money or “sell out” and work with a brand that I don’t completely align with. Brands have reached out to me in the past and I deny them because I just don’t feel comfortable writing posts and being dishonest with [my readers]. And leaving this money on the table is a huge decision from me…I don’t really make much money at all from [my] blog! I’ll never tell you readers things that aren’t true about me just to have you like me/follow me/subscribe/etc. I always want to be my most genuine self – showing the good and the bad. My goal is for [my] blog to remain a platform where we all strive to better ourselves to become on our way to happiness — not just a giant advertisement for junk.

As much as we here at TFD believe in doing things for money, we also know that integrity is priceless. Be sure to check out the full post, as well as the rest of this week’s great picks, below!

1. Move Over Joneses, There Is A New Cool Kid On The Block. – Michael Dinich

“Look out the Joneses. There is a new couple in town. They moved in a few blocks away, into the smallest house on the street, with their used Subarus, and thrift store clothes. You’ll see them riding bikes to work, never going out, and declining to attend the neighborhood BBQ because that costs, gasp, money.”

2. Things I will never do to become a millionaire – On My Way to Happiness

“Money is a tool to enhance our lives, buy things and experiences to help us thrive. It is not meant to destroy relationships, make us unhealthy, or make us unhappy. In fact, I want to use it as a tool to enhance my relationships, health, and happiness.”

3. The Many Benefits of Hard Physical Labor – DIY 2 FI

“Satisfaction comes around when you get to the end of a long day of hard work, gaze upon the fruits of your labors, and say in a gruff and manly voice, ‘I need a beer!’ And then, while you’re drinking that well-earned beer, you say, ‘Look at what I made today!’ Because you are a creator of things!”

4. Suddenly there’s Half: Financial Recovery After Divorce – Kristen Edens

“We can’t recover OR rebuild without taking time for ourselves. This is just as critical financially as it is emotionally. Every purchase from divorce forward must be made for you.”

5. Is Early Retirement Keeping Millennials From Having Kids? – Abandoned Cubicle

“And wouldn’t you know it. Once they enter the house, sand, mud, water, and something slimy from God-knows-where gets streaked across the kitchen, dining room, and living room, faster than you can catch them with keys, purse, coats, groceries, and the giant watermelon in your arms.”

6. The Unlucky Long-Term Investor Still Makes Money – Time in the Market

“Sometimes, you don’t have to have good timing. Even unlucky investors who buy at the top can get pretty lucky and have good returns. All it takes is patience and a long-term mindset.”

7. Health Insurance In Retirement: Unsolved – The Retirement Manifesto

“It’s good to make conservative assumptions in your retirement planning.  Better to assume to worse, and get a surprise to the good, than to plan for the best and have a negative announcement throw your plans off track.”

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