Summer is finally here, and the temperature is finally climbing — It’s time to break-out the t-shirts and store away the long underwear for a couple months! For the frugally minded, cranking up the air conditioning to a comfortable 68F is a giant no-no! That’s a giant waste of money, and poor use of the organ between our ears!
Read more
Back in the old days (before I had kids and lived in a big fancy house), I lived a simple life. I had small apartments with roommates, and kept my expenses really low. Less than $10 a day (not including rent).
I cooked much of my own food (like today), but I did so with a very limited set of culinary tools — Two knives, some mixing bowls, a microwave, and a rice cooker. Sure, I could have eaten out, but I chose to save my money instead…
Read more
I think May has to be my favorite month of the year to live in the Pacific Northwest. Everything is green and blooming from previous rain showers, and the weather finally gets warm and dry enough to spend an entire day outside with the family.
Most of the year here is cold, cloudy and wet. We spend a lot of time indoors playing board games, reading books, watching movies, hanging out with friends, and trying to stay dry….
Read more
Unique thinking has always been something of a rarity among the human race. Humans are social creatures that like to fit in. We love to talk, tell stories, share ideas, and even copy some of the best ideas. We also tend to follow the people we believe to be authorities.
This behavioral tendency leads to fads and faddish behavior. Take for example Tulip-mania…
Read more
December is gone and a new year has begun! Now that 2019 is here, it’s time I did one of those final “tally-up” blog posts which detail all of our annual numbers. I’m usually just as curious as you guys to see how much we spent … and earned in dividends for 2018!
This last year was just a blur of activity…
Read more
Hello, Mr. Tako is my name and financial manipulation is my game. At least in May it was.
Yep, it’s time once again for another monthly financial update, and this one is a doozy! If there was a theme to the month of May, is has to have to been “financial manipulation” because our numbers look completely crazy this time around…
Read more
Yes, it’s that time again — The beginning of whole new month! Typically I put out a Dividend Income and Expense post at the beginning of every month, but this month I’m a little behind schedule.
I wanted to finish the post on Winning The Thermostat War first, so this post was a little delayed…
Read more
Today’s post is about food. If you’re allergic to pictures of food, this probably isn’t the post for you. Instead, you could try reading something I wrote about investing, saving, or even dividends.
For everyone else, let’s talk about food! For our family, food is an important part of how we reached financial independence…
Read more
Hi folks! The Tako family is busy traveling today — which means my regular posting schedule is being interrupted by
Read more