It’s easy to look at the way other people spend money and pass judgement. “Wow, I can’t believe they spent that much on a meal”, you might say to yourself. And it’s honestly something everyone has done at one point in time. And while it’s easy to judge other people for their habits, it’s a […]
Category: Saving Money
Being Poor In The Ivy League And Lessons Learned
The Finance Twins is run by identical twins, Camilo and Francisco Maldonado. While The Twins collaboratively work on most articles, this one was written by Camilo. Being an identical twin, I got used to standing out a little more than the average person. An ordinary walk around the grocery store with my mom and siblings […]
Credit Card Points And Cash Back Offers Won’t Save You
Credit card points and cash back offers are everywhere. EVERYWHERE. We regularly get messages asking us for advice about which credit card has the best rewards. We both use credit cards to make all of our routine purchases, in part, for these very benefits. What is the other reason we use a credit card? They […]
Your Personal Savings Rate – The Most Important Thing You Can Track
We’ve written about the importance of budgeting. And about how critical it is to understand how much money you need for retirement. We’ve even written about how being intentional with your money and prioritizing experiences over physical products will make you happier. But NONE of those things are as important as your personal savings rate. […]
Mindful Spending: A Life & Money Hack
Mindfulness is a word that has become more widely used in the past couple of years. It has been touted to be the key to a happy life. And who doesn’t want to be happy?! Mindful spending is closely related. In fact, the principle of mindfulness can also be applied to personal finance. One of […]
What Is Financial Freedom?
If you’d rather listen to this article on Financial Freedom, you can find it here on the Optimal Finance Daily podcast, or listen below! Living in the U.S., we are constantly bombarded with the word freedom. We all know what it means, yet it’s not easy to put it into a few simple words. Ultimately, […]
Take Care Of Your Health – Few Things Are More Important
It’s getting colder, which means that the long summer nights, the sounds of crickets chirping in the darkness, and the warm weather are slowly starting to wind down. Back to school shopping lists are in hand. But we want to use this time of year to remind you how important it is to take care […]
Lifestyle Creep – The Silent Money Thief
If you don’t know what lifestyle creep is, it’s something that should be at the top of the things young professionals should avoid. If you already suffer from it, you need to get it taken care of ASAP! Want to build wealth quickly? Avoiding lifestyle creep will be as important as making a budget and […]
Data Shows You’ll Likely Make Less Than Your Parents, But This Is How You Can Change That
As Colin Powell presciently noted, “A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.” But while generations have bought into the idea that hard work levels the playing field, it’s becoming clear it takes more than a hefty dose of elbow grease to rise to the top. Mobility, in an […]
What Is Net Worth And Why It Matters
If you are wondering why your net worth matters, you aren’t alone. We get asked all the time what the term net worth means and why it even matters. The concept is more simple than it sounds and is straightforward to calculate. To begin, net worth is strictly a financial term. The name is vague […]