The Friday Feast ~ the 27th of March

I love learning. Always have. So when I find a blog or writer that interests me I devour everything I can find. Every day I move countless amazing articles from an array of  frugal, simple living, FI-minded writers into my Amazing Reads folder to be read at my leisure. These articles inspire me and the Mr. to think about things in different ways, to keep open minds and to constantly keep learning so we can be the best possible us.

In this episode of Friday Feast: Simple Organized Life, Suburban Finance, 20 Something Finance, Early Retirement Guy, Done by Forty, Mr. Everyday Dollar, Frugaling.

Here are my picks for this week's Feast. I hope they inspire you to set financial goals and take control over your heart, mind and - yes, your pocketbook.  There is a fire lit within each and every one of us, and the sooner we find that flame, the quicker we can use it for the energy we need to master our own happiness.

Marriage and Relationships (continued):

Okay I know I had this category last week but there were two more amazing articles about healthy happy relationships this week that I can't help but share. First 9 Habits of a Healthy Couple from Simple Organized Life. I particularly like #s 2, 3, and 9. I've never understood couples who don't want to spend a single minute apart. We don't want to spend much time apart but I like my occasional evening knitting with the girls and Steve enjoys his manly happy hours. Then we have lots to talk about after!

Meanwhile, Suburban Finance posted the four common money beliefs that damage your marriage. The gist is that couples need to openly discuss finances and honest way. Since I account for every dime we spend currently these conversations happen often for us and we almost never have any issues. Honest communication is key.

Wealth Concepts:

I am often just as outraged about how those around me view their finances as 20 Something Finance laments in 40+ Hours a Week & Zero on Personal Finance. Insanity!. It is insanity! My opinion is that people know they are not saving/spending like they should but, naturally, don't want to confront that reality...so they hide their heads in the sand and make excuses about how they are much too busy to sit down and look at their finances. NOT TRUE.  The truth of the matter is they just don't want to. They're afraid to and often for good reason. Sometimes, you just have to shake your head and walk away.....though hopefully our blog and many others out there help to start making a difference in their lives.

Along a similar line of thinking, Early Retirement Guy explains how the biggest threat to your wealth is YOU! Entitlement is certainly an issue with a lot of folks now-a-days and that mindset of "deserving" specific things is what throws families into loads of debt and eventual despair. Do you deserve to be happy? Absolutely! Does that mean material possessions? Absolutely NOT.

Lastly, for those of us who are spending time each week assessing our finances (possibly too much?) and are finding our happiness through sources other than the newest i-phone, Done by Forty makes an interesting and important point. As he explains this year is not average. Nor is the next. There are always going to be big expenses that we cannot plan for. This needs to be accounted for in the budget. No matter how long spending is averaged, your current spending level probably won't be your guaranteed spending in the future. So, make sure to keep a nice handsome buffer in your bank account to see you through.

Success and Failure:

The last two articles this week  are on opposite ends of the spectrum. The first is a success story that leaves the writer less thrilled than you might imagine. The second a fictional account of how hard it can sometimes be to succeed. Both are inspirational to me and make me think about how I view money and how lucky I am.

Mr. EveryDay Dollar reaches the big $1,000,000 and wonders why he doesn't feel better about it.

Frugaling relates a sad and thought provoking tale about how hard it can be to get by.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did you read something inspiring this week? If so let us know in the comments below!

They have been at a great feast of learning, and stolen the scraps.
- William Shakespeare