The FrugalPod

FrugalPod Episode #11 – Economic Suvivor’s Guilt

host@frugalpod.com (David Podley and Noble Acuff) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:37:33 +0000

David Podley and clinical psychologist Dr. Joe Dilley discuss economic survivor’s guilt. Survivor’s guilt is a natural response for people who see others struggling and realize that “it could have been me.” As we see those around us struggling, try to make yourself available to the people who may be struggling, but don’t try to make sense [...]

FrugalPod Episode #9 – Why This Recession Feels So Much Different

host@frugalpod.com (David Podley and Noble Acuff) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 22:27:23 +0000

David Podley and Noble Acuff talk about why this recession feels different than other recessions of the past. First, this recession may be the first many people have been through. People who graduated after the tech bust of 2001 may not have seen a real People tend to have a short-term memory about other recessions. First, when [...]

FrugalPod Episode #10 – Interview with Author Ramit Sethi

host@frugalpod.com (David Podley and Noble Acuff) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:45:20 +0000

David interviews Ramit Sethi, author of the newly released personal finance book I Will Teach You To Be Rich and blogger at the website that shares the same name (IWillTeachYouToBeRich.com). Although the title Ramit chose for his website and book sounds like a scam, his book is full of practical advice on getting ahead and living [...]

Why This Round of Belt-Tightening is New For Many

host@frugalpod.com (David Podley and Noble Acuff) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 16:07:43 +0000

Where were you in the recession of 1980-81? What about the one in 1991-1993? If you’re like many of the FrugalPod blog readers, you were young enough that you weren’t affected too much by the downturns. You didn’t lose a job because you probably weren’t working. Since this may be the first real downturn you’ve experienced, [...]

FrugalPod Special Episode with Dr. Joe Dilley on Emotions and Money

host@frugalpod.com (David Podley and Noble Acuff) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 21:10:41 +0000

David Podley interviews Dr. Joe Dilley about emotions that come up when dealing with tough financial times. Dr. Dilley is a clinical psychologist based in South Pasadena, California. It’s dangerous to invest ourselves too much into straightening out our finances because we can end up dwelling on either our personal finances or the finances of our [...]

Some Statistics About $1 Trillion

host@frugalpod.com (David Podley and Noble Acuff) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:35:46 +0000

There’s lots of talk about one trillion dollars being spent to support the economy. It’s a lot of money. (Here’s a site that offers a visualization of $1 trillion.) Here are some statistics I came up with: If you took $100 bills and laid them end to end (with the short sides touching), $1 trillion would go [...]

FrugalPod Episode #8 – What is a Financial Plan and Why Do You Need One?

host@frugalpod.com (David Podley and Noble Acuff) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 01:38:14 +0000

A standard financial plan will help you know where your finances are now, where you want (0r need) to be in the future, and how to get there. Financial plans come in a few varieties. First, there is the traditional financial planning model where you go in and visit with a financial planner who will work to [...]

Watching People Pay Off Debt

host@frugalpod.com (David Podley and Noble Acuff) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 23:25:40 +0000

More and more people are paying off debt (and talking about it).

FrugalPod Episode #7 – What to Do When You Might Be Laid Of

host@frugalpod.com (David Podley and Noble Acuff) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 19:16:59 +0000

If you are facing a layoff, you need to go through your budget with a fine-tooth comb. Know where your money is going and think about whether you really need something. Focus your efforts on things that can both cut expenses as well as bring in more money. Sometimes you aren’t going to save a whole [...]

FrugalPod Episode #6: Retirement Planning

host@frugalpod.com (David Podley and Noble Acuff) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 23:13:08 +0000

It is easy to get confused about retirement planning, but it’s important to get started, especially if your company offers a 401(k) matching program. The differences between retirement plans: 401(k) and 403(b) are both employer-sponsored retirement accounts. The 401(k) is offered by companies that are for-profit and the 403(b) is offered by educational institutions and some non-profits. [...]

FrugalPod Podcast – Episode #5 – Intro to Investing

host@frugalpod.com (David Podley and Noble Acuff) — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 17:00:58 +0000

Episode 5 of the FrugalPod podcast is online and ready for download. You can also subscribe to the podcast via its RSS feed or through iTunes. As always, we encourage you to post your comments, questions, and suggestions for future episodes in the comments section on the blog. Thanks for listening and we hope you [...]

FeedFlix Tells You How Much Your Movies REALLY Cost You on Netflix

host@frugalpod.com (David Podley and Noble Acuff) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 19:34:11 +0000

If I had a Netflix account, I would definitely use FeedFlix (found at feedflix.com). I just read something Leo Laporte posted on Twitter. He is spending an average of $92.97 per movie. On the $20 plan, that’s about one movie rented every 3.5 months or so. FeedFlix is free and provides some great stats (see image [...]

Book Giveaway

host@frugalpod.com (David Podley and Noble Acuff) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 18:26:16 +0000

We’re giving away four copies of Money: A Memoir to new registrants to the newsletter today. Sign up in the sidebar and we’ll randomly select people at the end of the weekend.

How to Get By on $500,000

host@frugalpod.com (David Podley and Noble Acuff) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 23:43:27 +0000

Back in 1980, Andrew Tobias (who also wrote “The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need“) wrote a book called “Getting By on $100,000 a Year.” It’s a humorous look at what it was like to live in the financial industry at the beginning of what turned out to be a long stock market boom. Things have [...]

A Brief History of Financial Bubbles (Part Two – Railroads)

host@frugalpod.com (David Podley and Noble Acuff) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 16:45:18 +0000

Yesterday, I talked about the Dutch Tulip Bubble, where tulip bulb prices reached outrageous heights. Today we’re heading west toward England to talk about the Railroad Bubble of the 1830s. As the steam-powered locomotive emerged in the first decades of the 19th century, it was seen as the answer to drive commercial trade between large cities, [...]

Frugal Pod Podcast Show Notes – Episode #4 – Paying Off Debt

host@frugalpod.com (David Podley and Noble Acuff) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 02:00:08 +0000

Episode 4 of the FrugalPod podcast is online and ready for download. You can also subscribe to the podcast via its RSS feed or through iTunes. As always, we encourage you to post your comments, questions, and suggestions for future episodes in the comments section on the blog. Thanks for listening and we hope you [...]

A Brief History of Financial Bubbles (Part One – Tulips)

host@frugalpod.com (David Podley and Noble Acuff) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 16:45:28 +0000

Speculation in financial markets didn’t start during the dot com boom (and bust) in the late 1990s. In this three-part series, we’re going to take a look at bubbles of the distant (and sometimes not-so-distant) past. The Dutch Tulip Bubble In the 1600s, the Dutch went crazy for tulips. So crazy, that the prices for tulip bulbs [...]

Does Re-Financing and Paying Off a Mortgage Quicker Really Benefit You?

host@frugalpod.com (David Podley and Noble Acuff) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 19:12:33 +0000

As interest rates have dropped, many people are looking at re-financing their home mortgages. When you look at what the effect of a one or even two percentage point difference can make in monthly payments, it’s no wonder. There are basically three methods to re-finance a mortgage with a lower interest rate. You can re-finance and have [...]

Why the Current Financial Mess Feels So Bad

host@frugalpod.com (David Podley and Noble Acuff) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:30:31 +0000

When most peoples’ retirement accounts increase at a good pace, few people care that huge profits are being made by a few investment wizards. (Note that in the five years from January 2003 to December 2007 the S&P 500 returned an average of over 12.8%.) When you can turn $1,000 into $1,826 in five years, you [...]

FrugalPod Podcast Show Notes- Episode #3 – Budgeting

host@frugalpod.com (David Podley and Noble Acuff) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 22:27:36 +0000

Episode 3 of the FrugalPod podcast is online and ready for download. You can also subscribe to the podcast via its RSS feed or through iTunes. As always, we encourage you to post your comments, questions, and suggestions for future episodes in the comments section on the blog. Thanks for listening and we hope you [...]

FrugalPod Podcast Show Notes – Episode #2 – Goal Setting

host@frugalpod.com (David Podley and Noble Acuff) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 22:27:17 +0000

Episode 2 of the FrugalPod Podcast is available for download. You can also subscribe to the show via it’s RSS feed, or through iTunes. We encourage you to leave comments, questions, suggestions for future episodes, etc. in the comments. Thanks for listening and we hope you enjoy the show. Episode 2 Show Notes David and Noble discuss [...]

FrugalPod Podcast Show Notes – Episode #1 – Introductions

host@frugalpod.com (David Podley and Noble Acuff) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 22:26:40 +0000

Show notes for The Frugal Pod Podcast - Episode #1

Why We’re Happy

host@frugalpod.com (David Podley and Noble Acuff) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 21:10:17 +0000

Do too many options lead us to be happy or unhappy? According to a few lectures at the TED conference, options may make us less happy. Have we lost our understanding that we should accept we have limited resources and can't have everything we want?

Six Steps to Developing a Creative Outlet

host@frugalpod.com (David Podley and Noble Acuff) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 17:45:49 +0000

A friend of mine recently finished all of the licensing requirements in order to become a therapist. The last seven years of his life have been devoted to completing his education and passing exams related to his career choice. Now he is facing a question many face at this point in their career: What do [...]

Having the Appropriate Tools for the Job

host@frugalpod.com (David Podley and Noble Acuff) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 18:52:38 +0000

Working with good tools makes a job more enjoyable (or at least more tolerable). Unfortunately, I often spend too much time thinking about the tools and not enough time thinking about (or doing) the job. How many times have you thought, “If only I had Tool/Camera/Computer X, then I would be able to do Y”? In [...]

Thank You Notes (and how nice should they be)

host@frugalpod.com (David Podley and Noble Acuff) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:00:45 +0000

So Christmas has come and gone. You have shiny new clothes/electronics/stuff and you want to thank the person who gave them to you. You want to thank the person in style. You want to thank them in a way that would make Emily Post proud. The thank you note is key here, but believe it [...]

5 Tips for Selling Used Books for a Profit on Amazon’s Marketplace

host@frugalpod.com (David Podley and Noble Acuff) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 20:54:04 +0000

Selling used books on Amazon can add extra cash to your pocket. You don't really need eighteen books on judo techniques for beginners, do you?

Postal Stamp Inflation

host@frugalpod.com (David Podley and Noble Acuff) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 01:36:04 +0000

With the introduction of the Liberty Bell Forever stamp a few years ago, the United States Postal Service created a stamp that is worth the cost of sending a one-ounce letter rather than simply a face value. A question rose out of this: Does it make sense to stock up on stamps at a lower [...]

How we Spend Christmas Money (or Gift Cards)

host@frugalpod.com (David Podley and Noble Acuff) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 23:42:49 +0000

I’m sure I frequent Starbucks far too often to truly call myself frugal. Over the last year, I have significantly cut back my coffee habit, but I’m still stopping in to my local shop a couple times a day. (To be fair, all but my first trip are free because I registered my Starbucks card [...]