Category Spending & frugality
The Essential Importance of Getting Your Stake Money Together
Not buying stuff is easy. It became my default mode years ago. I don’t identify as frugal…if I want something, I’ll buy it…it’s just that I don’t want more stuff. Generally, I don’t want the extra hassle involved. Everyone has a different view of what “enough” looks like. It’s all relative. Is Bill Gates being […]
Not wanting something is as good as having it
I’ve said before that there are two ways to improve your happiness. You can either get more or you can want less. Either way works. I’m not sure it matters which way is “best”. What I’m sure about is that wanting less is a whole lot cheaper than getting more. Consider the boundary case of […]
How to spot a conflict of interests (Part 1)
This post was first published in 2016 and updated in August 2020 Years ago, I was putting some clothes into the washing machine. I wondered: how much liquid washing powder I should use? So I looked at the instructions on the bottle which told me to put in 2 capfuls per load. I was running […]
The Beauty of Minimalism
We are buying things we don’t need, with money we don’t have, to impress people we don’t even know The Minimalists At last! I finally got round to watching the film “Minimalism” on Netflix which features Josh and Ryan aka The Minimalists. I loved the film and I’m fascinated by the overlap between minimalism and […]
Do you own your possessions or do they own you?
Meet Justin and Jessica. They’ve been together for just over a year. Justin is the one wearing the ill-fitting T shirt and cargo shorts. Jessica is the immaculately groomed one in metallic grey. Jessica is expensive to run and a little above Justin’s paygrade. Perhaps that’s why he’s so devoted to her? Justin thinks he’s got lucky but I’m not so sure about […]
The inestimable advantages of paying yourself first
Paying yourself first is something that I’ve mentioned before. But I haven’t yet fully explained it’s amazing power to accelerate your journey to financial freedom. Paying yourself first is what it says on the tin. You pay yourself before you pay Netflix, the supermarket, the bank, the utility companies, the breweries, cigarette companies, gift shops, Premier […]
Get Rich with Recycling
When my daughter turned 17, my parents very kindly gave her 2 things for her birthday: firstly, driving lessons and secondly their old banger car which they were replacing. That’s the good news. The bad news is that, although the 11 year old Ford Ka (street value ~£200) cost us nothing, we’ve temporarily become a […]
Top Cars for smart people
The Escape Artist recommends cycling or walking wherever possible. The main reason is not to save money (although the savings are huge over time). Its the extra life force, happiness and vitality that you get. Oh and great legs as well. But you may want a car for longer journeys. Just remember that cars are Money Incineration […]
There is always some clown with a bigger boat
Behold the good ship Saint Nicolas, floating gin palace and testament to mankind’s engineering capability. I recently saw this boat up close, moored in the marina near where we were staying on holiday in Sardinia. I’m not sure whether my amateur photography skills adequately portray the sheer scale of the boat. But take it from […]
Get Rich with Perspective (Part 2)
Is it easy to save money or is it hard? Well, that partly depends on your perspective. If you watch TV News you’ll pick up the idea that modern life is tougher than ever, the world is a dangerous and expensive place and there’s nothing you can do about that. If you consume enough of […]
The Escape Artist 