Way back in June, after I had paid off all my student loan debt and was riding high, I came up with a financial plan for the rest of the year. I wanted to save for my road trip in early September, another road trip in October and max out my IRA all before the […]
Author: Kara
Sunshine Blogger Award!
This weekend the wonderful MJ over at Dream Beyond Debt nominated me for the Sunshine Blogger Award. A big thanks to her! For this award I am to answer a few questions then nominate and contact a few other bloggers with the same award. It’s a fun and cool way to share some facts about […]
On Being Called Cheap
A catering co-worker of mine called me cheap the other day. I guess the first time he said it it was to someone else in our catering company. ‘Kara’s too cheap. It’s getting out of control.’ As we all know, I am a fiend for catering leftovers and getting the most out of my side […]
How Focusing on Paying Off My Loans Helped Save Me
Between the ages of 25 and 26 things in my life sucked. I was broke, I was underemployed, I was scared, and I felt helpless. I had no direction, no money, and a boatload of debt. I was watching lots of my friends succeed in seemingly every area of their lives: getting raises and promotions at work, […]
My Money Mindset, Post Debt
Paying off all my student loan debt was the best thing I have ever done for myself and my finances. It’s made everything better. Becoming debt free doesn’t mean suddenly becoming wealthy though, or even financially stable. While not having to make a debt payment each month does mean ownership of my money I am still […]
Free is All Around Us: Finding Free Fitness Classes
Night swimming! The last two weeks I’ve been making a serious effort to get out of my house and experience my city. I’m a homebody for sure and sometimes it can be hard to roust myself from my house. Austin is a great town and since I plan on moving away some day I want to […]
Get Out Of Debt Now, For Your Future Self’s Sake
When you’re carrying debt, sometimes it feels like you’re standing at the bottom of a hole, just looking up. Your debt has built up all around you and you feel stuck, unable to get out. Even though I have successfully climbed my debt mountain, I still talk about debt all the time. I mean, it’s all […]
Staying Frugal When You Celebrate
July is a month full of celebration for me. The month kicks off with Jubilation Week, a whole week of fun that my roommates and I made up. That includes the anniversary of us living together, the 4th of July and a birthday. Today is actually another roommates birthday and next week is yet another […]
Can Money Buy Happiness? A Broke Person’s View
It’s a common enough refrain: money can’t buy you happiness. The general idea behind the phrase is that the things in life that cause happiness are not things so much as experiences or emotions. Money can’t buy you more time with a grandparent. Money can’t buy you late nights with best friends. Money can’t buy love, and […]
How It Feels to Not Have A Debt Payment
This month marks the first time in four years that I haven’t had to make a student loan payment. KaraKara Perez is the original founder of From Frugal To Free. She is a money expert, speaker and founder of Bravely Go, a feminist financial education company. Her work has been featured on NPR, Business Insider, Forbes, and […]