“A library is one of the few remaining places that cares more about you than your wallet.”

Truth nuggets dropping today, boy!

That library is a frugal man and woman’s best friend!

And that passage comes from a thoroughly fantastic article in itself linked below, as well as a handful of other great reads I’ve enjoyed over the months…

Lots of great writers and ideas out there, and hopefully these just add to the beauty of the weekend coming up :) Let me know if any of them shake you!

*********

The Good Room by Frank Chimero — “I once heard that a library is one of the few remaining places that cares more about you than your wallet. It means that a person can be a person there: not a customer, not a user, not an economic agent, not a pair of eyes to monetize, but a citizen and community-member, a reader and a thinker, a mind andβ€”God, I am going to say itβ€”a soul.”

Meet β€˜The Good Cemeterian’ Who Spends His Only Day Off Cleaning Vets’ Gravestones by Task and Purpose — “For the last two and a half years, Andrew Lumish has spent every Sunday cleaning the gravestones of veterans in three different cemeteries in Tampa, Florida where he lives. The owner of a cleaning franchise, Lumish goes by the handle The Good Cemeterian on social media, where he posts photos of the more than 300 headstones he’s cleaned, along with details of the veterans buried there…” (Further reading: facebook.com/thegoodcemeterian // thegoodcemeterian.org)

This Beautifully Designed ‘Dumb Phone’ Can Only Make Calls and Send Texts by Business Insider – “The Light Phone 2 is a gorgeous, minimalist “dumb phone” that can do only a handful of things. The phone doesn’t have any apps. Instead, it can make calls, send texts, handle simple directions, and set alarms. Light, the company behind the phone, wants to make a device that is used as little as possible to get people off their smartphones.”

light dumb phone

The Money Doesn’t Care Who Makes It by Defined Sight — “Money doesn’t care who makes it. You can be Jeff Bezos or Joe Schmoe, there is plenty of opportunity for all of us to make it out there. How bad do you want it?”

How to Save More Money and Bulletproof Your Future by Charles Ngo — “I read an interesting experiment in a book. 1) Take a photo of yourself 2)Β Age yourself using an app. It’s hard for people to see the future. But when they saw what they look like in the future, it makes them aware that this is a β€œreal person.” And those people start making decisions better for the long term.”

New Survey Proves Spreadsheets Are For Lovers by Tiller HQ — “People who use spreadsheets to manage their personal budgets report the greatest satisfaction in their romantic relationships compared to people who use other tools or don’t keep a budget at all.”

spreadsheets are for lovers

Love Money Mission with J. Money from Budgets Are Sexy via KinΓ© Corder — “Want to know the 5 Cs of a successful marriage? Wondering how you and your partner can get on the same team financially to win the money game? Listen and get tips to lead you to your Marriage Money Mission.” (Not an article, but a podcast I recently did… in case you miss my voice ;))

What’s The Most Useful Form of Cash? (Hint: It’s not a $100 Bill) by The Wall Street Journal — “It’s great for tipping, getting attention from valet parking attendants and what one adherent calls ‘clean living.'”

How to Calculate the True Retirement Costs of Anything by Get Rich Quick’ish — “When it comes to saving for retirement, there are two levers that you can pull: 1. Earn more money 2. Cut expenses. The less you need to get by, the less you need to save up to retire.”

how much money need retirement

Read anything good yourself lately?

Drop the links in the comments below so we can find more! Especially if they have to do with cemeteries or soul searching – two of my current obsessions :)

Big thanks to Nate St. Pierre, Mrs Money Magnet, and @BookWormCU for recommending some of these articles above… y’all know me well!

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48 Comments

    1. J. Money March 9, 2018 at 6:23 AM

      Haha… just started reading it – “Ice cream is better than being burned. Playing with the dog is more fun than playing with a rock.” Yup, both very much true :)

      I can never tell if I really love that guy or can’t stand him…I think without the constant cursing which rarely adds emphasis he’d be amazing. But I know that’s a part of his “thing” and he def. seems to be killing it, so good for him!

  1. Debbie March 9, 2018 at 7:09 AM

    I don’t have any links to share but must ask, where is that gorgeous library? Must be a private rich home, no? I don’t recall seeing it at the Biltmore when I visited there a few years ago so not sure where that is?
    I’ve had a dumb phone for years & somehow I’ve learned to survive!
    Thanx for sharing. Will have to check out these links.

    1. J. Money March 9, 2018 at 9:47 AM

      It was tagged with “Chantilly, France” at the site I got it from – so probably a library there somewhere? https://unsplash.com/photos/VmS8VQ0n39Q

      **UPDATE** Okay, you were right – it was in a private home!! Or more like, PALACE! http://www.domainedechantilly.com/

      It was dubbed “The Reading Room” by The Duke of Aumale: “The Duke of Aumale devoted his entire life to his two passions: his love of books and fine art. In 1848 he started a remarkable collection of paintings, drawings and, above all, books. In a letter to a friend he admits: “I think I’m suffering from bibliomania!”. The reading room was designed by architect HonorΓ© Daumet at the end of the 19th century to house the Duke of Aumale’s rare book collection.”

      Pretty incredible :) http://www.domainedechantilly.com/en/accueil/chateau/reading-room/

      1. Debbie March 10, 2018 at 3:59 AM

        WOW what an incredible library chock full of the rarest old books & manuscripts. I’ve been to France but never heard of this chateau. Will have to take time to check it out if I ever return. Add another biggie to my bucket list! Thanx for sharing the links to it.

        1. Caroline March 10, 2018 at 5:00 PM

          Pretty sad:( I actually grew up near Le domaine de Chantilly and didn’t even know about the library!

          1. J. Money March 13, 2018 at 6:41 AM

            You can make up for it by visiting it the next time you’re in town!!! And then sending us all a selfie to make us jealous! :)

  2. Sean @ Frugal Money Man March 9, 2018 at 7:09 AM

    So for some reason, I actually HATE stepping foot inside of libraries…

    It’s kind of weird since I love reading so much, but something about them has always turned me off! Strange I know…Even in college, I avoided going to the libraries almost at all cost haha.

    Maybe one day I will actually figure out why I don’t like them so much, and actually benefit by renting the books for practically FREE (accounting for the cost of my library card, if there even is one?).

    1. J. Money March 9, 2018 at 9:53 AM

      Maybe cuz a lot of them are old and grungy looking/feeling? Like half the public libraries? They gotta be clean and/or super old/antique for me to really want to hang out in them for long periods of time… And also a great kids section so I can have some peace and quiet ;)

      1. Frugal Librarian March 10, 2018 at 12:08 PM

        Maybe you should advocate for your local libraries to get more funding so they don’t have to be old and grungy!

        But honestly, librarians/libraries don’t care if you’re spending a lot of time in the space. A “get in, get yer books, and get out” mentality or even an “I never set foot in the library, I just borrow ebooks” attitude makes us just as happy as the people who come and hang out all day… so long as you’re getting what you need!

        1. J. Money March 12, 2018 at 10:02 AM

          Love to hear that :) And how awesome are you for working at libraries!

  3. Cubert March 9, 2018 at 7:15 AM

    I really enjoyed the latest installment on Our Next Life – about building a community of like-minded (frugal) souls. We’ve got our buds here in Minneapolis, but I’m yearning for mountains and a little more sunshine. We might just have to up-stakes and move, dammit.

  4. Rosie Leizrowice March 9, 2018 at 7:21 AM

    I love this title so much.

    My local library is the embodiment of this. You go in and there are people getting help with making a resume and finding a job, activity groups for children to help out busy parents, older people getting taught how to use the internet (I overheard a guy using google for the first time and the first thing he searched for was ‘cornflakes’), people getting help with bail related stuff, people getting help with learning English, and so on.

    Of course, there’s also the odd guy swigging cider in the corner or watching porn (presumably they don’t have home internet) or selling drugs from the toilet – but that doesn’t detract from how wonderful it is for a place that’s purely there to help people to exist. Thanks for the reminder :)

    Also, two slightly off-beat book recommendations for you: Living On Half A Dime A Day by Sarah Elizabeth and The Art of Money Getting by PT Barnum. Both are in the public domain so they’re available for free and contain some surprisingly good financial advice :)

    1. J. Money March 9, 2018 at 1:26 PM

      You are too much, haha…. “cornflakes” – that is hilarious!!

      Great new recs for me too – thank you! Never heard of either, although I do know PT was one sneaky marketer ;)

  5. Ms. Frugal Asian Finance March 9, 2018 at 7:52 AM

    Great quotes! Beauty can be just so simple and sometimes easy to ignore.

    I love the elibrary in our county. I’m a bit too lazy to drive a the way to the library to get the books and return them. But checking them out online? Yes!

  6. Mrs. Kiwi March 9, 2018 at 7:57 AM

    My mom works at a library, and it’s fun getting a behind the scenes scoop to realize how much they care about their patrons. She is constantly applying for grants (now my library has tool rentals and 3D printers!) and volunteering of her own time to make the library an even better place.
    Not related to cemeteries, but I really enjoyed participating in and reading through all of the awesome female bloggers inspirational posts for the #WomenRockMoney movement https://www.mamafishsaves.com/womenrockmoney-movement/

  7. Mr Defined Sight March 9, 2018 at 9:12 AM

    If I would have known I was being featured, I would have at least shaved today. Oh well, my best dress sweats will have to do! Very honored to be featured with the other great posts J!

    1. J. Money March 9, 2018 at 1:26 PM

      You and me both, brother :)

  8. Joe March 9, 2018 at 9:24 AM

    I love our downtown library. A lot of homeless people hang out there, though. It’s not a comfortable place for regular people to hang out anymore. Most people just use the online system to reserve and go pick up the books when they come in.
    The librarians are great.

  9. Cynthia March 9, 2018 at 10:36 AM

    I hope the spreadsheet statistic refers to designing your own spreadsheet that actually works for you. My husband purchased one that claims to be super flexible and isn’t. It makes me want to throw his laptop out the window. Meanwhile I keep us on track (and still married) with a notebook and pen and a simple Excel sheet to remind me of the amounts for the different categories.

    1. J. Money March 9, 2018 at 1:32 PM

      Haha yup – sometimes the most basic routes are the simplest :)

      Tiller *is* pretty awesome though. You still do your own crafting of spreadsheets how you like it, but then connect to Tiller to *automatically* pull in #’s too to give you some automation along with your more manual tracking. You have to use Google Docs for it, but it’s a nice middle ground between fully manual options and fully automated ones. Really good idea.

  10. Ty Roberts March 9, 2018 at 10:41 AM

    That headstone cleaner is awesome! Would love to shake his hand one day. Respect!

    Oh, and thanks for the s/o!

    1. J. Money March 9, 2018 at 1:34 PM

      Right?? He tells you how you can do it on your own too, and what supplies to use, in hopes of churning out hundreds more Good Cemeterians too! Such a positive force in our world, I absolutely love it… (and nothing about it is fancy either!)

  11. Mrs Money Magnet March 9, 2018 at 10:57 AM

    That’s so cool that you featured The Good Cemeterian! After reading his post he always make me feel like going to a cemetery and cleaning! Im actually one of the weirdos that loves to clean, so it could be fun!

    Oh, and i agree with the spreadsheet survey! We are spreadsheet nuts, everything is on a spreadsheet!

    1. J. Money March 9, 2018 at 1:36 PM

      I owe you soooooo much for that recommendation, man…

      He inspires me so much!! I wanna do it for my local cemetery too! :)

  12. Lily | The Frugal Gene March 9, 2018 at 11:08 AM

    Whenever I complain about taxes, I don’t mean are roads, human care, sidewalks, and libraries. Those we like and will gladly pay for. I do a lot of library reading online. They’re online now! Free books!!!

  13. Primal Prosperity March 9, 2018 at 11:20 AM

    Awwwww…. I LOVE the library. It is my happy place. I read anywhere from 1-4 books per week. That would bankrupt me if I had to purchase all those…. :)

    Also, I have a dumb phone. Yep, when I left the corporate world about 5 years ago, I gave up smart phones… which was actually very smart. And, don’t get me wrong… I’m no luddite or tech dummy. Quite the opposite. I graduated number one in my engineering class and still use multiple different computer programs for my part time work situation. I’ve also been reading articles recently about teenagers starting to ditch smart phones. I love it!

    1. J. Money March 9, 2018 at 1:39 PM

      You just got bumped up 10 points on my list…

      (And you already know you were pretty high already, so you’re flying now! ;))

  14. Kris March 9, 2018 at 3:54 PM

    The library is an awesome place for all sorts of things. Besides books, they offer classes, sing-a-longs for babies and kids, DVDs, and has raffles for museum tickets.
    I’m currently reading ‘The Power of Habit’ by Charles Duhigg and it’s a great book so far, highly recommend. On deck, “The Simple Path to Wealth” by JL Collins. Looking forward to reading it.

  15. Erika Berglund March 9, 2018 at 4:44 PM

    So happy to read this! I just published my first book (a novel, sorry nothing with awesome financial info in it:)) and I have found myself being drawn back to libraries after mostly kindle-ing it the past few years, mostly because I just want people to read the story I spent 5 years writing and I’m not in it for the money ( that’s okay, right?) so I’ve been donating copies to libraries. Yay!!!

    1. J. Money March 9, 2018 at 6:12 PM

      Love that idea!!! You should make road trips to all the surrounding area libraries too! And then “accidentally” leave copies whenever you’re at the airport or restaurants, etc as well, haha…

      You can have a lot of fun guerilla marketing physical products :)

      1. Erika Berglund March 9, 2018 at 7:45 PM

        Love it! I’m totally going to do that. The hubby and I are doing a road trip out west in the fall; I’m so filling up half the trunk with books! There’s an awesome rest stop in the middle of Iowa that has decor dedicated to writers: typewriter pics on the walls, and a GIGANTIC pen sculpture on the front lawn. I’m going to leave copies all over that place!

        1. J. Money March 12, 2018 at 10:03 AM

          YES!!! Make sure to take pictures of them all in their secret spots too :) Oh – and add in notes or autographs! People would be thrilled!

  16. Erika Berglund March 9, 2018 at 4:55 PM

    Also, holy cow I cannot believe that is in a private home!

  17. Tonya March 9, 2018 at 5:57 PM

    I like that there is a “dumb phone”. Some kids need a phone somewhere in the ages of 10-14 (when they may be left home alone for short periods of time). However, kids in this age range have no business being online without supervision. As a teacher, I can tell you, whatever you think you think your kids are doing online, double or triple the severity of how bad you think it is. This is the phone I will get my son when he’s old enough to “need” one (which in our house will probably be closer to the 13 or 14 year mark).

    1. J. Money March 9, 2018 at 6:16 PM

      Ack, don’t scare me!!! I’m never giving my babies a phone – EVER!! ;)

  18. Mrs. Moe March 10, 2018 at 7:55 AM

    As a self-proclaimed bibliophile I LOVE LOVE libraries. If ever you get to Washington DC, do visit the Library of Congress. Completely free, and the reading room, architecture, and Thomas Jefferson’s library is a sight worth seeing.

    Couple of suggestions – for those that LOVE to read, try audio books – I love the app Libby. It’s completely free, syncs with your library card and you can get audio books to download and play on your phone (perfect for road trips, commutes, traveling, walking). No late fees ever.

    As for reads – I haven’t read anything on cemeteries lately, but the whole life’s purpose reads in 2018 that I’ve finished so far and would recommend (I’ve omitted some that I didn’t love):
    * The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin
    * Give and Take, Adam Grant
    * Thrive, Arianna Huffington

    I’ve currently got queued up Robert Wright’s, Why Buddhism is True and the Dalai Lama’s The Art of Happiness.

    Happy Reading!

    1. J. Money March 12, 2018 at 10:05 AM

      Beautiful :)

      I might have to try that for late nights w/ the baby as I’ve quickly learned that reading or doing anything else using my brain does not work during those times, haha…. But I can listen to ebooks! Maybe it’ll sink into the baby’s brain too :)

  19. Martin @ DiscussPF March 11, 2018 at 10:24 AM

    You can’t beat a cheap trip to the library as a student. Free, get to learn and experience some interesting theories from some interesting people. I often find myself also visiting museums my University fund around my local area when I have a couple hours free – hours of interesting knowledge and they don’t want my money either!

    1. J. Money March 12, 2018 at 10:06 AM

      It’s a wonderful thing :)

  20. Peter March 12, 2018 at 11:32 PM

    Libraries are awesome. Books galore,magazines, newspapers and web access. All at no charge.

    I love my local library. There is nothing special about it as far as libraries go but it is a “library”. A library is special.

  21. Bryan March 13, 2018 at 9:08 AM

    God Bless Andrew Lumish!!

    As for my latest read, I like the following passage by Mark Manson in his book: The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck. “Consumer culture is very good at making us want more, more, more. Underneath all the hype and marketing is the implication that more is always better. I bought into this idea for years.” He goes on to say how this leads to the paradox of choice and becoming less satisfied no matter what we choose. “Instead, invest deeply in one person, one place, one job, or one activity…” In short, commit to your passion and stop chasing the carrot.

    1. J. Money March 13, 2018 at 9:35 AM

      Yup!!! He def. gets it! Similar to “Essentialism” too, just without all the cursing ;)

  22. CLIFF March 13, 2018 at 10:18 AM

    Your knowledge is the best investment anyone can make,but fear dictate our actions so as much as we want to make money sometimes is scary to make the first step.I love this post .i’m currently reading The Real Book of Real Estate by Robert Kiyosaki after reading his First book rich dad Poor Dad I realize I needed to make a change.

    1. J. Money March 13, 2018 at 11:55 AM

      Cool! People tend to either love or hate that guy, but I’m all for anyone trying to help spread the good word whether his “story” checks out or not… In fact, Rich Dad Poor Dad was one of the very first books I ever read around $$$/entrepreneur stuff! It took me a while to start acting on it, but it helped plant the seed at least :)

  23. Erik @ The Mastermind Within March 18, 2018 at 10:55 PM

    You know… Gwen and I’s second date in Vegas was at the beginning of the month, and we did our monthly spreadsheet together…

    We are still together, so it is true! The couple that spreadsheets together stays together! :)

    1. J. Money March 19, 2018 at 2:24 PM

      Haha, love every bit of it man. So much better that your’e both blogger too :)