Clearly I prefer Southwest Airlines, because of the cities I travel to as well as the fact that I have to check a bag. Also, the magic of this is all Southwest not me. I just travel a lot and am super flexible. You may not have a Southwest hub near you or you do not need to check a bag. You may have really specific dates that you need to travel on. There is a lot of information online about finding great deals, so don’t be bashful, look around! Since you asked me though, I’ll reiterate some of the conventional wisdom with a little sizzle twist.

“How much should I spend on massages each month?” – DW

Wow that is a super specific question AND you don’t sound like a broke ass! Ok, I’ll go easy on you. It is a fantastic question and one that is similar to questions that many people ask themselves. If you have read any of my articles you will know by now that I can’t directly answer most questions like this. Well, I could just say “$100,” but I would be way short of my article length expectation.

Sometimes this can feel stressful when you don’t feel like you have the funds to buy gifts, or the friend expecting the baby has registered for many expensive baby things. Also, you may feel resistant to buying something from a large store that feels impersonal. After hearing from friends that they received 5 times as much stuff as they needed for the first 6 months of their child’s life, it is motivating to think of other things that would be helpful and meaningful.

“I am standing up in my friend’s wedding. I am really struggling financially and I have spent over $400, and I just found out that the dress is going to be $250! I am freaking out… what should I do?” – SD

Standing up in a wedding for someone you love and support is a huge honor and it is one of the biggest financial commitments people make to their friends. Some would say that in that type of situation money “shouldn’t matter.”

“My dog’s tail knocked over a glass of water onto my friend’s computer, now the computer isn’t working. The computer is three years old. Should I buy her a new computer? A used computer of equal value?” – SD

Oh brotha. I am sorry to hear this happened. It is nice when these things are cut and dry, but often there is a lot of gray area when it comes to friends working out paying for broken items. Unfortunately sometimes it’s obvious to one person and not obvious to the other person.

When I was 23, someone tried to sell me a grave plot, for myself. He told me that I could get such a great deal and that it wouldn’t burden my family if I bought it when I was young etc. WHOA! It didn’t truly occur to me, until that moment, that one day, I was going to die.

If you have ever shook your head when you saw someone buy something from a company that oppresses or takes advantage of them, you need to look at yourself in the mirror first. How much is your bank charging you for your checking account? ATM fees? Credit card interest? How much interest are you paying on that loan? In total, not the monthly payment.

You may need to dramatically decrease your living expenses if you are facing job loss, unexpected expenses, or overwhelming debt, etc. On the other hand you may be in a situation where you feel like you would like to significantly ramp up your savings capacity in the short term, through lowering your living expenses. If you find yourself in any of these situations, here is what I recommend you consider: