About
“There is one who pretends to be rich, but has nothing; Another pretends to be poor, but has great wealth.” -Proverbs 13:7
Which person would you rather be?
The American dream has turned into a nightmare of burdensome debt and unfulfilling materialism. Yet this so-called dream has gone largely unchallenged. At Pretend to Be Poor, we propose another way: why not live on less so you can have more flexibility with your career, family, and other interests? We’re not talking about living in a cardboard box or becoming a Scrooge. Just simple, sensible solutions that anyone can live with, that will free us up in countless ways.
We are Neil, an engineer, and Kalie, a stay-at-home mother and the voice of this blog. We want to offer a solution to the financial problems many people face, and much of it begins with a mindset we’ve found in the Bible. The practical follows, and we’ll flesh out both in this blog. So join our family on a journey to pretend to be poor.
If you want a better feel for what this blog is all about check out the following classic posts:
- The Secret to Financial Freedom
- Inflate Your Usefulness, Not Your Lifestyle
- Why You’re Failing at Frugality
- Is Minimalism the New Materialism?
- Live Like Grandma Challenge
- What Seeing Real Poverty Showed Me About Pretending to Be Poor
- Welcome to Pretend to Be Poor
- What Are You Working For?
- Life is Not About Your Preferences
17 Responses to “About”
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Great content! I’m a new blogger to writing a little on PF but more rental real estate. I really like the mindset things you have here.
Glad I found your site. I have been reading many of the other FI blogs and it’s nice to finally find one written by followers of Jesus. It helps to know that we that we are like minded in both FI and our faith. Keep up the good work. I look forward to reading your articles.
Hi guys,
Just wanted to express my gratitude for your blog, which I stumbled across less than a week ago and have indulged in since. I like the different tone to many simple living/early retirement/financial independence blogs.
I am not a Christian… heck, I’m not even religious, but your take-home messages are still relevant and inspiring (I didn’t realise The Bible was such a source of financial wisdom).
Kind regards,
Tim.
Thanks so much for the feedback, Tim! Glad you’re enjoying it.
Early Retirement Extreme and Jacob started all this years ago–creds here? You borrow a lot from. Perhaps I missed your …footnotes. Just curious why–
p.s. Don’t get me wrong, appreciate your site too–and especially your mention of Faith (God deserves first creds; )
(you dont need to publish these but readers should know about Early Retirement Extreme)
Yes, I cite ERE with links in other posts. Honestly, I didn’t know I was “borrowing” from him when I started writing! I read his book a bit later and starting linking to it then.
Hello Neil and Kalie,
Thanks for running such a wonderful blog.
I have been reading it for a while and i am always so inspired and motivated by your writing.
I am thinking of starting a youtube channel based around the topic of personal finance and was hoping to ask if you could give me some tips on how to get started with research etc. (since you already blog in this area)
Is it possible to contact you via email to discuss this?
Thanks again.
Lydia
x
Hi,
I love you site. It’s refreshing to read a finance blog that’s not just about the money. I would love it if you could write a post on which charities you support and what criteria you use to make sure they are trustworthy.
Thanks, Jen. I have an article on how to choose a trustworthy charity here: https://t.co/Pwa7fxiDZY. Our current regular donations go to Compassion International, India Gospel League, and our church.