By Cortni Marrazzo
The other day someone mentioned to my husband something about the fact that I always find the best deals and I always have a coupon for something. That’s actually a pretty true statement. I can sniff out a coupon a mile away. It’s almost like a game for me — to see if […]

By Cortni Marrazzo
Just recently my husband and I have decided to tighten up our spending a little more than we have been doing in the past. We currently have an amount budgeted for extra spending (entertainment, fun things, clothes, etc.) and in the past, this has been more of a guideline than a hard […]

By Shannon Christman
“Act now, and you may be able to pay less than you owe!” proclaims an ad for debt consolidation services. I’m all for paying off debts, but I was offended. Why should some people be allowed to pay less than they owe when others (like me) are habitually denying themselves things they […]

By Cortni Marrazzo
Do you ever find that it is difficult to remember things? A weak memory is often hard to fix, but there are some things you can do to help yourself remember things. I’ve actually found that having a budget helps me remember certain things. How is that? Well my […]

By Jennifer Derrick
I have always assumed that if your career/job pays you decent money that you should have no trouble getting ahead financially as long as you’re responsible with money. But recently an old friend who works in a high powered, high paying, high stress career made me rethink that assumption.
My friend works for […]

By Shannon Christman
Countless employees dream of leaving behind a demanding boss, working from home, and earning a limitless income. Self-employment, however, is not the same as a life of leisure. As was already pointed out a few months ago, much of the mythos surrounding self-employment is simply mythical. Businesses that promote work from […]

By Jennifer Derrick
Most people don’t associate personal finance with fun and it’s hard to blame them. There’s a lot of doom and gloom, especially these days. Writing out a budget seriously stinks. Really, who wants to find out they can’t afford the things they want and see it on paper? And it’s certainly no fun […]

By Shannon Christman
When saving money, meals in restaurants are rightfully one of the first expenses to be cut, but if you hate to cook as much as I do, budgeting for a meal or two out each week may save enough of your sanity to be worth the expense. On the days you do […]

By Jennifer Derrick
Two years ago, I made the decision to pull the plug on my satellite subscription. I did it because I felt like a lot of my time was being squandered on worthless entertainment and I didn’t have the ability to regulate my television usage any other way. Unfortunately, I am one of those […]

By Jennifer Derrick
I love to read and will read just about anything. Needless to say, before I turned frugal I spent a lot of money on books and magazines. I solved the book problem by frequenting my local library. Magazines were a bit more difficult. Sure, I can read them at the library (and sometimes […]

By Cortni Marrazzo
“Falling housing market.” “Possible recession.” “Troubled economy.” These phrases have been buzzing around lately in the media. Real estate prices were going up and many people decided to buy more house than they could afford with unconventional mortgage terms. Now the house prices are falling in many areas and […]

By Jennifer Derrick
You can save a lot of money just by reading the fine print that retailers post on their websites and in their store polices. I’m embarrassed to admit that, as careful as I am with money, I didn’t really tune in to this fact until about a year ago. You usually have to […]

By Shannon Christman
Nearly half (45%) of college graduates are working in fields unrelated to their majors four years after graduation, according to a 1997 survey by the National Center for Education Statistics. That’s hard to imagine when reading the want ads, which often have high expectations for candidates with specific degrees and several years’ experience […]

By Jennifer Derrick
I don’t need the media or the government to tell me that the economy is heading south. I have a foolproof barometer of economic health in my own town. It’s called the scrap heap, aka, the metal recycler.
For about ten years, I’ve been collecting my aluminum cans and taking them to the […]

By Jennifer Derrick
For all that I supposedly know about money and personal finance, I learned this week that there is one thing that I still don’t know. I don’t know what to say to someone whose life is in crisis due to financial problems. Because money is so private, personal and (in this country, at […]

By Ann Hartter
Mmm.. Organizational shows: watch and drool. Suddenly you find yourself grasped by the impulse to tidy your tiny world. Most of us realize that a a cluttered life can cost us money, but how can an uncluttered home put a hole in your purse?
Organization is a window into a world, a […]

By Cortni Marrazzo
My husband and I recently celebrated our 2 year anniversary at the end of January. As it happened, it coincided with the aftermath of a bit too much spending at Christmas time — the dreaded credit card bills. Granted we pay our credit card bills in full each month, so when […]

By Jennifer Derrick
If you haven’t heard, the government is devising an “economic stimulus package” to jump start the economy. While the details aren’t yet final, it appears that the majority of American workers and retirees will be getting some rebate money from Uncle Sam. The latest figures to be tossed around are $1,000 per couple, […]

By Ann Hartter
Children live in a very self-centered world as they focus on learning about themselves and how the world works according to them. As they go along, learning how to mimic parents and other adults, observing behaviors through cause and effect, they learn very early about this thing called money. It seems fitting that […]

By Shannon Christman
Music has a profound effect on many people. A specific song can trigger long-forgotten memories and emotions or can inspire someone to make a life change — maybe proposing marriage, following a dream, entering rehab, or expressing appreciation to parents. Music is a creative way to express the thoughts and emotions […]