Personal Finance Advice

A lot of frugal people have stashes and stockpiles of items that they are keeping for use “someday.” These may be retail items acquired for free (think free samples and toiletries acquired through couponing or rewards programs). Other items frugal people keep are things like spare parts, extra hardware, magazines with useful articles or tips, [...]

My husband hit the nail on the head the other day when he said, “It’s no wonder people have trouble saving money. Look at all the stores where you can spend it!” We were driving through a shopping district in our city when he made that pronouncement. Shops lined both side of the street, sometimes [...]

I had to go to a theme park today. When I say I “had to go,” I mean that my son and I received two free passes to go to the park so that his football team could celebrate its season and participate in the filming of a commercial. We had a great time and [...]

You may have heard by now about the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act that went into effect February 10th. This law requires that all products — including clothes, toys, and even books — intended for sale to children 12 and under be tested for lead and phthalates. If the item isn’t tested and passed, it [...]

One of our favorite things to do is travel. There are so many places we want to see, I doubt we’ll ever make it to all of them. However, despite the fact that we want to see so much, we are not willing to incur debt to do it. People ask me how we afford [...]

A coworker is currently getting her financial house in order for the first time. She is paying off a heap of debt, setting up insurance policies and wills, and generally doing all the things she knew that she should have been doing all along. I’m proud of her. But she came to me the other [...]

My Dad was born into a different age. He had his first paying job when he was five years old. By the time he was ten, he had worked in a number of jobs, including work as a pin setter in a three lane bowling alley. At the age of twelve, he was the sole [...]