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Monthly Archives: May 2012
Finance Topics They Don’t Teach In High School, But Should
One of the biggest disgraces of the school system is that it often fails to teach basics that we all need for everyday life once we graduate. A prime example of this is basic personal finances. If we could get … Continue reading
Posted in Budgeting, Credit Cards, Debt, Education, Insurance, Investing, Personal Finance, Retirement, Saving Money, Taxes
Tagged Credit Cards, credit scores, Debt, Education, high school budgeting, high school finance, high school financial classes, high school loans, Insurance, interest rates, investments, money classes, retirement savings, stocks, Taxes, teaching finances, teaching money
9 Comments
Your Emergency Fund Needs to Be Bigger Than You Think
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how the “Emergency Fund” should really be called something else, since so few financial events are really emergencies. Regardless of what you call it, you need to be setting money aside to … Continue reading
10 Ways To Save Money Camping
There’s nothing quite like spending time in the great outdoors and sleeping under the stars. Camping is an enjoyable, healthy activity that the entire family can participate in with a wide variety of choices from private camp sites to National … Continue reading
Posted in Frugal, Personal Finance, Saving Money, Travel
Tagged camping, camping equipment, camping supplies, firewood, national parks, private camping, RVs, tent camping, used equipment
9 Comments
Frugality and Keeping What’s Important
When people start out on the path to better finances, many go overboard and slash their budgets to the bone. (Either that or they cut one tiny thing and claim success). They cut out every little extra expense and leave … Continue reading
Posted in Budgeting, Frugal, Personal Finance, Saving Money
Tagged budget, expenses, financial tool, Frugal, frugal lifestyle, frugality, Personal Finance, what's important
3 Comments
The Advantage of Over-Analyzing Your Spending
I’ve reached a point in my financial life where I tend to analyze everything to death. It’s not just because of the money, either, although that’s a big part of it. My small house only has so much space, so … Continue reading
Posted in Personal Finance, Saving Money, Shopping
Tagged analyze everything, analyze purchases, needs, over-analyze, shopping habits, shopping thrill, wants
6 Comments
10 Calls To Make To Save Money
Many people often pay their bills while grumbling about how much they have to pay. It’s true that many services are very overpriced, but what most people don’t realize is that some of these services can easily be lowered. Sometimes … Continue reading
The Frugal Benefits of a Regular Schedule
When I was in college and, later, working my first jobs, I never had a regular schedule. The jobs I had back then were either temporary or service oriented. Sometimes I’d work nights, sometimes days, and sometimes both. I worked … Continue reading
Things To Do Now To Save Money This Christmas
Christmas is a time for giving, and it’s easy to get caught up in the spirit. Giving feels so good that it can easily result in overspending and sometimes stretching your credit to the limit. That means you might spend … Continue reading
Using Pinterest To Save Money
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard about the latest social media sensation called Pinterest. It’s a big virtual bulletin board where users can post pictures of just about anything and group them into collections like, “Things … Continue reading
Before You Agree to the Prescription
A friend of mine recently went to the doctor for her annual physical. Her blood pressure was on the high side, so the doctor trotted out the prescription pad and wrote her a prescription for a blood pressure lowering drug. … Continue reading
10 Ways Being Considerate Can Save Money
It should go without saying that you should treat everyone you interact with during the day with respect and consideration even if there weren’t any benefit to doing so. It’s simply the nice (and right) thing to do. The fact … Continue reading
Posted in Frugal, Personal Finance, Relationships, Saving Money, Shopping
Tagged be nice, consideration, good attitude, help others, helpful, save money
5 Comments
Discounts: Ask and You Might Receive
I and other financial writers often tell people to ask for discounts, particularly on large ticket items, because you just never know when a retailer might be willing to cut you a break. Many people are reluctant to try it, … Continue reading
Posted in Cars, Frugal, Personal Finance, Saving Money, Shopping
Tagged ask for discount, ask for savings, bargaining, discounts, haggle, negotiating, save money
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10 Clues You Are Trying To Keep Up With The Joneses
It’s far easier to fall into the “keeping up with the Joneses” trap than most people believe. You look at your friends and all of the cool stuff that they have. You like what you see, so you begin to … Continue reading
Posted in Cars, Credit Cards, Debt, Personal Finance, Saving Money, Shopping
Tagged brand names, Joneses, keeping up with the Joneses, latest gadgets, monthly bills, rent-to-own, status symbols
7 Comments
Dealing With Financial Fear
Years ago when I was first thinking about self-employment, one thing scared me above all others. Taxes. It sounds silly, but I was terrified of screwing it all up and ending up in jail. Estimated taxes, quarterly payments, and self-employment … Continue reading
Posted in Personal Finance, Taxes, Work
Tagged afraid, financial education, financial fear, money fears, scared, self employment, tax fears, Taxes
1 Comment
The Easiest Way To Save On Healthcare
Most financial writers, including me, counsel people to be their own advocate for less-expensive healthcare. We teach that you should question everything on your bill, know the limits and allowances of your health insurance policy, and negotiate prices where possible … Continue reading
10 Money Lessons From Benjamin Franklin
Long before the financial gurus with their TV shows and persona finance books to sell were around, Benjamin Franklin was giving down-to-earth, sound money advice to anyone who would listen. The advice was so sound that it’s still relevant and … Continue reading
16 Things You Don’t Want To Skimp On
While I’m all for being frugal, there are some things that you just don’t want to skimp on. Some things are so important to your health or safety that it simply isn’t wise or cost-effective to look for the cheapest … Continue reading
Posted in Budgeting, Food / Groceries, Frugal, Health, Insurance, Personal Finance, Saving Money, Shopping
Tagged baby proofing, best quality, car care, cheapest option, eye glasses, fire extinguisher, Health, healthcare, healthy food, home repairs, Insurance, mattress, pet food, quality, safety, shoes, skimp, smoke detectors
6 Comments
Terrible Investment Advice
Ask around and you’ll find plenty of people willing to give you “sound” investment advice. I’ve never been much of a conformist, so I’m going to offer you, instead, ten pieces of really terrible advice on investing. Why? So you’ll … Continue reading
Does Frugality Gross You Out?
Last week, on a nice spring day, I was sitting outside on my porch reading one of my many library books. My neighbor came over to see how I was doing and wanted to know what I was reading. I … Continue reading
Posted in Frugal, Personal Finance, Saving Money
Tagged cleanliness, Frugal, frugality, gross, ick factor, library books, sanitary, too frugal, used stuff
10 Comments
How Far Should You Expect an Employer to Bend When Hiring?
A conversation recently came up amongst several people in my book group. One of the members has been looking for a job for about six months with little success. A couple of weeks ago, she was offered a job at … Continue reading