Personal Finance Advice

Eating out is often an indulgence, sometimes a necessity, and usually costly. It can also be a lot of fun. Where we choose to dine out is a personal decision but most of us can be helped in our decision making if we can find good food in a good venue that offers good value. [...]

A couple of years ago, I bought two cases of drinking straws. When they arrived, I had something like three thousand straws taking up space in the back of my utility closet. My wife raised an eyebrow and wondered aloud whether I might be anticipating a great and imminent straw shortage. I explained that they [...]

If you have kids, chances are good that at some point you have been heard to say “Untie your shoelaces before your take off your shoes! Perhaps you have said it emphatically, even loudly, in the hope that your uncaring children might acknowledge your demands and actually comply with them. Perhaps, like me, you have [...]

Ah the frustrations of automobile ownership. My wife and I have two vehicles. She drives a 2003 GMC Envoy. From a cosmetic perspective, it is still in good condition and has only 60,000 miles on it. I drive a 2002 Mitsubishi Montero Sport. It is not in the best physical condition, but it is not [...]

I drove one of my sons to a birthday celebration tonight. I’ll ignore, for at least the moment, that the “party” was held about 20 miles from my home and that it included, eighteen holes of golf, lodging in a villa, meals and who knows what else. When did sixteen and seventeen year old boys [...]

This month, I have the pleasure of bringing you the wisdom of Stephan Iscoe, the visionary behind Big City Coffee. Stephan is a Renaissance man — musician, author, business consultant, serial entrepreneur and CEO. His story is fascinating and his advice well worth learning. I recently had the opportunity to chat with Stephan about his [...]

Most ice cream stores shops will allow customers to sample flavors before making a purchase. It makes perfect sense for ice cream stores to do that because it lets the ice cream sell itself. The same is true in cheese shops and many other specialty stores. Free samples are great, but they are just that [...]

If you spend more than a token amount of time either grocery shopping or cooking, you have probably noticed the Box Tops for Education and Campbell’s Labels for Education labels on certain grocery products. Box Tops for Education is a program sponsored by General Mills and it has returned over $300 million dollars to schools [...]

The other day a friend mentioned that she was shopping for a new desk for her nine year old son. She mentioned that his current bedroom set was originally purchased at Ethan Allen and that she “did not want to go that route again.” Over the years, I have heard that a lot. Parents have [...]

I don’t need a lot of sleep. That does not surprise me because my father does not need a lot of sleep either. Usually about 5.5 hours is enough for me. If I go to sleep at midnight or 1am, I am usually wide awake at 6 or 6:30am and I start my day with [...]

Charles Baudelaire once said, “Anybody, as long as he knows how to be amusing, has a right to talk about himself”. Orson Welles advised that “Nobody who takes on anything big and tough can afford to be modest”. Anti-tax agitator Vivien Kellems was quick to proclaim, “Of course I’m a publicity hound. Aren’t all crusaders? [...]

Over the years, I’ve come to realize that the best learning experiences are not usually found in classrooms. Experience is by far a better teacher than any textbook, but books and classrooms can make us better prepared to make the most of our experience. Among the best learning experiences that I have had in my [...]

I have written about my elder son in the past. Readers may recall that he is less than industrious when it comes to academics and contributing around the house. By comparison, my younger son applies himself to his school work and is far more willing to offer assistance around the house. He keeps his room [...]

I enjoy going to museums. Art, history, science — if it is in a museum, I am going to enjoy it. Of course, if I were to buy a ticket to every museum that I encountered, I could run up quite a bill. My family of four could easily cost $50 to $60 if I [...]

As the USA seeks to recover from its recession and to add jobs to a contracting economy, many political and civic leaders have invested energy and resources in an effort to develop jobs. Cities offer incentives to businesses to hire and to bring jobs. State and federal agencies offer incentives to preserve and increase jobs. [...]

What do you want? I don’t mean what fantastic things do you wish you owned or could do or could be. What reasonable things do you want in life that you do not currently have? Do you want to be healthier? Do you want to spend more wisely? Do you want a nicer car or [...]

I live in Florida. Until recently, I would have said that I live in “sunny” Florida to distinguish my state from the cold places to the north. This year, however, cold weather came south for the winter along with all of the snowbirds who flock to Florida just after Christmas. Indeed, from about December 26, [...]

It is hard for me to believe that I have been writing here at Saving Advice for close to two years now. After about 150 columns, I am pleased to count many of you among my new friends! I’ve also developed a sense of how readers are likely to react to anything that I write. [...]

There are a lot of reasons to spend money and each of us has his or her own. Our attitudes and perspectives are forged over lifetimes spent earning and spending and enjoying and regretting. I can look at any number of purchases and feel that I have made a good buying decision. I can look [...]

Last night I met up with a crowd of restaurant reviewers from the local Yelp community. Yelp, for those of you who are not familiar with it, is a community of on-line reviewers who contribute reviews of restaurants and other businesses. Over time, visitors to the site can get an increasingly accurate perception of how [...]