Personal Finance Advice

Last week Netflix raised their rates, increasing the price of some plans by as much as sixty percent. Where before a plan with one DVD out at a time and unlimited streaming was $9.99 per month, the same service will now cost $15.98. Ouch. The outrage online was swift and furious. Customers were losing a [...]

One of my biggest problems is that I tend to save things for a later time. I buy books and think I’ll save them for a rainy day, sick day, or vacation. I buy or am given “treat foods” and I never seem to find an occasion worthy of eating them. I buy movies or [...]

Board games are a great source of entertainment. Unlike movies or other types of entertainment that are one shot deals, games can be played over and over again. New games, however, are often not cheap. They may cost $20 or more. Some games are as high as $50. While a great game may be a [...]

Almost every Monday, someone will ask me what I did over the weekend. For the most part, this is small talk asked just to pass the time. However, there seems to be an expectation that I did something that cost money. When I shrug and say, “Not much,” the asker usually launches into a tale [...]

April 16 -24 is National Park Week which celebrates and recognizes national and state parks, national monuments, and historic sites in the U.S. All national parks have free entrance this week, so you still have time to visit a national park near you for free this weekend. If you do go, one of the things [...]

I love the theater and music. I love sporting events. I love to watch live performances. Video is good, but there’s nothing like being in an arena watching your team or favorite artist perform. For all that I love live productions, however, I very rarely attend any. Why? Ticket prices. I don’t dispute that artists [...]

It happens to all of us. A valued relationship ends. It may be a friendship, a marriage, or a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship. Maybe the relationship ends through death, or divorce, or a messy break-up. Maybe it ends more gradually and one day you wake up and realize you just have nothing in common anymore. Maybe one [...]

I received a call from my TV provider the other day. After giving me a pep talk about what a great customer I am, the representative explained that I was about to receive, “A very special offer. Something that we’re only offering to one percent of our clients!” Being polite, I didn’t hang up on [...]

I am a board game nut. I get excited when Christmas rolls around and all the new games show up in the stores. I also love the classics. So why, in a world of electronic entertainment, do I love board games? There’s no single reason. I’ve learned over the years that board games offer a [...]

I’ve long said that Netflix is one of the best entertainment values out there. The ability to watch what you want with no commercials is wonderful. Internet streaming makes it even better. You can just sit at home and find something to watch. Aside from just providing entertainment, you can also learn a little bit [...]

I came across the results of an interesting survey on vacations. The survey asked respondents in the U.S. and Eu ropean countries how much they wouldspend per person on vacation in 2010. The categories ranged from “Nothing and staying at home” all the way up to “More than $2,472″ per person. In the lowest spending [...]

Oprah had her annual “Favorite Things” show last week. Since this is her last season on the air, it was actually a two day orgy of consumerism. I don’t generally mind Oprah most of the time, but this episode gets on my nerves every year. It’s great that she wants to give all this stuff [...]

I’m not normally a big fan of TV. I find that it takes me away from other things I could/should be doing. However, I recognize that there are plenty of people out there who love TV. If you watch a lot of TV, it’s probably taking you away from other opportunities to earn more money. [...]

Kids seem to get more expensive when they are bored. Kids often claim that there is nothing to do at home and that only some new thing or outside stimulation will relieve their boredom. When boredom sets in and the whining begins, there is the temptation to give in and take them to a movie [...]

If you want to make a little extra money and you have a talent, you can give busking a try. Busking is performing in streets, train stations, or subways for money. You put on your show and you leave a hat, jar, or some other container out for the public to drop money in if [...]

As some of my more regular readers may recall, I also write a literary criticism column for Bibliobuffet. I have a long standing love of books and I would gladly give up my television before I would give up my library. Admittedly, I would miss the Jack Benny Show, Fringe and Survivor but if something [...]

Contests and sweepstakes can be fun to enter and the prizes can be great. You can win everything from a few bucks in cash all the way up to new cars or houses. Contests are easily found. You can find them on product packaging, advertised on TV or in magazines, and through associations to which [...]

This week’s suggestion is both a way to make money and save money. When you review books for magazines, websites, or newspapers, you are often given free copies of the books. Even if you aren’t paid monetarily, reviewing books can be a great way to fund your reading habit. However, if you are lucky enough [...]

August is here! That means that for the next few weeks, after I have taken care of all of my domestic duties and professional responsibilities, I will have one thing, and one thing only, on which to focus my attention. I will not be cleaning up oil in the Gulf of Mexico. I won’t be [...]

Boredom is usually a self-inflicted condition. If you take a moment to think about it, when you are on your own time, you usually control whether or not you are engaged or bored by what you are doing. If you are always looking for a television for entertainment, chances are good that you will quickly [...]