Personal Finance Advice

When a cashier hands you your receipt, you probably just think of it as one more annoying piece of paper. Many people toss their receipts in the nearest garbage can on their way out of the store. It’s particularly tempting to toss it when you paid cash and you don’t even have to enter it [...]

Most people get many offers for various memberships. Health clubs, warehouse clubs, hobby groups, country clubs, alumni groups, auto clubs, and professional organizations all want us to be members. Unfortunately, very few clubs are free to join. Many come with hefty dues. While you’ll probably get some benefits from joining the organization, the main question [...]

Chik-Fil-A hosted their annual “Cow Appreciation Day” last week. If you went to the restaurant fully dressed as a cow, you got a free meal. If you wore just a little cow gear, you got a free entree. We decided that it would be fun so we made some simple costumes from white clothes we [...]

While watching the train wreck that is “Extreme Couponing” the other day, I was struck by how so many of these people seemed to have become confused about the difference between saving money and not spending money. One woman was claiming that she’d saved $40,000 on her family’s grocery bill in one year. But would [...]

I recently had a conversation with a young friend who has recently moved out on her own after getting her first job. She was lamenting the fact that she eats out too much. Not only is it costing her a lot of money, but it’s not helping her weight, either. “I just can’t cook,” she [...]

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 [...]

I was heading up to Oregon and made a stop at a fast food restaurant to go to the bathroom and get a drink. As I walked to the door, a young couple sat in the shade on the side of the building. The man caught my eye and asked, “Could you spare some change?” [...]

When it comes to bettering your life, one of the chief obstacles is breaking out of old habits. It’s often necessary to look at situations from different perspectives. While solutions may look daunting at first, many times the solutions are much easier than they first appear. I love the story of the square watermelon because [...]

Lately I’ve been watching TLC’s new show, “Extreme Couponing” which is sort of like watching a train wreck. You know you should look away but you just can’t. The show profiles people who get hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of merchandise for free or close to it, thanks to their use of coupons. This [...]

When it comes to ways to save on food bills, there are sales, coupons, meal planning, loyalty cards, and eating leftovers. You can also stop eating out and brown bag your lunches. But the best (and least used) way to save money on food is to simply eat less. Why is this strange? Because no [...]

Lately I’ve noticed two things: First, there is an increase in coupon use thanks to the Great Recession. Second, thanks to the increased coupon use there is a more vocal judgement of coupon users on Internet forums and at my local coupon swaps. People are not shy about criticizing others for “eating nothing but junk” [...]

When I was younger, I was a figure skater. To get the rust off of our blades we would frequently soak them in Pepsi. I didn’t understand at the time why that worked, only that it did. Turns out that most dark sodas have a pH of 2.8 – 3.4. This makes them acidic enough [...]

The other day a friend of mine was talking about how much her family eats out. To my astonishment, they eat out every single day, sometimes for more than one meal. Much of that food is fast food picked up on the way to school, work, or other activities. When I asked her why they [...]

One of the most frequent pieces of advice given to those wanting to save money is to write down all of your spending. Doing this exposes all the wasteful spending that often slips by unnoticed. I have a corollary piece of advice: If you want to save money, start by examining your trash, both at [...]

Two weeks ago I got food poisoning. I got it from a deli sandwich that either had bad mayo or meat on it. This wasn’t a little, twenty-four hour case of food poisoning, either. This was a full-blown-week-long-have-to-go-to-the-doctor-because-I’m-dangerously-dehydrated kind of food poisoning. Let me tell you, it wasn’t fun. (Although losing eleven pounds in a [...]

One of the most interesting things I have learned about personal finances is that things that seem to have absolutely nothing to do with money often have a huge impact on your finances. A good example is knowing what makes you happy. Another one was discovering that the more I know about my personality, the [...]

If you already use coupons, chances are that you get coupons in the paper that you don’t use. Even if you don’t use coupons, you probably have access to coupons from the paper or magazines that you receive. Wouldn’t it be nice to turn unwanted coupons into a little extra cash? You can if you [...]

I’m frequently asked about the best ways to save on food. There are many ways, including coupons, shopping the sales, buying store brands, and buying in bulk. But if you want to know the easiest way to save on food, here it is: Stop wasting it. According to WastedFood.com, Americans waste more than forty percent [...]

We often talk about keeping up with the Joneses. When we accuse someone of keeping up with the Joneses, we usually mean that they are buying cars, clothes, or other tangible items because their friends and neighbors have those items. They want to fit in with their peer group, so they try to mimic their [...]

Here’s the great thing about frugality and saving money. It’s almost foolproof. When you make a commitment to getting your finances on track, living more simply, and putting money away for the future you really can’t fail at it, as long as you keep trying. Some people tell me, “Oh, I tried frugality but I [...]