Personal Finance Advice

There is an image that the US has become an nation of shopaholics driven primarily by consumerism. Lee Eisenberg, the author of Shoptimism, believes that this is not truly the case. He sees that the average person still retains some of the frugality on which the US was founded and believes that most people that [...]

I don’t have an iPhone (I don’t even have a cell phone, but that’s a whole other story), but if I did, I would definitely buy the Opportunity Cost of Money iPhone app. This iPhone app makes the cost of your purchases concrete.
Basically, it’s an iPhone app where you list all of the things [...]

I’m always a little surprised at how much everything in our society is measured in terms of money. We measure our worth by our salaries, not by how much we love our work. We measure our remodeling projects by how much we can get back when we sell and not on how much we love [...]

As we head into the holiday season and start looking for gifts to give to those hard to buy for people, gift cards stand out as easy gifts that everyone enjoys. But if you’re thinking of giving a pre-paid gift card that’s branded with a credit card logo, you might want to think of another [...]

Now that Halloween is over, the retailers have removed the gloves and stopped pretending like any other holiday matters. It’s now full speed ahead to Christmas. Usually I dread this time of year.
I enjoy Christmas itself but I hate all the trappings that go along with it. I hate the marketing hype and the [...]

While I’ve never been one to keep up with the Jones’, I’ve noticed a palpable sense of relief amongst many friends, acquaintances, and message board posters that the pressure to keep up, show off, and compete is off. At least for the moment.
In the heyday of the 1990’s and early 2000’s, everything was about [...]

The Circle of Life is almost complete at Walmart. I just discovered that Walmart now offers a large selection of caskets for those of us who are planning for the great hereafter. I suppose that it can’t be too long before Walmart also offers a mid-wife service, and after that, dormitories for its [...]

The other day, I went out for coffee with my teen-aged son. My son and I went on a Sunday and I was not sure whether the bakery would be open as it was late in the day. My son asked why we were going to that particular bakery; since there is a [...]

Like most people, I love to find a bargain. A BOGO deal coupled with a great coupon is a cause for great pride. A 90%-off clearance sale where I can find things that I will actually use is a great thing. A 50th anniversary celebration at a restaurant that rolls back its [...]

Is it my imagination or are brands not nearly as big a deal today as they were thirty years ago? When I was growing up, there were endless discussions of Coke versus Pepsi, McDonalds versus Burger King, and Haagen Dazs versus Ben and Jerry’s. Over the past few years, however, I think that [...]

I’m a big reader and some of my reading materials are magazines. Yet over the last few years I’ve been noticing something: Magazines aren’t always good for my wallet. It’s not the subscription costs, but the advertising that’s the problem. Magazines are full of ads; it’s how they pay for their publication. I get it. [...]

When my wife and I were first married, we spent many weekends searching for art and antiques at auctions, antique shops and thrift shops. We never spent a lot of money on anything we bought and, after a few years, our New England home was full of wonderful 18th and 19th century pieces. [...]

I’m sometimes guilty of focusing too much on getting something for the lowest price right now. Many people are like this. We want to pay the least amount possible so we hunt for inexpensive items. Whether it’s an appliance or something as simple as sheets, I tend to want the least expensive (but still decent) [...]

I’m all for saving money, but lately I’ve been focused less on buying the cheapest thing and instead looking at the overall safety and other problems associated with a product. You’ve probably heard about the lead tainted items from China, the BPA found in plastic that can cause hormone disruption, the PFOA found in microwave [...]

When is a deal a good deal? Unless something is absolutely free, we are necessarily paying for it, so how do we decide if something is worth buying? Even if something is absolutely free, there may still be costs associated with transporting it, storing it, using it or disposing of it. The [...]

You may recall that a labradoodle puppy joined my family earlier this year. Adding a dog to our household has brought many changes. Some have cost us money. Some have saved us money. Some just serve to demonstrate that it is easier for us to spoil our dog than it [...]

I know, I know. I said I’d never buy a Wii. Funny how never comes around sooner than you think. A few weeks ago I stayed with some family members who have a Wii and I realized just how much fun one could be. I was used to the passive gaming experience where you sit [...]

We just had our first cool snap of the year. While it will be hot again by the end of the week, the cool weather reminded me of the things I need to do to get my home and family ready for the colder months ahead. Some simple preparation and prevention efforts now will save [...]

I was perusing the Saving Advice forums the other day and I noticed that Marla was aghast at having discovered pre-made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in her grocery stores freezer section. Marla commented “Have we really become a nation that is so lazy we can no longer even make a peanut and jelly [...]

I’ve known Ben since 1969. In fact, I have it on the best authority that he attended my third birthday party that year. Ben has always been consistent. I could always rely on him to be loyal, genuine and completely scatterbrained at times.
Once, when he was about nineteen years old, Ben’s [...]