Personal Finance Advice

Many businesses are willing to pay you to refer your friends to them. It’s far cheaper for a company to pay you for a referral than it is for them to advertise and discount in order to recruit new customers. Some companies pay you in cash, while others give you a credit on your bill. [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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” [...]

You’ve probably seen targeted marketing in action. When you receive a coupon in your email because you subscribe to a company’s newsletter, or when you get a discount code from your favorite resort, you’re seeing targeted marketing. Targeted marketing extends discounts and special offers to customers based on their prior history with a company or [...]

Financial gurus often tout the money saving aspect of paying cash. With cash, if you don’t have it you don’t spend it, unlike with credit cards. But there is a lesser known aspect of paying cash that will save you money in the long run. Paying cash, especially at local mom-and-pop stores will help to [...]

I just purchased a $200 pair of sunglasses. While many people would consider this an unnecessary splurge, I consider it to be a frugal purchase. Some of you are undoubtedly assuming that I have lost my senses, but I’m able to make this statement with confidence because I know myself well. I rarely buy things [...]

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 [...]

Over the years, I have called the cable company to reduce the amount of money my mom pays for her cable TV on a fairly regular basis. I just did it again this week and saved her $170 over a 6 month period. No matter how many times I tell my mom that she needs [...]

It’s the time of year when we’re all chasing deals. However, if you don’t know basic math it can be hard to figure out when a deal is a deal. This week I was in a store and I overheard the following conversation: “This sweater is thirty percent off,” said the first woman. “But this [...]

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 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 [...]

Your toilet is full of germs! Your tooth enamel is eroding! Your soap dispenser can give you a disease! Criminals are waiting to break into your home the second you turn your back! You could have a disease and not even know it! The germs on your countertop could wipe out your whole family! These [...]

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 [...]

Each time that I sit down to write an article, I never really know how it will turn out or whether it will be published. That sense of unknowing always takes me back to junior high school when I was always convinced that my papers just wouldn’t measure up to expectation. So far, I have [...]

I have a friend who is incredibly picky, to the detriment of her finances. She demands certain brands of every food and personal product she buys. Even if another brand is cheaper, she won’t buy it. She demands specific features in her cars. On vacation, her hotel room must have certain views and specific amenities. [...]

Now that the kids are in school and the back to school shopping is done, it’s time to think about the next big spending event: Christmas. Christmas is a little less than four months away. It’s time to take action now so that you have the money you need for Christmas shopping. It’s also time [...]

One of the best ways to save money is also the hardest. You have to cultivate patience. In today’s world that moves so fast and where everything is about having and doing things right now, patience is hard to find and even harder to apply. Every day new things are coming out that we want. [...]

Yesterday I went grocery shopping. When the woman in line behind me noticed my stack of coupons, she jokingly suggested to her husband that they might want to move to a different line. I laughed and exchanged pleasantries with the couple while the cashier rang up my purchases. When everything had been rung up, my [...]