Personal Finance Advice

I live in a rural community and we get three newspapers here. The first is our main, statewide paper. Though it’s a daily paper, I only subscribe to the Sunday edition of that one for the coupons and sales flyers. However, we also get two other small-town papers each week. We don’t pay for these [...]

Some people hate to use coupons. Some can’t be bothered, some don’t see that the time required is worth the savings, some are embarrassed, some figure coupons are only for junk food (they aren’t), and some are afraid of being associated with the crazy, extreme couponers out there. Whatever the reason, these people are uncomfortable [...]

Newspaper subscriptions seem to be dwindling with each year that passes. A lot of people get their news from online sources as it tends to be quicker and more convenient. However, there are still a lot of people who enjoy reading a newspaper. Some people also enjoy some of the financial benefits that come from [...]

I reluctantly became a grocery shopping coupon “expert” a few years ago when I made a bet with my sister and told her that I I thought I could eat well only spending $1 a day for food. I managed to succeed doing it through the use of coupons, but I never really enjoyed the [...]

This is the time of year when one of my friends starts running around like a maniac trying to use up all of the coupons from her Entertainment Book. Most of the coupons expire in November, so we will spend the next month eating in all kinds of places and doing all sorts of activities [...]

I don’t know whether to classify the following as a strange way to save money, make money, or spend money, but it is definitely strange so I’ll leave it at that. I was out over the weekend with a friend trawling some yard sales. At one sale, the seller had a table set up with [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

I recently read an article where the author gave 8 Reasons Not To Coupon. I understand that it was probably an assignment given to a “journalist,” but overall the article kind of annoyed me. I do not coupon directly, but I do save a ton of money using the coupons that my wife prepares for [...]

I’m terrible with coupons, but this week I managed to get get $45.48 worth of food for $3.50 — if you have a Safeway (or Safeway affiliated) grocery store near you, I will show you exactly how to do it. This week Safeway is offering Betty Crocker Fruit Roll-Ups for $1.00 each if you use [...]

I know quite a few people who have tried to use coupons but ended up quitting because they got discouraged. They felt like they weren’t saving enough, or that somehow they weren’t doing it “right.” One woman put it simply when she explained, “I see these people on TV who get $600 worth of food [...]

By Terry G. I love free money. I thought that others would also love free money, but that doesn’t always seem to be the case. There is a lot of free money out there that almost anyone can claim with a bit of effort, but most people don’t. Banks: I remember when I was growing [...]

It’s no secret that I’m a big coupon user. When I mention this to people, I get one of three reactions: 1. “Hey, that’s great, how much do you save?” 2. “You must have a really unhealthy diet because coupons are only for junk food. It’s not worth it.” 3. “You could save so much [...]

Today marks the first day of week two of my consistent trips to the gym. Having run out of all plausible excuses, I now find that I have to match my beloved wife’s commitment to fitness. After eight days, I have to say that it has not been all that bad, and it does give [...]

We’ve all done it. Your best friend’s birthday is today and you completely forgot. Your anniversary is today and you haven’t done anything. You forgot to buy a Christmas present for Aunt Imogene and she’s at the door. You don’t have time to pick out a fabulous present, so what can you do, besides the [...]

If you use coupons with any regularity, I’m sure you’ve had run-ins with the people I call “coupon huffers.” These are the people who get behind you in the checkout lane and then huff, tap their feet, and practically climb over you in their impatience to check out. Your transaction is taking too long, they [...]

The other day my son managed to lose a pair of pants from his school uniform. How he did this, I am not sure, since he was wearing them at school that day. Nevertheless, somehow between the end of the school day and the end of his bus ride home, he managed to lose his [...]

I heard an interesting comment the other day from an unexpected source. The person said, “If you respect the abundance you already have, you’re more likely to get more. Whereas if you dismiss what you already have, you are likely to receive less.” You might think this came out of the mouth of a minister [...]

Have you ever thought about how much money people waste in a given day? Today, I tried to keep track of all of the waste that I witnessed and I was rather surprised, given our economy, how cavalierly people will still waste their financial resources. It made me think back to a time, about 15 [...]

Earlier today I had to buy a backpack. I had to buy a backpack because my high school aged son managed to break his current backpack. Now, I am not really sure how one breaks a backpack. Indeed, until today, I did not believe that one could actually break a backpack. It was neither torn [...]