Personal Finance Advice

“When I get a little money I buy books, and if any is left I buy food and clothes,” Desiderius Erasmus has been quoted as saying. If he read like I do (more for fun than for education), he was budgeting for entertainment before necessities. He certainly would not be alone. Today, [...]

I’ve tossed a couple parties in the direction of my backyard from grilled gourmet, hanging out and birthdays, but none were quite so successful, or quite so affordable, as my no-reason-at-all box party. I entertained for a good hour and a half having only purchased some packing tape.
In my happy green world, there [...]

A lot of people ask me: “If you don’t watch TV and you choose to limit movies, clubs, restaurants, etc. in order to save money, what do you do for entertainment? Aren’t you bored?” I usually look at them, dumbfounded, because to me there is too much to do and boredom is never a problem. [...]

Trent Hamm at the Simple Dollar wrote a post in January about enjoying the free things in life. On a flight home, he found himself looking forward to taking a hot shower and spending time with his family. Once he realized that these things were free or nearly free, he started listing activities he [...]

I’m not a social butterfly by any means. Never have been; it’s just not in my makeup. I have a very small circle of good friends (like maybe four) that I’ve known most of my adult life and that’s about it. The rest of the people in my circle are acquaintances that come and go [...]