Personal Finance Advice

Earth Day is coming. It’s one of those days I actually look forward to each year. While I get sick of the “greenwashing” that the big corporations engage in every year, I do enjoy some of the local celebrations at the farmer’s market. It’s also a day that reminds me to reduce, reuse, and recycle. [...]

Most people are well aware of all the common household items that can be recycled – whether by sending them off on the local recycling day or by repurposing them. However, there are plenty of items that you may own that you have never given a second thought about recycling, but you should. Here are [...]

I should probably point out right away that the subject of this article isn’t for the faint of heart. I’m sure that the idea of sorting through garbage probably conjures up some awfully nasty visions for some readers. Dumpster diving, sometimes referred to as trash trawling, is becoming more commonplace and even something of a [...]

Chances are, especially if you have kids, that you have some old sporting equipment cluttering up your garage or kids’ rooms. There are a few ways to get rid of that stuff without consigning it to the dump. You could sell it to a place like Play It Again Sports or you could have a [...]

I have to admit that I enjoy figuring out new ways to use things. I’ve never thought much of the lowly dryer sheet (sometimes referred to as a fabric softener sheet), but have come to learn that it can do a lot of wonderful things — even after it’s been used. You may be surprised [...]

One of the best ways to save money and be frugal is to find ways to reuse things that can no longer be used for their intended purpose. I’ve gotten pretty good at this over the years, finding uses for jars, spare parts, newspaper, old clothes and many more items that most people just throw [...]

If you live in the middle of nowhere like I do, you may find that being a money saving guru is difficult at times. We don’t have easy access to a lot of grocery stores or big box stores like Wal-Mart and Target and their lower prices. We don’t have a CVS or Walgreens on [...]

Now that the Fourth of July has passed, the next big item on the calendar is back to school shopping. This year is likely to be financially tighter than previous years for many people. Not only are families facing tighter budgets, state shortfalls are placing more of the supply burden on parents rather than school [...]

Last week I was out walking my dog on trash day. As I was walking past my neighbor’s trash heap (I say heap because they always have more trash than will fit in the trash can and they just pile it up on the road), I noticed a cute wire basket that was decorated with [...]

I love my blue jeans. They’re a pain to find and when I do, I pay top dollar for something that fits and isn’t too fashionable. I then wear them till they’re holding on by mere threads. I do get good use out of my jeans, but the price I end up paying after a [...]

Other than our mortgage and utilities, the majority of our regular spending goes to consumables. It’s amazing to think how much it costs to keep our bodies fed, clean, and healthy. Penny pincher that I am, I try to squeeze every last bit out of our consumable items before I throw them away. Each little [...]

When people ask me about ways to save money, I give them the usual answers. Don’t buy stuff you don’t need, look for the best deal on what you do need, be conscious of your spending, etc. But I also throw in one more simple piece of advice. Don’t throw stuff away that you know [...]