4 Reasons Teens Should Fill Out Their Own Tax Return

Tax season is upon us all, not just for us adults, but also for our children with part-time jobs. I was reminded of this fact when I opened the mailbox and found my son’s W-2. He wants to get his taxes done as soon as possible as he knows he will likely get a refund. I could just sit down and quickly pound out his taxes, but I want him to be involved in the process. There are several reasons kids should be involved in the process of filing their taxes. Understand Amount of Taxes Paid Teenagers typically looks only […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 4/30/21

I went grocery shopping yesterday.  On the surface that doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it out of the norm for me because normally Saturday is grocery shopping day.  Here’s the thing: Everybody goes grocery shopping on Saturday.  The stores are super “peopley.”  It’s not a big deal when the list is short, but when I need a lot of things from several stores having to squeeze through people loitering in the middle of aisles starts to get on my nerves.  I start to get that, “I just wanna be done,” mentality.  When this happens I may not think […] Read more »

Be Mindful Of Your Spending…or Else!

Let’s try something a little different today, EOD Nation. Instead of a single subject blog post, I’ve got two quick hits for you. Both are personal experiences I’ve had in the last week. Both are good examples that you have to keep your eye on your money at all times. Free Sample Machine or Marketing Ploy? “Would you like a free sample?” said the machine at the end of the dairy aisle in Walmart. Each time I passed, it squawked at me. After several passes I noted the product being advertised. I found myself interested in checking it out. The […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 4/23/21

Happy Friday, EOD Nation!  I’m so excited about this weekend!  I’ll be firing up my smokers for the first time in months.  Last night I smoke chicken legs, Saturday I’m doing briskets, and on Sunday I’m doing pork shoulders for pulled pork and another brisket that has been swimming in brine for about a week for pastrami. Oh and I’m bringing some of the brisket over to a friend’s house on Saturday night for food and game night. Fist pump for smoking meat, fun with friends and my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump Do […] Read more »

4 More Things I Gladly Pay For

I’m a huge fan of DIY. I’m willing to do things that I’m familiar with, but I’m also more than willing to learn a new skill, when it makes sense. Having my lawn thatched last week reminded me of a post I wrote awhile back listing things I don’t mind paying for. Here’s another four things for which I gladly pull out my wallet. Garage Door Spring Replacement Above every garage door is a big spring. The tension of the wound up spring helps lift your garage door. When it wears out, it breaks. When this happens you might be […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 4/16/21

I opened my front door to find my neighbor waiting with a piece of paper in his hand. He had contacted a lawn service to thatch his lawn, and they were coming the next day. He handed me the number stating since the guy as going to be in the neighborhood he’d probably be willing to do more yards while he was in the neighborhood. While I opt to do my own fertilizing, I gladly called the lawn service and agreed to pay $100 to have my lawn thatched as well.  I would rake my whole yard, but it would […] Read more »

Being Actively Involved In Medical Visits Can Save You Thousands

Modern medicine can do miraculous things. But the cost of those miracles can be enough to send your blood pressure through the roof. Doctors understandably tend to be cautious when diagnosing health issues. Sometimes, asking questions and getting a second opinion could save your thousands of dollars. Personal Experience My wife saw a family medicine doctor on a Friday afternoon for some pain she was experiencing. The doctor had an idea what was causing the pain, and stated the treatment was likely antibiotics, but ordered blood work to be sure. About an hour after returning home, the doctor called very […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 4/09/2021

It’s that time of year again when it’s time to start thinking about lawn care.  The first application of fertilizer should be going on soon and as usual, instead of calling a service to do it for me, I’ll be doing it myself. I dropped by the local Costco, but to my surprise they didn’t have what I was looking for. I’m almost positive they had the fertilizer plus crabgrass control a few weeks ago.  Either I was mistaken, OR they’ve sold out.  Either way, I’ll have to pay slightly more and buy it somewhere else.  But it’s still cheaper […] Read more »

Travel Hack: Have A Body Pillow On Vacation Without Packing One

My wife has certain things she prefers to bring on vacation. One of those things, her body pillow, is a little size prohibitive to take on vacation. Especially when space in our car is a premium for a cross country road trip. However, prior to our recent trip to Florida she found a way to have a body pillow without actually bringing it with. Option 1: Pack It The simplest solution is to simply pack the body pillow. However, fitting the suitcases for four people (2 others rode with us) for a week’s vacation in the back of a mini-SUV […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 4/3/21

Vacation is over, and we’re on our way home.  In many ways, sitting on the beach for a week recharged my batteries. In other ways, being on vacation for 10 days has been exhausting. I’m ready to get back to my usual routine. Even though we’re both vacation exhausted and ready to get home, we continue to focus on our finances. On our way home, instead of going out for dinner, we looked at what was offered for the “Manager’s reception” in the lobby at our hotel for the night. They had salad, baked potatoes, pasta, hot dogs and free […] Read more »

Talking Finances While On Vacation

You might go on a vacation, but you should never take a vacation from paying attention to your finances. My wife and I are currently on vacation, but we continue to have financial discussions every couple of days, just as we do at home. How We Talk Finances On Vacation Just like when we’re at home, our financial discussions cover several areas: Recent Spending: The first thing we do is discuss what we’ve spent, We make sure we’re both aware of what we’ve spent our money on, and how much we’ve spent. We also review how our spending matches up […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 3/26/21

My wife and I are in Destin Florida! Over the last 3 days, we have driven across the country to make it to the beach in the panhandle of Florida.  We’ve vacationed here several times over the last few years, and absolutely love it. We were supposed to be here last year, but the whole COVID-19 thing had just blown up and we had to cancel our trip.  Things look a little different here than we’re used to (facemasks, etc), but we’re happy to be staring at blue green waters and white sand beaches. Fist pump for tropical vacations and […] Read more »

Create A Will Online For Free

Six in ten Americans do not have a will. People do not create a will for a variety of reasons including they don’t want to think about death, and they don’t know how. But providing clear direction for what happens to your assets should you pass away is not only easy, but free and only takes a few minutes. Why Is A Will Important If you fail to create a will, and something happens to you, the following scenarios may occur: Court Appointed Executor : Without a will, the courts will name an executor you do not know or trust […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup

Tonight, my wife and I are going to practice what I preached.  I recently posted an article here describing combining money saving tips for an inexpensive fun evening with friends.  Well, we’re about to pretty much repeat that exact evening.  Happy hour food, drinks and games at a friend’s house.  Looking forward to a fun kick off to the weekend! Fist pump for inexpensive fun, AND my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump 23 Free Money Apps That Pay You Cash from Bible Money Matters Why You Should Always Check Debt Accuracy from CleverDude How […] Read more »