saving money | Enemy of Debt: Where Behavior Meets Reality

Buyer Beware Hidden Charges May Be Affecting Your Bottom Line

Written by Suzanne Cramer on January 19, 2012 · 5 Comments

You are one of those people that diligently budgets for every expense, cuts costs wherever possible–a sheer genius when it comes to personal finance. So why does it seem you just can’t get ahead as a middleclass American citizen doing all the right things when it comes to sticking to your budget? The economy has taken its toll on just about everyone, both consumers and business. In fact either you or someone close to you has likely fallen victim to a foreclosure, layoff, or downsizing. When you fill up at the pump you wonder when a gallon of gas and [...] Read more »

Tags: Behavior, Budgeting, credit, debt, eating out, Economy, personal finance, saving money

P90X Your Finances this Year

Written by Suzanne Cramer on January 5, 2012 · 5 Comments

Unless you have been living under a rock, chances are you have heard of the P90X workout system and its charismatic fitness guru, Tony Horton. On January 1, 2012 I started the P90X system and have embraced both the diet and exercise requirements, hoping to take my health and fitness to the next level. I don’t know about all of you but I need a regimented diet and exercise plan to have any chance of staying on track. In fact last year I completely fell off the wagon and gained 30 pounds! I made 2 resolutions for 2012: Get healthy [...] Read more »

Tags: accountability, Behavior, budget, Change, debt, determination, financial planning, pay off debt, personal finance, saving money, savings

Changing My Money Mind in 2012

Written by Suzanne Cramer on December 22, 2011 · 10 Comments

It’s that time of year when we all vow to change our ways and resolve to go on a diet, quit smoking, or get out of debt. How many of us actually have a plan in place to make our resolutions a reality? Unfortunately most of us don’t and this is why we are doomed to fail before we even start. Yes, money is necessary to support our lifestyle, but do we let it determine how we live our lives? The fact is many of us do. We allow ourselves to live up to or above our means which often [...] Read more »

Tags: accountability, Behavior, budget, Change, credit cards, Debt Elimination, Emergencies, goals, pay off debt, personal finance, saving money

Just Say No to Inflatable Santa’s

Written by Suzanne Cramer on December 8, 2011 · 9 Comments

“Mommy please can we get one of those inflatable Santa’s?” This is the plea I have heard from my eight year old son since we began to decorate (with our already purchased) holiday decorations the day after Thanksgiving. My answer remains constant, “Not right now buddy, we don’t need an inflatable Santa.” Unfortunately millions of Americans apparently do feel they need inflatable Santa’s, two Christmas trees, and thousands of twinkle lights to adorn their homes so they can feel the magic of the holidays. According to a Bloomberg report, “This year U.S. consumers will spend $6 billion on decorations, the [...] Read more »

Tags: Behavior, budget, Budgeting, Christmas, credit, credit cards, debt, Debt free, debt freedom, Economy, goals, Kids and Money, money, pay off debt, saving money

The Most Important Money Advice You Will Ever Receive

Written by Jessica on November 12, 2011 · 9 Comments

You do not need to buy a bunch of books from Dave Ramsey, Suze Orman or David Bach to get this kind of advice. You don’t have to go to week long seminars to learn this powerful tool either. You don’t even have to leave your home. Look no further than this blog post and you will get the most valuable money advice you could ever need. The power of this strategy is amazing! It will teach your children a valuable lesson. It will save you thousands of dollars. It will help your marriage. It will even allow you to [...] Read more »

Tags: accountability, debt, just say no, money, Personal Responsibility, Priorities, sacrifice, saving money

No Restaurants in November 2011 – First Week Peek Plus Recipes!

Written by Brad Chaffee on November 7, 2011 · 18 Comments

If this is your first time visiting last year I hosted my very own No Restaurants in November challenge. The point was to save some money and hopefully curb some bad eating out habits while being transparent about all of it. I revealed how much we spent in October of 2010 and our savings at the end of November. The challenger was a huge success in terms of popularity so I decided to bring it back every year. If you want to know more about it read No Restaurants in November 2011 – for the rules of the road. It’s [...] Read more »

Tags: Budgeting, dining, eating out, food budget, no restaurants, no restaurants in november, saving money

Day 1: No Restaurants in November 2011 – Let the Savings Begin!

Written by Brad Chaffee on November 1, 2011 · 20 Comments

So today it begins. No Restaurants in November baby! If you missed the rules I am giving myself (and possibly you) click here to see if you have what it takes. Yep those are challenging words! :D Have you decided to be TOTALLY WEIRD by participating in such a thing? WARNING: Your friends may laugh at you. You may get called some names. Your actions may cause people to feel judged. If this happens to you, please tread carefully. Unpredictable behavior may ensue. I get it. It totally sucks to be the only person at work with a bagged lunch, but guess what? It also sucks to be broke and/or keeping yourself from reaching your goals. Read more »

Tags: avoiding high monthly restaurant costs, Budgeting, challenges, dining out, eating out, eating out as a novelty, food budget, goals, no restaurants in november, pay off debt, Priorities, saving money

No Restaurants in November 2011

Written by Brad Chaffee on October 24, 2011 · 49 Comments

Healthy Recipes - Tuna Steak and Veggies

Recently, I ran a poll about what challenges you the most about becoming debt free and I thought the results were great. There were 70 voters total and the results can be found here. Today, I want to talk about one of the TOP 5 challenges picked by you and am excited to bring back something I did last year that was very popular. Of course I’m talking about my No Restaurants in November challenge! According to my EOD Poll, 37% of you picked EATING OUT as one of the five things that challenged you the most about becoming debt [...] Read more »

Tags: Budgeting, dining, eating out, food budget, no restaurants, no restaurants in november, saving money

Take a Step Back…Put your Financial Behavior in Check

Written by Suzanne Cramer on September 15, 2011 · 7 Comments

Debt is sometimes inevitable, unavoidable, and well a fact of life for many. No matter what your stage of life you may be faced with financial issues. Life can take its toll on your finances; unemployment, an unexpected illness, divorce or a death in the family can send you into a financial tailspin. But sometimes financial issues stem from a cause deeper than the unexpected; the way you think about money. To snap out of bad financial habits it may require some lifestyle and behavioral changes. 10 Financial Principles Dr. Bernard Poduska, author of For Love or Money writes about [...] Read more »

Tags: budget, debt, Debt free, debt freedom, financial planning, life, money, personal finance, sacrifice, saving money

Frugal Fun: Geocaching

Written by Ashley on August 8, 2011 · 2 Comments

My family started a new hobby this weekend and we are totally hooked! Geocaching. It’s completely free and a total blast. If you’ve never heard of geocaching it’s a world-wide treasure hunt. You can sign up for free at geocaching.com and there are lists and lists of hidden caches. (The caches are the treasures.) You can search by zip code to find ones near you. Each treasure has coordinates that you can plug into your GPS that will bring you within feet of the cache. Then you have to use your noggin. So far I’ve found three. They were an [...] Read more »

Tags: adventure, frugal entertainment, FUN, geocaching, saving money

Christmas is Coming, Will You Be Ready?

Written by Brad Chaffee on May 25, 2011 · 8 Comments

Here on Enemy of Debt, I have made it a point to get people to think ahead, especially when it comes to Christmas. In 2009, I challenged all of you to have a Debt free Christmas by preparing for it early instead of last minute. Today's post comes from Tyson Morgan and promotes the same idea of being prepared for something that happens every single year. Nope, Christmas is not an "emergency", although far too often, people are putting Christmas on plastic because they failed to properly plan for what's become a MONSTER CONSUMER HOLIDAY. I love sharing different perspectives from different writers, so I hope you enjoy today's post. Will you have a Debt free Christmas in 2011? Read more »

Tags: budget, Christmas, Debt Elimination, debt free christmas, holiday shopping, planning, saving money

No Eating Out Check-in: How Have You Done?

Written by Brad Chaffee on April 20, 2011 · 25 Comments

Okay folks. I wanted to check in with everyone on the No Eating Out Challenge last week, but got kind of busy so here goes. How are you doing? Are you sticking to your goals of not eating out at all? Some of you, like me, gave yourself a smaller eating out budget; how have you done? I’m almost ashamed to admit I have done lousy. I mean, I’m still doing WAY BETTER than I would on a normal month, but I have really struggled with saying “NO” on a couple of occasions. We said we wanted to eat out [...] Read more »

Tags: Debt Elimination, no eating out, saving money

It’s Not a Myth, It’s a Lie; You Don’t Need a Car Payment

Written by Brad Chaffee on April 12, 2011 · 35 Comments

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to own and drive a nice car without payments? Wonder no more. It's AWESOME! Imagine driving down the road care-free, except for the road in front of you of course, without having to spend the next 3-6 years paying for it. It's yours. You own it. And the best part is, you didn't have to pay any interest AT ALL. If you lose your job, you know your car will not be repossessed because you failed to make the payments. Ahhh, the good life! Read more »

Tags: car ownership, car payments, Debt Elimination, reliable, saving money

Final Results: No Restaurants Equal Big Savings

Written by Brad Chaffee on November 30, 2010 · 23 Comments

Photo Credit: scott.eyre Well November has come and gone! As most of you already know, I wanted to challenge myself — and you — to commit to not eating out at any restaurants at all for the month of November. So I started the No Restaurants in November Challenge. Some were excited, some were pessimistic, and some even questioned the reality of doing such a thing. While I definitely consider it to be more realistic than some claim, I still see how different lifestyles could make it more difficult for someone to accomplish this. With that said, I say anything [...] Read more »

Tags: Budgeting, challenge, dining, eating out, no restaurants in november, november, personal finance, reaching your goals, restaurants, saving money