My daughter, who eventually wants to become an RN and/or a midwife earned her Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) certificate a few months ago, and has recently had a few interviews at nearby nursing homes. She has one offer on the table, and expects to get another in the next few days.  Must be nice, being 17 and having job offer options… Fist pump for my daughter getting her medical career off to a great start, and my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump How to Budget on a Small Income from Club Thrifty Low Effort […] Read more »

I’m currently camping with friends and family at a four day music festival but that won’t stop me from sharing my favorite posts of the week, OR saving money! Concerts and festivals usually jack up the price of everything knowing they have you as part of a captive audience (meaning you don’t have a choice as to where you buy your bottle of water – either it’s from them, or you just don’t get it). But even here there are some ways to save money and make every dollar go as far as it can. One such method is buying […] Read more »

We’re getting together with friends tonight for a shrimp boil.  Everyone is contributing something to the boil and we have several people in the group that have experience with doing them.  It should be fun and frugal, not to mention delicious. Fist pump for shrimp boils and my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump 9 Legit Ways Make Money on the Weekends from Frugal Rules Why I’m Feeling Guilty Spending Money from MoneyNing Guaranteed Ways to Save Money on Groceries from Red Debted Stepchild 6 Warning Signs you’re Living Beyond your Means from Create My […] Read more »

Yesterday was Independence Day – Happy Birthday America!  I didn’t do any of the usual 4th of July stuff. No grilling out, no being outside playing games, and I might have seen one or two fireworks explode out my living room window, but I wasn’t really paying attention.  I did go to the new Spiderman movie with my wife, brother-in-law and sister-in-law, and then hit up some favorite restaurants for a few happy hours. While it wasn’t the traditional 4th of July sort of activities, it was exactly what I wanted to do – spend time with loved ones, enjoying […] Read more »

After a relatively cool start to the summer, this weekend looks to be a scorcher here in Minnesota. My wife and I will be celebrating our 23rd wedding anniversary, and we’ll be hanging out with friends on a boat doing some tubing and waterskiing.  I love summer! Fist pump for summer, anniversaries and my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump 4 Ways to Make Sure Your Bills Get Paid On Time from Beating Broke Step Up Your Grilling Game With These BBQ Blogs from Clever Dude Your Emergency Fund: Why You Need One And How […] Read more »

I’m excited to run a half marathon this weekend. As race day approaches, I’ve been peppered with the customary questions  from people wondering why I put myself through such an ordeal. My answer is really two parts.  First, I like running.  I like the feeling of accomplishment, the fact that it takes both physical and mental strength to finish. Second, as one of my favorite motivational speakers like to say, we should all do difficult things. Doing difficult things gives you the mental perspective that you can do anything you put your mind to.  Running a long race once or […] Read more »

I was reminded this week how valuable good insurance is.  My daughter had her wisdom teeth taken out, total bill coming to about $2500.  After my insurance was applied, my bill was $513, which I paid for with pre-tax funds from my HSA.  Since the HSA funds were deducted from my paychecks, I can’t say the procedure required zero out of pocket funds.  But I can say not one penny was taken out of checking or savings, and there was zero impact to my monthly budget. Fist pump for good insurance, HSA funds, and my favorite posts of the week! […] Read more »