5 Things I Don’t Mind Spending Money On

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Achieving your ultimate financial goals requires you to be selective in how you spend your hard earned money. Being a wasteful or frivolous spender leaves less money in your pocket to put towards eventual financial freedom. But being wise with your money doesn’t mean living in a cardboard box and subsisting on bread and water – it simply means executing selective spending. Spend your hard earned cash on things that matter to you. Here’s a list of 5 things I don’t mind pulling my wallet out for: Expensive Groceries USDA Prime rated steak, lobster tail, crab legs and beef tenderloin […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 9/28

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Earlier this week I wrote how I’m forcing my daughter to go shopping. That’s a bit of an exaggeration, since she really does want to go buy new clothes anyway.  I was talking with her this morning and told her as she’s walking around the mall this weekend to think about how it feels to be able to essentially buy whatever clothes she wants. I told her that feeling is called financial freedom.  If she works hard and is smart with her money, she can continue to have that feeling throughout adulthood. Fist pump for financial freedom, and my favorite […] Read more »

I’m Forcing My Daughter To Go Shopping

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I told my daughter to plan to go shopping at the mall this Saturday. I encouraged her to engage in a full on shopping spree and spend a significant amount of money on herself. Yes, you read correct. It may not seem like very financially responsible advice, but I sincerely believe it’s exactly the right thing to do. My daughter got her first part-time job over the summer, working one night a week. She did such a good job, they wanted to expand her hours when school started.  Balancing schoolwork, being on the cheer team, and the job has been […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 9/21

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Welcome to the weekend, EOD Nation!  I’m feeling extremely relieved for several reasons: we have our hail damage insurance claim taken care of (as much as we can right now) and are just waiting for our contractor to tell us when the roof will be done Our new refrigerator was delivered, and is keeping all our food cold again A major problem at work I’ve been involved in has been resolved With these three stress points behind me, I plan on attending a high school football game tonight, cleaning out smokers tomorrow, and enjoying Minnesota Vikings football on Sunday. Fist […] Read more »

Why I Love My Appliance Protection Plan

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Appliance delivery people are carrying a brand new refrigerator into my house as I write this blog post. The best part of this particular refrigerator is the cost: Zero. That’s not entirely true, to be honest. Our old refrigerator stopped working, was not repairable, and therefore being replaced under our appliance protection plan which costs us $60 a month. How Our Appliance Protection Plan Works Under the plan, repairs to the covered appliances have no cost. If an appliance cannot be repaired, it is replaced with a comparable new one. Another perspective is we’re paying each month towards future appliance […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 9/14

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I noticed last weekend our refrigerator just wasn’t keeping things cold.  We had someone come look at it, and after unsuccessfully trying to revive it by replacing one part, the repair person declared our fridge’s compressor was broken.  Replacing the compressor is just as expensive as buying a new fridge, so I guess we’re dropping major coin on a new fridge. Wrong! After our water heater needed replacement a few months ago, we upgraded our appliance protection plan.  While we have been paying more per month, we’re going to get a new fridge for no additional funds out of our […] Read more »

Insurance Companies Are Not Your Friend

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  Insurance companies portray themselves as friends who are there for you in your time of need. However, the reality is they’re a business. Their number one priority is making money, not what is best for you. I’ve been dealing with a hail damage insurance claim since May for exactly this reason. Original Claim The first round of our hail damage insurance claim didn’t turn out well. The adjuster originally approved to have one side of our home resided and the front side of our roof shingled. The explanation given was only one side of our home and the front […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 9/7

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My daughter got her driver’s license this week! She’s extremely excited about being able to go places in a car by herself, and I’m just as excited about not having to pick her up from school, cheer practice or taxi to and from friends’ homes. Her freedom does result in a higher  monthly insurance premium. However, that increased cost is up to her to pay.  She has a part-time job, therefore she can afford to pay for the insurance as her contribution for having the privilege to drive.  More freedom for all, plus a lesson in financial responsibility…..You have to […] Read more »

Achieving Your Goals: Focus On Behavior, Not The Outcome

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Staring at the scale, I already knew what it would say. It was the designated weigh in day to check my progress towards my weight loss goal. I knew I hadn’t lost weight. It wasn’t because the scale hadn’t been on my mind. I thought about it every day. The fact that I thought about it, and only it, so often was exactly the problem. I had focused on the wrong thing, with disastrous results. Focusing On The Outcome is The Wrong Way To Achieve A Goal I was focused on the wrong thing, thinking constantly about what the scale […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 8/31

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I’m excited to fire up my new smoker this weekend!  I’m making summer sausage using some venison a friend of mine gave me.  He provides the venison, I’m kicking in the pork to mix with it as well as the seasonings and we’ll split the product.  When I’m done, I’ll have made about 40 pounds of summer sausage at a cost of $2 a pound.  I’ll keep half of it, which means I’ll have plenty for holiday and football gatherings. Fist pump for making sausage, and my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump The Top […] Read more »

Save Money, Be Ready For Spring With End Of Summer Sales!

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With Fall approaching, garden centers at big box stores like Walmart, Target, Costco, Home Depot and others are looking to move their Summer seasonal items. This is a great time to find items you may be in the market for if the price is right. I found just such an item at Walmart yesterday. “Hello?” said my wife, answering her phone. “We have a situation here at Walmart,” I said seriously. “Oh, and what is that?” she replied. “There’s a smoker that I’ve had my eye on all summer that would be perfect for smoking sausage. Regular price is $174. […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 8/24

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We’re headed to GreekFest, a local event held each year in our city, this evening.  There will be Greek food, entertainment, and crafts to look at and purchase. It should be a good time paired with some amazing food. This is exactly the sort of event at which I don’t mind spending my hard earned cash. I don’t know how to make Greek food, and the entertainment will be fun to watch – should be fun! What about you, EOD Nation, is there a local event you’re looking forward to? Fist pump for Greek food, and my favorite posts of […] Read more »

6 Tips To Keep In Mind When Buying A Vehicle

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I recently purchased a car for my daughter. Although she was super excited for her first car, I was less than enthused to go through the financing process again. I pulled out all my mental notes from past experiences on things to be on the look out for when buying a car. Have The Kelly Blue Book Handy Have the website for the Kelly Blue Book bookmarked and ready to go. It will help you determine if the price of a vehicle is within fair market value, as well as show you other cars of the same type for sale […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 8/17

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This weekend my church is holding a summer event for the community featuring a BBQ contest and slip-n-slides for kids of all ages. I’m loading up a trailer with my smoker and setting up a booth in the parking lot tomorrow morning, as I’m participating in the BBQ contest. There are three categories; Ribs, chicken, and BBQ sauce.  I’m entering all three, and I’m bringing my A Game – wish me luck! Fist pump for BBQ contests and my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump How to Pay Cash for Your Next Car, Even When […] Read more »