4 Ways To Cut The Cost And Stress Of Graduation Parties

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In early June my son is graduating from high school, and as is tradition, we are having a graduation reception so friends and family can help celebrate this milestone event. Planning an event for a significant amount of people can take a lot of time, effort, and money. There’s food, drink and in the case of a graduation there is usually some sort of display honoring the graduate. Finding ways to cut down the effort and funds needed for the event is very helpful, here are a few of my favorites. Combine Graduation Parties If you have a child graduating […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 5/19

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This morning my son left for a week long trip with his Environmental Awareness class.  They’re going whitewater rafting today, rock climbing tomorrow, then spending five days in the Boundary Waters in Northern Minnesota.  Between the trip costs and the gear needed, we’ve spent several hundred dollars on this trip.  But, I believe it will be something he’ll remember for the rest of his life.  If that hold true, the cost is absolutely worth it!  How about you EOD Nation, have you ever spent a significant amount of money on something unnecessary, and it turned out to be totally worth […] Read more »

The Simple Reason Subway Has Lost My Business

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I’m switching sub sandwich restaurants for a very simple reason. Customer loyalty is a funny thing. We may live and breathe a specific brand name or restaurant because of a great experience, a certain product, or proximity to our home or work. But we can also switch in an instant for an equally, seemingly trivial thing. For me the thing that is causing me to change sub sandwich restaurants is the very simple thing of saving a little money. For my entire adult life, I’ve been a huge fan of Subway. Whenever anyone would suggest trying another sub sandwich shop, […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 5/12

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I’m working from home today, with a 20 pound brisket on the smoker.  It’s the largest brisket I’ve ever made so I’m interested in how it turns out.  It’s for our annual Memorial Weekend party (I’ll be freezing the finished product for awhile) and all I can think of is how much cash I’m saving my being able to make this myself.  Roughly speaking, out of a 20 pound brisket (after trimming fat and cooking) I’ll probably get about 12 pounds of meat.  Buying smoked brisket from a BBQ place for catering will run anywhere from $10 to $15 a […] Read more »

A Little Embarrassment Can Be A Great Financial Teacher

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It felt great to be able to come to the rescue for my fifteen year old daughter. As young adults progress through their teen years they want more independence, and rely less and less on their parents. So when the opportunity arose for me to swoop in and save the day for my daughter I latched on to it and took full advantage of it. It also gave me the opportunity to give my daughter a great lesson in personal finance. I had gone to the mall for some shopping, and brought my daughter with me. Once at the mall […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 5/5

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I’m writing this later than usual Friday post at my kitchen table with the deck door open.  I can hear lawn mowers around the neighborhood humming away.  Many people get their lawn mowers tuned up in the spring.  A lawn mower spring tune up can cost anywhere from $30 to $50, which adds up year after year.  I’ve never done one, and lawn mowers usually fall apart physically before the engine stops working so they seem to be a waste of money to me.  What do you think EOD nation? Fist pump for spring weather, and my favorite posts of […] Read more »

4 Reasons Procrastinating is a Horrible Idea

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We all procrastinate from time to time, but it rarely contributes positively towards finishing a task, or resolving a problem. In fact, one could argue that procrastinating is the worst possible thing you could do. Let me tell you about an experience I had with procrastination this weekend: Over the weekend I needed gas for the lawnmower, so I put my gas can in the back of the van and headed for the gas station. As I was doing so, my wife stated she was concerned I was going to spill gas and recommended I put the gas can in […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup 4/28

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This weekend I’ll be putting my first application of fertilizer on the lawn.  It’s early in the season and all the different varieties needed for the season are available, and in many instances on sale, so I’ve picked up all my fertilizer needs for the growing season.  Later on, the one I want may be hard to find, because as we all know retailers tend to not have a great selection of products for a given season when that season actually arrives.  Who would want to buy the Fall fertilizer application in Fall, right? Get your fists in the air […] Read more »

Beware Of Credit Card Balance Transfer Offers

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Credit card companies are at it again. Maybe it’s been happening all along and I just didn’t notice it. That might actually be the point. Opening a letter I received from a major credit card company I was disgusted at what I read. I have no problem taking advantage of a 0% interest offer if diligent payments are made to ensure NO interest is paid. But what I saw exposed credit card companies for what I know they are, financial predators. What I received was a balance transfer offer letter. It suggested that it would be a great idea to […] Read more »

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

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The methods needed to be successful in achieving a goal always seem to draw parallels to each other, no matter what the subject.  Being a gym rat and an exercise freak, I commonly compare physical fitness to financial fitness.  You can’t workout hard every single day, your body just can’t handle it for long stretches of time.  Eventually you need to take a day off, or at least have an easy workout to give your body a break.  With financial fitness, you can’t spend a lot of money every single weekend.  Your budget just cannot handle it.  Last weekend was […] Read more »

5 Things That Could Affect Next Year’s Taxes

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Tomorrow is the day your 2016 tax returns are due. They have to be filed electronically or post marked or you will likely face a fine from the IRS. For many of us, the 2016 tax season may be behind us, but now is the perfect time to be thinking about 2017. If you owed money to the government with your tax return now is the time to take action to change the outcome of next year’s tax season. Here are 5 things you may do during 2017 that will have an effect on your taxes: Part-Time Jobs My wife’s […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 4/14

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My daughter turns 15 today!  She’s looking forward to getting her driver’s permit, although to me it just doesn’t seem like she should be able to get behind the wheel of a car.  I guess that’s going to take some getting used to.  The good news is that with a learner’s permit our insurance doesn’t go up.  I’ve got another year before I have two teenagers on my car insurance. Fist pump for birthdays, and my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump Are You Afraid to Spend Money? from MoneyNing How to Be Content with […] Read more »

Which Is Less Expensive, Buying or Leasing a Car?

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Automobile owners may be unknowingly wasting thousands of dollars making the wrong choice when getting a new vehicle.  Maybe you’re included in this group.   Many people purchase a vehicle with the thought that they will keep it long past the life of the loan, saving money by not having a car payment for those years.   Unfortunately, the facts suggest this is not what really happens. Let’s look at some national statistics regarding car ownership: The typical length of a new car loan is getting longer. In 2015, it reached an all time high of 67 months. That means that the […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 4/7

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I’m putting together this link post from Florida at about 12:01am.  My limit of vacation length is about 4 days before I really want to get home.  I’m on day 9, so that should tell you a little bit about my current perspective and mood.  I need to get back home to get back to making money, instead of spending money!  How long do you last on vacation before you feel like you’re going to go insane? Fist pump for going home, and for my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump The Psychology of Credit […] Read more »