5 Ways To Appreciate Your Special Someone For Under $10

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Relationships are hard work. When a person is in a committed relationship it’s easy to take it for granted, and stop doing those little things to impress and show appreciation towards your significant other that you did when the relationship was fresh and new. Jobs, kids, what to make for dinner and a thousand other tasks of day to day life dig a rut that’s easy to get stuck in. When as a part of that relationship you combine finances and target every dollar towards something, it’s also difficult to break off some funds to go that extra step for […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 11/11

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I’m really looking forward to this weekend, as I get to go to a rock concert with my son and his friends.  Well, to put it more accurately, I’m driving my son and his friends to the concert at which time they’ll work their way up to the front of the crowd while I find a comfortable spot to watch the concert where I ‘m not being crushed.  But we’ll be seeing some of my favorite bands, and it will be a cool memory that we can share together! Fists in the air for heavy metal concerts, AND my favorite […] Read more »

Are You Wasting Money By Changing Your Oil Too Often?

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For my entire adult life, I’ve had the oil changed in my vehicles every 3,000 miles (or relatively close to that) just as my father had taught me when I was a teenager. In recent years, I had read articles online that suggested this paradigm was out of date but didn’t think much of it. I assumed since the employees at the oil change service stations kept slapping the sticker on my windshield reminding me to change my oil every 3000 miles, I’d better do it. That all changed when we bought our current mini-van a few years ago, and […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 11/4

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I procrastinated until Halloween day to buy the candy we would hand out that night.  While picking up a few bags of treats for the evening, I thought about buying a few extra to have on hand for the family.  Every member of the Pizel family enjoys a small package of gummy worms, or a snack sized Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup from time to time.  I resisted that urge.  I wasn’t  going to pay full price for it. The next morning, on my way to the gym at 4:45am, I stopped at Walmart.  The employees were busy tearing down the […] Read more »

Have You Given Up On Your Financial Dreams?

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Parents tell children they can do anything they put their mind to. We encourage them by stating they can be anything they want. The sky is the limit! We want our children to be successful, and tell them they are only limited by their imagination. I know I’ve certainly told my kids these exact same things. But let me ask you a question; When was the last time you told yourself these things? Do you believe it? We tell children they can accomplish anything they put their minds to, but as adults we don’t believe this for ourselves. Life tends […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 10/28

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This weekend is one of those anomalies that happen every couple of months.  I like to call it The Third Weekend Phenomenon.  Our budget cycle runs on bi-monthly basis as that’s how often I get paid from my job as a software engineer which makes up the majority of our income.    We typically split up our funds assuming two grocery shopping trips, and two weekends worth of discretionary spending.  But since the year has 52 weeks and not 48, every couple of months there’s a pay period that has three weekends.  Therefore, we need to split up our discretionary  and […] Read more »

Cosmetology School Students Can Save You Money On Hair And Spa Services

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A visit to the salon for my wife was on the list of discussed and approved expenditures for the weekend. A few hairs on her beautiful head had dared to turn the wrong color, and needed to be taught a lesson. She called around gathering current pricing information as well as potential time slots, finding she would be paying somewhere between $70 and $90 for a single all over color. She then remembered the name of another salon that had been used by our neighbor to have their daughters’ hair done for homecoming a few weeks prior. The salon had […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 10/21

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It feels like the calm before the storm.  We’re past the spending spree that accompanies the beginning of the school year as well as some family functions behind us, we have absolutely nothing going on the next few weeks.  We have no out of town plans, and no large purchases that need to be made.  Knowing that the holidays will be here before we know it, it is a welcome calm.  I plan to enjoy it to the fullest. I think that deserves a fist pump, don’t you?  While you’re at it, check out my favorite posts of the week! […] Read more »

Insurance Enrollment for 2017 is OPEN!

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That special time of year is upon us again, my friends. I’m not talking about the holidays, the change in season, or even the start of the NFL season. Enrollment is open for next year’s insurance selection. Millions of Americans are pouring over plan benefit sheets and plan price comparisons trying to make the most cost effective selection for themselves or their family. Many will simply take the option to renew whatever they had last year, leaving the only interesting action to find out how much their bill will go up when January rolls around. That may end up being […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 10/14

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Last night was an exciting night at my house…..it was computer upgrade night!   I bought new parts to swap into the computer, but it barely cost me a cent.  I financed the upgrade through Amazon gift cards I got through my employer fitness program, credit card rewards, and a little cash I used from my change jar. Fist pump for (almost) free computer upgrades and my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump We Saved $72,000 and Still Had Fun  from Money Peach Calling Shenanigans on Cord Cutters from Debt Discipline How to Quickly Build an […] Read more »

Is Bed, Bath, And Beyond Getting Rid Of Their 20% Off Coupons?

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I have a lot of love for Bed, Bath, and Beyond. They’ve reduced the price of a large purchase just because we asked, they have a gift wrapping center, and they give out 20% off coupons like candy on Halloween. So my ears perked up when I saw a story on the news this week that stated Bed, Bath, and Beyond is thinking of discontinuing the 20% coupons. No more blue 20% off coupons in my mailbox? Bed, Bath and Beyond is contemplating discontinuing the well known coupons with a loyalty program. For a yearly membership fee of $29, members […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup 10/7

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It’s homecoming weekend!  We purchased my daughter’s dress awhile back as she knew that a group of her friends were all going together.  Traditionally, people going to homecoming go to a fancy restaurant to eat together.  We’re not doing that with our 14 year old. Instead, we’re hosting a dinner for her friends at our home.  The theme of homecoming is “A Tour of Europe” so we’re having a Europe inspired menu including French Toast (french), spaghetti and pasta Alfredo (Italian), etc.  I think you get the idea.  Tori and her friends are excited, and it’ll be fun and frugal! […] Read more »

2 More Reasons Amazon Prime May Be Worth The Cost

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Recently my son purchased Amazon Prime for a year. I questioned whether he would really get his money’s worth out of it, and offered to pay half the cost if I could use it as well. My thought process was if we both used it, it would be worth our money. So, I gave him $50 and promptly placed an order utilizing the free 2 day shipping. We were off and running. I’m currently in the middle of a computer upgrade project, searching Amazon for the parts I want at the best price. When I got to the point of […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 9/30

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A few weeks ago, my son had his senior pictures taken.  We just got word from the photographer that the images are ready for us to look at.  From there we will be deciding what we want to buy.  She has a whole list of products and options and I’m a little scared to start adding things up.  I expect to spend some cash on these lifetime mementos, but I don’t have a feel for how much people “usually” spend on something like this?  Anyone out there in the EOD nation that can give some thoughts? In the meantime, get […] Read more »