Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 5/22/2020

Written by on · Leave a Comment

Memorial Day weekend is when my wife and I throw a party in celebration of the start of summer.  It started as a house warming party for our first house with a few family members and has grown to last year’s event attended by over 180 people. This year would have been the 24th consecutive year.  Then along came a little thing we call COVID-19.  We’ll be saving money by not have a huge party, but honestly…..I’d rather have the party. At least we can fist pump for my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump […] Read more »

4 Things I Gladly Pay For

Written by on · Leave a Comment

I love saving money, and I love doing projects myself. I definitely love saving money by doing projects myself. But, I do recognize there’s a line at which the money I could pay someone to do a task for me is absolutely worth the cost. Here are four things I gladly pay someone to do for me: Yard Thatching As the snow cover melts in early spring, it reveals my matted down lawn. It needs to be raked to remove the dead clippings from the previous season allowing the live grass to get sunlight and thrive. Raking my lawn would […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 5/15/2020

Written by on · Leave a Comment

My wife and I ate at our favorite restaurant tonight!  Well, not really.  Restaurants are looking to re-open dining rooms on 6/1 in Minnesota but as of right now they are still closed. BUT, our favorite restaurant is selling grilling packs.  Tonight we bought one that included 8 gourmet burger patties, buns, bacon, cheese and a special garlic mayo.  I grilled the burgers, toasted the buns and my family put on the fixings they wanted.  It was delicious, and a little taste of normal. Fist pump for normal, and my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist […] Read more »

Tipping During a Pandemic: Should You Tip More for Takeout?

Written by on · Leave a Comment

After I finished giving my take out order over the phone to a local restaurant, the voice on the other end asked, “Do you want to add a tip for the team?” I normally add 10% for takeout orders, which I viewed as an acceptable amount. But I wondered in the age of COVID-19, if and how the rules have changed for tipping during a pandemic. Before the pandemic, many viewed the social norm was tipping for takeout was appreciated but not necessarily expected. Readying an order for pickup isn’t as time consuming as checking in periodically with a table […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 5/8/2020

Written by on · Leave a Comment

This Sunday is Mother’s Day, and due to the stay at home order from my governor, I won’t be seeing my mother.  At least not in person.  I’m hoping to at least talk to her, if not use Skype to talk to her (and my dad). Locally, our cul-de-sac is having a “Social Distance” brunch.  Everyone is making something and putting it at the end of their driveway.  I’m making omelets on my gas powered griddle.  Then, we can all walk separately around the cul-de-sac and pick up food to eat.  We’ll then all sit in chairs at the end […] Read more »

COVID-19 Spending: It’s Time To Re-evaluate Your Budget

Written by on · Leave a Comment

Changes occur in life which require a person to re-evaluate and re-do their budget. Events like a wage increase, life changes such as getting married or having a child, or a global pandemic. With businesses being limited to curbside sales or being completely closed and many states being under a stay at home order a look at the budget is a great idea because your spending habits have changed. Personal Care With barbers and salons closed, people are going without haircuts, hair coloring, manicures, pedicures, massages and many other personal care services. Entertainment Almost all sources of entertainment are also […] Read more »

Impulse Buying: Beware Now More Than Ever

Written by on · Leave a Comment

Impulse buying is a threat to budgets everywhere, even under normal conditions. Even more so with the current conditions with COVID-19. People are panic buying some products fearing a shortage is imminent. In other cases some products are actually hard to find because of an increased demand. Whatever the case may be, now is the time for extra awareness regarding the dangers of impulse buying. I’m looking for larger sized weight plates for my home gym. I have smaller sized plates used to make dumbbells, but I need heavier ones for exercises like bench press and squats. Due to the […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 4/24/20

Written by on · Leave a Comment

Rumors are swirling the closure of a large pork processing plant in South Dakota may make pork products harder to find in the near future.  I don’t personally think that’s gonna happen but it did spark an idea of what I wanted to do during another weekend  quarantined at home. I’ve got four pork shoulders and seven racks of ribs I’ll be throwing on the smoker.  Pork shoulder for pulled pork on Saturday, ribs on Sunday. It’ll be good practice honing my smoking skills and it will make many, many meals I’ll vacuum seal and put in the freezer for […] Read more »

Inexpensive Ways to Communicate During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Written by on · Leave a Comment

We can’t hang out with our friends, or visit our family due to our state’s shelter at home order. I even had to tell my son, who is away at college, to not come home for a weekend visit. In times like these creativity is required to stay in touch with friends and loved ones. Here are 5 inexpensive ways to communicate during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Phone Call The phone call may be shunned by many, but it’s still an effective way of communicating when you want to have a one on one conversation. Emails Email your loved ones often, […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 4/17/20

Written by on · Leave a Comment

I’ve now been working from home for 8,432 weeks. Ok, it just seems like it. I am grateful to have a job I am able to do from home, but cabin fever is setting in. One thing that is helping me keep sane is the ability to also workout at home. Included in my occasional trips to Walmart is a trip to the sporting goods section in search of workout equipment. They get a small number of items in sporadically.  Over time I’ve been able to collect a weight bench and rack, a weight tree, a curl bar, a straight […] Read more »

Taking Expense Analysis To A New Level

Written by on · Leave a Comment

It’s important to evaluate all your monthly expenses from time to time for value. Eliminate the ones not worth their value, reduce others to be inline with the value they provide. General cable, subscriptions, insurance, and cell phone bills are staples to this process. But during home quarantine due to Coronavirus, I’ve had time take my expense analysis to a new level to make sure I’m getting the most value possible for my money. Here are four things I’ve looked at and made adjustments to over the last few weeks: Broadband Analysis In a conversation with a coworker I realized […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 4/10

Written by on · Leave a Comment

Happy Friday, EOD Nation!  I know it’s hard to differentiate between days at this point. At least it is for me. The governor or Minnesota has extended the Stay At Home order until May 4th. I’m staying sane by working out using the home gym equipment I purchased, firing up my grill and smokers (I’ve got brisket and pork shoulder on as I’m writing this) and resurrecting old PlayStation 2 games.  What are you doing to keep your mind off being quarantined? Fist pump for staying sane AND my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump […] Read more »

Save Money By Installing Window Blinds Yourself

Written by on · Leave a Comment

Window blinds serve as both window covering and décor. Custom blind companies will come to your home, measure your windows and install blinds that fit perfectly. They will also charge you several hundred dollars per blind making putting blinds throughout your home a very expensive venture. Or, you could save yourself hundreds, maybe even thousands of dollars by installing window blinds yourself bought from a big box hardware store. Before buying blinds as a do it yourself project, there’s a few things you should be aware of and keep in mind: Decide Mount Type Determining the mount type is the […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 4/3/20

Written by on · Leave a Comment

We’re now at the end of week three of working from home.  Here in Minnesota, we’re at the end of week one of a “Shelter in place” edict from our Governor. For those of you that are in a similar situation, what are you all spending your money on while you’re quarantined at home? Our main expenditure has been home gym equipment since health clubs are closed. Other than that, we’ve gotten take out food a couple of times, as well as take out beer from a local microbrewery. Gotta support those local businesses.  Our next expenditure is something super […] Read more »