How I Saved 45% and Got Free Yoga Pants At Lane Bryant

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I had been shopping with my wife for nearly four hours when we walked through the doors of Lane Bryant. She was looking for some new clothes, but was encountering some trouble finding what she was looking for. Within a few minutes of walking in the door, she found several things she wanted to try on. When she looked at the prices, however, she thought they were a little more than she was willing to spend. I pointed at a sign advertising a “Buy One, Get One 50% Off” sale. The smile returned to her face and she excitedly headed […] Read more »

Paying Off The House Wasn’t Our #1 Priority – but we did it anyway

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Attention, Attention, EOD Nation!  I interrupt our usually scheduled program to bring you a very special post from our friend Steve Stewart, who has some very exciting news to share with us!  Take it away, Steve!!!! Today is the day! My wife and I are going to the bank and paying off the house! This is our Christmas gift to each other – and it is just what we wanted!  We purchased our home in 1999 on a 5/1 ARM, then refinanced it (twice) by 2003. I’d like to say paying off the house was our #1 priority, but it wasn’t.  […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 12/11

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I can’t believe how late we are with our Christmas present shopping.  I’ve really put the screws to my kids for ideas of things they want…I mean we have some good ideas tucked away, but we need some help since both my kids are teenagers and their wants are locked deeply inside their “my parents just don’t get me,” brains.  I was able to get my son to deliver a wish list last night, and to be honest I was REALLY excited. Remember my hope that I could do much of my shopping online?   EVERYTHING on his list would need […] Read more »

Nobody Likes Being Reminded Of Their Mistakes

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A high school science teacher from Iowa ate nothing but McDonald’s for six months. Maybe you’ve heard this story before, or maybe you’re thinking this was another one of those attempts to show the public the evils of fast food. If you fall into the later category, you might be surprised to learn that the man lost about 60 pounds, lost 21 inches off his chest, waist, and hips, and significantly lowered his cholesterol. The caveat here is that while he did eat fast food for every meal for 6 months, he also stuck to a 2000 calories a day […] Read more »

I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 12/4

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With Thanksgiving now in the rear view mirror, it’s time to dive into Christmas hook, line, and sinker.   The holiday spirit hasn’t quite got a hold of me yet, but we have our neighborhood Christmas party tonight….so maybe that will kick the “Bah, humbug” right out of me.  I do know that it’s time to seriously evaluate our Christmas budget.  We’ve got presents to buy and not a lot of time.  In a perfect world, I’d just sit in front of my computer and order everything online, then just wait for the packages to be delivered to my door. […] Read more »

Can You Use Expired Kohls Cash?

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My wife and I drove to Kohls on Black Friday to look for some long sleeved shirts for our son. He needed a winter wardrobe refresh (darn teenagers grow like weeds) and the shirts were advertised at 75% off. We made sure we had the coupon we got in the mail for an additional 15% off, as well as a $20 Kohls Cash coupon we had received a few weeks ago from buying a new Keurig coffee maker. On our drive to Kohls, my wife noticed that the Kohls Cash had expired. My wife shook her head in disbelief. This […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 11/28

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Welcome to a special Saturday edition of Fist Pump Friday!  Alright, so I admit that the Thanksgiving holiday threw my schedule for for a loop and thus I’m a day late with my usual fist pumping. I also have a confession to make:  I went shopping on Black Friday.  Not the crazy, stand in line for hours to buy a low quality, cheap TV kind of shopping.  There were a handful of things that we found in the ads that were good deals that we wanted so Vonnie and I went around to a small number of stores looking for […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 11/20

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Next week is Thanksgiving (Whoohoo!), and then comes the official  beginning of the holiday shopping season.  I choose not to participate in Black Friday.  The last couple of years I wouldn’t have even if I wanted to – I just couldn’t find anything in the ads that were worth my time and energy.  BUT, I know a lot of people do partake in Black Friday shopping in almost traditional like manner.  If you do, do your research and be armed with price and value comparisons to make sure you get the most for your money.  Our friends over at The […] Read more »

The Dangers Of Swiping A Card

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If you’re a regular reader here on Enemy Of Debt, you know that I’m a firm believer that cash is king. I’d much rather throw down some greenbacks than swipe a card. Every reason that I love paying for things with cash was reinforced by a situation with my daughter that occurred over the weekend. As I waded through my email, I noticed three email receipts from Apple for purchases made through iTunes. I hadn’t made any purchases during the week, so I was interested to see what had been bought, and by who. The agreement with my kids is […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 11/13

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My wife is hosting a “Ladies Night In” this weekend at our home.  There will be wine, there’s a person coming in to lead the group in a painting activity, and there will be food catered.  Ok, so caterer is me, but it sounds good doesn’t it?  I get to fire up the smoker and make brisket sliders.  Vonnie asked me yesterday if we wanted to simplify things and just buy pre-made brisket from Costco. “We will not serve imitation brisket,” was my response. In addition to the fact that using my smoker is one of my favorite activities, pre-made […] Read more »

Nailing My Finances One Week At A Time

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“When you are great you don’t focus on a week, When you are great you don’t focus on a month, When you are great you don’t focus on a year You focus on the 24 hours that are in front of you, and you NAIL it!” -Eric Thomas Or maybe focus on the weekend in front of you….? My wife and I went to a party supply store on Sunday morning to look for some wanted items for a wine and painting gathering she’s hosting next weekend. We purchased a number of items, and on the way to our van […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 11/06

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It’s November, and I’m excited!  Why am I excited? I’m so glad you asked. Later this month is my most favorite of all holidays:  Thanksgiving!  I love Thanksgiving, and everything it represents.  I’m a HUGE advocate of being thankful for what I have.  I spend a moment each night recounting what I have to be thankful for that day, but spending an entire Holiday being thankful?  Glorious. The only problem is, Thanksgiving can be expensive.  Families get together, huge meals are prepared and eaten and the wallet gets a workout.  The time to start setting some funds aside is NOW.  […] Read more »

How To Avoid The Monthly Payment Trap

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The monthly payment trap is easy to fall into. I lived and breathed it for years. Analyzing whether we could afford something based upon whether we could make the monthly payment, not the actual price of whatever we were contemplating purchasing. I was reminded of this trap over the weekend when I was shopping for an iPad for my mother-in-law. My mother-in-law has been thinking of purchasing an iPad for quite some time, and last week she finally decided to make it happen. She texted me asking if I would do the shopping for her, since I’m familiar with the […] Read more »