This weekend is a gift card weekend for my family.  We’ve acquired several gift cards and we’ll be using them all to keep overall out of pocket spending down.  Here’s what we have: Olive Garden ($25) : I got this gift card to help smooth over a situation which left me waiting for my to go order for over 30 minutes. I’ll use this to buy alfredo sauce and breadsticks and make the pasta at home. Local Burger Place ($10) : I got this gift card to help smooth over a situation where a local burger restaurant forgot part of […] Read more »

Picture sitting outside on a warm summer evening on a deck looking out over a vineyard sampling wines while eating a wood fired pizza. To me, that sounds like a fabulous Friday night with friends.  But how much would such an adventure cost?  Turns out, not that much: Wine tasting (10-12 wine samples) : $9 x 2 people (my wife and I)  = $18 Wood fired pizza: $14 Total price of hanging out with friends enjoying wine, pizza, and the outdoors is a measly $32. This winery sits just a few miles outside our city and has been there for […] Read more »

Today is my wife’s birthday! I’m looking forward to spending some time and celebrating with her.  What do you have on tap this weekend? Fist pump for birthdays and my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump How Successful People Achieve Their Goals from One Cent At A Time Money-Spending Decisions: How to Know When to Splurge from MoneyNing 10 Habits to Reach Financial Freedom in a Hurry! from Life and My Finances 8 Free and Cheap Things to Do with Kids This Summer from Beating Broke   Read more »

Today is my wedding anniversary!  22 years ago today, my wife and I tied the knot! I’m planning to take her to her favorite restaurant tonight. It’s the most expensive restaurant in our area, but fear not EOD nation – I’ll be rocking a coupon that will save me $20. One of the best parts of being married is you can be yourself without worry. My wife and I both love to save money, so a coupon doesn’t seem out of place at all – even when we’re dressed up going out for dinner to celebrate our anniversary! Fist pump […] Read more »

There’s a saying that goes something like, “If a man says he’ll do something, he’ll do it. There’s no need to bug him every six months about it.” I felt a little like this recently as it’s been over two months since our automatic garage door opener broke.  I started to replace it, ran into some snags, but kept plodding along.  Then life got busy and it got dropped for awhile.  Well, this weekend, I’m happy to say I finally finished the job, and we have a working automatic garage door opener!  The estimated cost to have a professional do […] Read more »

My daughter took her driver’s license road test today. Unfortunately, her dreams of having the freedom to drive herself wherever she wants to go will have to wait.  She didn’t pass. Needless to say, she was crushed. While this holds off rising insurance costs for little while longer, quite frankly I’d gladly pay them to take away the disappointment.  She tries again in two weeks – time to practice! We can still fist pump my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump 10 *Downsides* to Early Retirement from Budgets Are Sexy 8 Highly Successful People Who […] Read more »

Yesterday was my daughter’s first day at her first job! She worked in a food vending stand for a local restaurant on a summertime weekly street event hosted by our downtown business association. She wrapped burgers, served food, and whatever else they needed. She worked hard for just over four hours, and was exhausted by the time she was done. I was so proud of her, and can’t wait until she gets her first paycheck! Fist pump for first jobs, and for my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump 7 Ways to Save on Groceries […] Read more »

This weekend is shaping up to be exactly what I need after having over 150 people at my house last weekend for our annual Memorial Weekend Party.  I mowed my lawn last night, I’m making some pulled pork on the smoker today for a benefit and tomorrow?  Tomorrow is going to be cool and rainy all day.  I plan to spend the entire day sitting on the couch recovering and recharging my batteries.  I’ve never been so happy to have absolutely no plans. Fist pump for lazy weekends and my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist […] Read more »

My son is home from college for the summer and my daughter wraps up her sophomore year of high school in a few weeks.  This all means it’s time to switch our budget into summer mode.   The grocery budget will have to be increased to account for feeding a hungry college student and more snacks will be needed since the kids will be at home more.  It’s all part of the process known as life, we just gotta roll with it and plan accordingly! Fist pump for summer vacation, and my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me […] Read more »

I’ve spent a little bit of time each night this week working on installing my new garage door opener.  I’ve run into several roadblocks that have required additional hardware (like a rail extension kit for a larger door, and more iron angle to rehang the new opener in a new location), but I’m making progress.  Hoping to finish today.  I started to wonder if all the aggravation and time was worth it, so I got some price quotes for how much it would cost to have someone in, and found I’m saving at least $200 by doing it myself.  SCORE! […] Read more »

As soon as I finish this post, I’m heading out of town to my mother-in-law’s retirement party.  She’s done the calculations and determined she’s financially set to retire.  That must be a GREAT feeling!!!  Congrats to my mother-in-law for making it to the promised land! Fist pump for retirement, being financially set, and my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump Do These 7 Things to Save More for Retirement This Year What Are We Doing to Help Us Save a Bundle on Groceries? 5 Ways to Deal With Financial Stress and Improve Your Finances 13 […] Read more »

I look for it every year, and I’m never disappointed.  The great spring charcoal sale is on at Walmart.  Twin pack 15 pound bags (30 pounds total) for $7.88.  This is a GREAT deal, and over 50% off the regular price of a bag of charcoal.  You have to be careful though, as they always have twin pack 18 pound bags (36 pounds total) for double the price.   I’ve got 300 pounds so far, and I might pick up a few more bags to last me the entire year until the sale next spring! Fist pump for cheap charcoal, AND […] Read more »

I’m currently on vacation in sunny Florida with my family.  I can’t think of a trip I’ve taken in my life in which I’ve been more happy to have been away from home.  While I’ve been basking in the sun at the beach in temperatures close to 80, my home state of Minnesota got slammed with a late season snow storm that dumped 8 inches of snow. Fist pump for missing snow storms, and for my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump 9 Money Goals Everyone Should Have from Money Beagle 9 Best Apps to […] Read more »