Last weekend, my wife and I officially kicked off Summer with our annual Memorial Weekend Luau.  It also doubled as our son’s graduation party.  He actually graduates next weekend, and we’ll have a small get together for very close family and friends that day, but comparatively speaking it will be extremely low key.  While we do have some things ahead of us in the coming months (college orientation for our son, cheer leading for our daughter,  etc), nothing that requires a huge amount of planning, or funds.  I’m basically kicking up my feet and ready to enjoy a low stress […] Read more »

It’s Memorial Day Weekend, which means we’re in all out party preparation mode.  This year’s party has the added dimension of doubling as our son’s graduation party for friends and neighbors.  It’s looking like a great day for the event tomorrow.  As we get close in on the final details, we have to ensure that we don’t just start blindly spending money.  But don’t worry, I’ve got cash in my wallet ready to keep me in check!  Cash is king! Fist pump for cash, and my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump How to Save […] Read more »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

I filled out my tax return a few weeks ago, but I just hit the “submit” button last night.  I wanted to let them settle for a bit, then go over them again.  After verifying everything looked correct, I sent them to the IRS.  The government must have agreed with the awesomeness of my returns as both my Federal and State returns were accepted within a few hours.  I got a refund back from federal, and owed some to the state.  All together I owed a few hundred dollars, which is the best our taxes have turned out in years.  […] Read more »

This is the big weekend our daughter has been waiting for.  We’re taking her (and some of her friends) to a Panic! At The Disco concert in the Twin Cities.  The ticket was a Christmas present. It’s only an hour north of where we live, so that’s not a big deal.  But now the weatherman is saying there’s a chance for snow late Sunday night.  Hoping we don’t get stuck in Minneapolis/St. Paul for the night! Fist pump for concerts, AND my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump Keep Money Simple Stupid from Budget And […] Read more »

A friend and coworker of my wife is retiring today.  It reminded me that it’s been awhile since I checked the progress of our retirement accounts to ensure we’re on track to meet our financial goals for retirement.  I’m expecting to see a good rate of return so far this year, since the stock market has been moving up in crazy like fashion. But it’s definitely time to check in with my 401K investments and make some adjustments if necessary.  When was the last time you analyzed your road to retirement? Get your fists up for big stock market gains….and […] Read more »