My wife and I are hosting Thanksgiving at our home next week, so this weekend is all about prep work. A local grocery store is having it’s traditional “buy a ham get a free turkey” sale.  I’m all about taking advantage of that deal.  Additionally, I’m firing up my smoker and making a brisket.  Are you making a Thanksgiving meal this year?  How do you keep the cost down?   Posts That Make Me Fist Pump How To Talk To Your Spouse About Money from MoneyNing Are You Wasting Time To Save Money? from Boomer And Echo How Budgeting Changes […] Read more »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

Welcome to the weekend, EOD Nation!  It’s race weekend again for me, with a 5K Saturday evening and a half marathon Sunday morning.   The good news is the races are in my city so there’s no travel, dining out, or hotel room expenses.  I just have to drive to the start line and have a good time running. Fist pump for inexpensive race weekends….AND my favorite post of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump Credit Card Facts to Scare Your Straight from The Jenny Pincher 7 Powerful Money Rules You Usually Ignore from The Money Principle 17 Staggering […] Read more »

My family and I are headed out of town today for a family event tomorrow.  Family from various parts of the Midwest will be coming together and staying in the same hotel this evening.  As my wife was booking our room, she found that we had accumulated enough points through the hotel chain’s rewards program to get a free night’s stay.  BONUS!  We don’t stay in hotel’s often, but my wife is diligent in making sure we get our points.  This is the first time we’ve accumulated enough points for a free room.  We may be going out of town […] Read more »

Labor Day weekend is here, which for my kids means school starts next week.   The beginning of the school year signals the imminent change of seasons, but also means a change in the household budget.  It’s time to switch over to the school year spending plan which translates to buying less groceries since the kids aren’t home during the day and adding a “school lunch” line to the plan.  It’s not an even exchange as school lunches tend to cost more than the extra groceries I buy for the summer.  It might not be a lot, but it has to […] Read more »

My daughter begins high school this year.  She’s a typical girl, liking all the things girls typically like.  Which means Homecoming in early October has been a hot topic of conversation with her friends for months.  We’ve checked out a few places with no luck.  That all changed last night.  We went to a store in a nearby small town that specializes in dresses for Homecoming and High School Prom.  She instantly found a dress she fell in love with. You could see it in how she smiled, how she twirled in it, and how she looked at herself in […] Read more »

I’m heading up the the Twin Cities this weekend for a Metallica concert at the brand new 1.1 Billion dollar US Bank Stadium.  Not only do I get to see some of my favorite bands play, but I get to see them in the new home of the Minnesota Vikings.  Being the money freak that I am, I’m interested to see what the prices for refreshments will be.  I’m assuming they’re going to be high, but then again I’ve read stories about other venues trying to be more wallet friendly and slashing prices at the concession stands. Fist pump for […] Read more »