Saving Money on Senior Pictures

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My daughter is on the cusp of beginning her senior high of high school. Traditionally, many parents have senior pictures taken to commemorate this milestone of their child’s life. We did exactly that for our son a few years ago, paying a significant amount of money for a professional photography session and pictures. We decided to go a different route with our daughter. Friend Photographer We gathered a list of recommended photographers, but I suggested a friend of ours. Photography was her hobby, but she had taken pictures of our family a few times in the past and her work […] Read more »

Saving Money Hack: Making A Hotel Reservation

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Hotel reservation lines connect you to a central call center. These call centers handle reservations for all locations of a hotel chain. This is efficient for the hotel chain, but not necessarily for the customer. In fact, many times travelers get better rates by calling the hotel front desk directly. Front Desk Service My wife and I need a hotel room for an upcoming marathon. We are late in trying to get a room, so we anticipated difficulty. She checked the availability online for a hotel within walking distance of the finish line, not surprised to find no rooms available […] Read more »

Saving Money Hack: Renting A Uhaul

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Life is full of opportunities to save money. Keep your eyes open, ask questions, and you find them all around you. I found one at U haul that cut the cost of a trailer rental in half, simply by slightly altering the time I picked it up. Two Nights, One Day Fee I needed a trailer to transport my smoker to a BBQ contest and Uhaul had exactly what I needed. Since the contest started very early on Saturday morning, I planned to pick up the trailer around 4:00pm after work on Friday and return it after the contest completed […] Read more »

Spend More, Save More

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My wife wanted to string globe lights around our patio for ambiance for a party we were hosting over the weekend. We found several lights were burnt out, and needed to be replaced. I found replacement bulbs at Walmart, two bulbs for $3. I needed four bulbs, for a total replacement cost of $6. Nearby I found a brand new strand of lights for $10. I gently placed the new strand of lights in my cart and headed for the self-checkout lane. Why would I pay $10 for an entire new strand when I could replace my burnt out bulbs […] Read more »

Take Advantage Of Summer Sales For Year Long Savings

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Pressed for time, I debated stopping at a big box hardware store to pick up deck stain. I planned staining my deck at some point during the weekend, but likely not that day. Being nearby, I pulled into the parking lot, and I’m really glad I did. They were having a 4th of July weekend sale (that ended that day) on deck stain which amounted to 33% off the price of the stain after mail in rebate. Summer Sale Items Great sales can be found on almost any holiday, and summertime holidays are great for finding deals on items needed […] Read more »

5 Ways To Save When You’re Forced To Dine Out

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My wife and I were out of town for the weekend as I was running a half-marathon in northern Minnesota. The focus of the weekend was the race and the activities surrounding it. We obviously had to eat, but didn’t want to spend a lot on food. Before leaving town we came up with the following plan to keep our food cost down, but still have meals we both would enjoy and enhance the experience of the weekend. Breakfast At Hotel Our hotel offered a free breakfast buffet each morning including eggs, sausage, toast, waffles, fruit and a variety of […] Read more »

Saving Money With DIY Deck Repair

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My wife informed me she asked a professional to examine our deck and provide an estimate to replace a rotten board. I’m re-staining it this summer, and wanted to have the board replaced beforehand. Taking a mental inventory of my tools, I confidentially stated I could replace it myself. Even though my wife’s facial expression expressed doubt, I laid out my plans to replace the board instead of paying someone to do it for me. Tools Needed First, I took inventory of the needed tools: Drill: I have an electric drill powerful enough to remove and insert decking screws (many […] Read more »

4 Reasons A Photography Loving Friend Can Save You Big Money

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My daughter experienced her junior prom last weekend. She was excited to get dressed up and go dancing with her boyfriend and other friends from school. Since prom is a special event, she wanted pictures. Not the dad holding his cell phone and hopefully they don’t turn out fuzzy kind of pictures. The kind of pictures you put in a photo album and cherish forever. She asked if we knew anyone with a good camera that could take some pictures. I recommended she contact her brother, as he has a nice camera and is actually taking a college photography class. […] Read more »

Save Money Buying Gift Cards At Costco

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It’s a well known fact customers save money buying items in bulk at Costco. But there’s another way to save money at Costco that makes a membership worth the price all by itself. The product I’m talking about is gift cards, and you can save big time purchasing gift cards at Costco. My wife and I stop into Costco each and every time we go to our favorite restaurant. It’s unbelievably convenient given it’s literally right across the street. Buying a gift card from Costco saves us 25% on our bill. Checkout more details on how to save money by […] Read more »

5 Steps To Avoid Overpaying For Your New Appliance

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The microwave made a horrible loud buzzing noise, and when the time reached zero the food inside was still cold. My over the range microwave was broken, and not worth fixing. It was time to get a new one. Before going shopping, I needed to research microwaves and know exactly what I wanted. Because if I didn’t know what I wanted, a salesperson would likely talk me into buying a model with more features than I’d use, costing more than I wanted to spend. New microwaves have more bells and whistles than I expected. I knew there were different sizes […] Read more »

How A MicroSD Card Could Save You $100 On Your Next Phone

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With my current cell phone refusing to charge, I was shopping for a new one. I wanted a Samsung Galaxy S8+ (I could save money by buying the previous generation of phone), color didn’t matter. A little more thought was required when the sales representative asked me how much internal storage I wanted. Several choices were available, the price increasing with the memory size. I knew memory could be added to the current Galaxy phones by inserting a microSD card, so I contemplated if I should buy a phone with less memory and add a microSD card, or just buy […] Read more »

Never Pay Full Price For SiriusXM Satellite Radio

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We’ve had SiriusXM satellite radio in our van for years. We actually have the package that comes with online streaming, so we can use it with our phones paired to a bluetooth speaker when sitting outside or traveling. So when I noticed our subscription was about to expire, I knew exactly what I needed to do: I needed to call and cancel our subscription. It may sound strange that I would call and cancel a service I use daily. Our subscription was a promotional offer that was half the regular advertised price. Now that the promotional period was over, our […] Read more »

Do NOT Start Your Christmas Gift Shopping

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If you are thinking of going Christmas present shopping in the very near future, stop. Seriously, put down the checkbook, wallet, or purse because now is the worst possible time to do so. You’re guaranteed to pay full price, and there’s absolutely no reason to pay full price for any Christmas present. The Price Hike I’ve had my eye on a smoker at Walmart that has been on clearance for weeks. As grills, lawnmowers and other summer seasonal items were put on sale to make room for Christmas trees and snow blowers I noticed a smoker regularly priced at $274 […] Read more »

Restaurant Wine: By The Glass Or The Whole Bottle?

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My wife looked at the wine list at a nice restaurant and noted many were available both by the glass and the bottle. We were out with friends and several in the group were looking at having a glass of wine. If we could all agree on one would it be worth it to buy the entire bottle instead of each ordering an individual glass? Figuring out whether buying a bottle would save money requires several questions be answered. What Is The Restaurant’s Wine Pour Size? The size of a restaurant’s wine pour (serving size) may vary, but is typically […] Read more »