Christmas 2020 was barely more than a week ago, but I’ve already laid the groundwork for Christmas 2021. I haven’t done anything like start stuffing away money or anything, although that’s not a bad idea. I’m doing a post-holiday analysis of my spending so I’m better prepared for next year. Why Look Back? Many people have a gift spending budget, many do not. This year, my wife and I didn’t have a hard budget. In fact, if asked I couldn’t even tell you with any precision how much we spent on Christmas gifts. What I can tell you is there’s […] Read more »

With many businesses closed or operating in a limited capacity and large social events not allowed our spending habits have certainly changed. While we may be spending less in some capacities, there are still temptations to spend needlessly and waste money. Here are four things I’ve resisted temptation and refrained from buying: Leaf Blower After mowing the lawn grass clippings are left on the driveway and our cement patio. A leaf blower would make cleanup easy. But a good old fashioned broom works too. Or, I could just let the wind take care of it over the course of the […] Read more »

I waste my money buying things I don’t need. It’s not by accident, or an occasional bad decision. I actively seek out doing so. Searching For Something To Buy I came to this realization as I was at Walmart over the weekend. After gathering the grocery items I needed, I began walking to the sporting goods section on the other side of the store to check for new things I could add to my home gym. This has been customary for me since gyms closed as part of the COVID9-19 pandemic. In the beginning, it made sense. The home gym […] Read more »

I love saving money, and I love doing projects myself. I definitely love saving money by doing projects myself. But, I do recognize there’s a line at which the money I could pay someone to do a task for me is absolutely worth the cost. Here are four things I gladly pay someone to do for me: Yard Thatching As the snow cover melts in early spring, it reveals my matted down lawn. It needs to be raked to remove the dead clippings from the previous season allowing the live grass to get sunlight and thrive. Raking my lawn would […] Read more »

Impulse buying is a threat to budgets everywhere, even under normal conditions. Even more so with the current conditions with COVID-19. People are panic buying some products fearing a shortage is imminent. In other cases some products are actually hard to find because of an increased demand. Whatever the case may be, now is the time for extra awareness regarding the dangers of impulse buying. I’m looking for larger sized weight plates for my home gym. I have smaller sized plates used to make dumbbells, but I need heavier ones for exercises like bench press and squats. Due to the […] Read more »