Thanksgiving is less than a week away, which means I’ll need to buy my turkey soon.  I’ve been waiting for THE coupon to show up in the mail, and it finally arrived yesterday.  Every year the HyVee grocery store chain sends out a coupon for a free turkey with the purchase of a ham.  The ham is massive, and there’s no way we will eat it all on Thanksgiving, but what I can do is cut it into different size pieces and freeze them separately for later. Fist pump for huge hams, free turkeys, AND my favorite posts of the […] Read more »

I scored an awesome deal recently.  I’m a huge grilling and food smoking guy.  I own an offset smoker,  but have always had my eye on ceramic cookers like The Big Green Egg.  A Green Egg is very expensive however, and I would never drop $1000 dollars on one.  However, my neighbor down the street had a Chargriller Akorn, which is a less expensive ceramic cooker.  He upgraded to a Green Egg, and his Akorn was just sitting in his backyard.  I caught him outside and had a conversation with him, resulting in me buying his Akorn and accessories that […] Read more »

One of those unexpected, unplanned expenses just popped up on my radar.  My daughter was on her high school cheer team this fall, cheering during football games.  If you’ve had a child in high school sports/activities recently you know the cost is significant.  Our coach lobbied the school and got them to agree to have cheer as a winter activity as well.  The good news is my daughter gets to keep doing cheer this winter, but we’ll have to pay another activity fee to the school.  For once this is an unplanned expense that I’m happy to pay, since this […] Read more »

This morning snow fell from the sky in Minnesota.  Puffy white flakes so big they almost looked like snowballs.  After an abnormally warm fall, it appears winter is indeed on our doorstep.  I’m a huge fan of summer.  Huge.  But at this point, there’s something that sounds really good about sitting on my couch watching football with the fireplace on as I watch snow fall out the window.   How about you, EOD nation, you ready for winter? Now pump those fists for my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump Five Affordable Alternatives to the iPhone […] Read more »

Marathon weekend is here!  We’re headed out of town tomorrow and staying overnight in a hotel for my marathon on Sunday morning.  I know they did this in larger cities for major marathons, but I was surprised to find out hotels jack up their rates even in smaller cities for races that attract a fraction of the amount of runners as the bigger races.  We’re paying at least twice the normal price for our room, but it’s either that, or get up 2 hours earlier on Marathon morning and drive there!  When was the last time you encountered higher hotel […] Read more »

Happy Friday, EOD Nation!  I received some unexpected news this week….I got a raise!  Whoohoo!  It’s not a life-changing, huge raise, but anything greater than zero helps, right? On a separate, but equally as exciting note, you’ll see that this week’s motivational links features a double shot from my friend John over at Frugal Rules.  Good stuff going on over there, be sure to check it out! Fist pump for raises, AND a double shot of money motivation! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump Should You Buy Using 0% Financing? from Eyes on The Dollar 13 Motivational Money Quotes to […] Read more »

Happy Friday, EOD Nation!  Yesterday I did my peak run for the marathon I’m training for – 18 miles!  In a few weeks we’ll be traveling to the city hosting the marathon.  A hotel room, dining out, and some fun activities will require some funds, but it’s all accounted for in the budget.  It’s the kind of weekend full of experiences and memory making potential that makes me not mind spending the cash – it’s why I got to work each day.  What fun experiences do you not mind spending your hard earned cash for? Fist pump for marathon weekend, […] Read more »

As mentioned in last week’s fist pump, we worked on decorating a float for my daughter’s cheer team for their homecoming parade.  It turned out to be a significant expense and effort, but it was worth it to support her.  The float includes a 7 food 3D megaphone built out of cardboard, foam, and poster paper painted glittery silver.  It’s pretty cool. Speaking of cool, let’s pump those fists for this week’s weekend motivation! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump Why Writing Checks Is Inevitable by Money Beagle Why You Should Spend Like You’re Broke from Young Adult Money 8 […] Read more »

Next week is homecoming at my daughter’s high school, and her cheer team is involved in decorating a float for the homecoming parade.  The team needs some parent donations for the decorations, and my wife and I are all in supporting the team.  Since I’ve never decorated a homecoming float before, I have no idea what we’re getting ourselves into……I guess we’re going to find out! Now, time for your Friday money motivation! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump Do You Believe These Money Myths? from Money Beagle How to Tell When a Side Hustle Isn’t Worth It from Thousandaire […] Read more »

Today’s more than just Friday, it’s also payday – whoop whoop!  The best part is the plans for the weekend don’t require much funding.  We have a birthday party for a friend this evening, and football watching with some other friends on Sunday.  I plan to bank the vast majority of this week’s discretionary funds for a weekend in October where we’ll be traveling for a marathon I’m running.  I want to ensure we have plenty of funds to make it a special weekend.  Oh, and I might need a massage afterwards. Now raise those fists for my favorite posts […] Read more »

The fact that the first regular season NFL game occurred last night was a blunt reminder that fall is on our doorstep.  Financially, one of the things I need to budget for is the shutting down of my lawn sprinkler system.  For over 10 years I did it myself, borrowing a large air compressor from a friend and spending most of the day letting the compressor build up pressure followed by a few minutes of blowing out a sprinkler zone.  A few years ago I decided that 8-10 hours of my time was worth spending the $90 to have someone […] Read more »

At the end of last school year, my daughter tried out for  and made the cheerleading team.  The team has been practicing all summer, and tonight is the first football game and thus the first time we’ll get to see the fruits of her hard work.  My wife and I are really looking forward to it. Fist pump for cheerleading, and my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump College Transition: Saving Money from Debt Discipline 5 Reasons Budgeting is Hard for Millennials from Eyes On The Dollar 7 Things I Did to Stop Stressing About […] Read more »

Yesterday my wife and I moved our son into his college dorm room.  Having one less person at home is going to require some adjusting to the budget, as there won’t be as much food being eaten or clothes being washed.  It’s not an adjustment I’m happy about making.  Today is day 1 without having my son around, and I’m already missing him. But we can at least put our fists in the air for my favorite posts of the week. Posts That Make Me Fist Pump 4 Easy Steps to Start A Budget in College from Frugal Rules Do […] Read more »