There’s Always Another Sale

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For all my ranting about sleeping in again on Black Friday, this year I found myself almost being sucked into it’s mystique. I didn’t go out into the craziness of brick and mortar store shopping, but I was looking at the Black Friday laptop sales at a major electronics retailer. I almost spent hundreds of dollars on something I didn’t want. Almost. My daughter’s laptop, purchased 4 years ago, had been a Black Friday door buster that we were able to buy hours after all the insanity of the morning shopping had subsided. It’s performance doesn’t impress a now 15 […] Read more »

Teens And Money: Developing Good Financial Decision Making Skills

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Sometimes we don’t realize just how much of adult interaction kids soak in. I’ve written in the past how sometimes teens can surprise us with great financial decisions, and I had another such situation occur over the weekend I just had to share with you. My daughter and some friends planned to travel an hour and a half to an amusement park to celebrate a birthday. They were first meeting at the mall to have lunch and then hitting the road from there. Just as I got to the gym for a workout, I received a text from my daughter. […] Read more »

Dollar Store Shopping: Save Money On Decorating Supplies

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Shopping at a dollar store is very controversial. Laugh all you want, but bring it up the next time you’re having a conversation with a group of friends. Some think dollar stores are the best thing since sliced bread, others think they’re full of generic, expired, low quality junk. While looking for supplies to build a homecoming float for my daughter’s cheer team, I stopped in a dollar store and found a couple of items that were well worth walking in the front door. Poster board At the dollar store I visited, I got a large sheet of poster board […] Read more »

Save Money Socializing With A Fire

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The common anti-debt stance on spending money is if you’re in debt, you shouldn’t be spending money on frivolous things. How dare you have cable if you still owe on your car? It’s a fairly hard stance many personal finance gurus take, that’s not necessarily all that realistic. For example, cutting out all socializing and discretionary fun when you’re in debt may help you pay down the debt faster, but may not exactly lead to a high quality existence. I like to take a more middle ground approach. Make consistent and steady progress towards your financial goals, and have a […] Read more »

What Is The Most Inexpensive Way To Break Into Your House?

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We came home from an afternoon out with friends to realize we were locked out of our home. I hadn’t taken my keys with me since our neighbors were driving, and our daughter locked the door on her way out. Normally none of this would be a problem as we’d just open the garage door with the keyless entry pad, but we had unplugged the opener for a party in the garage the night before. We stared at the door for a few moments and wondered, “What is the most inexpensive way to break into your house?” Call A Locksmith […] Read more »

The Ship To Store Loophole: Save Money AND Get Your Purchase Immediately!

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The rise of online shopping has introduced consumers to a level of convenience never seen before. A person can sit in front of their computer and comparison shop, order the product of their desire at the best possible price, and simply wait for it to show up on their doorstep. But sometimes waiting for the product to arrive, even if it’s only a day, isn’t possible. Sometimes it’s needed immediately. There’s a simple online loophole you can take advantage of that allows consumers to get the best possible price and still get the object the same day. I call it […] Read more »

3 Ways To Prevent DIY Projects From Costing You Money

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    Do It Yourself projects can save a person a lot of money if they’re done right.  Done incorrectly, you might just end spending as much or more money than hiring someone to do it in the first place. I found this out recently when my garbage disposal decided it was time to retire. A chunk of metal broke off my garbage disposal during normal use. A quick look below the sink gave me confidence that I could replace it myself. I picked up a replacement from a local hardware store, installed it, and made sure it worked. I […] Read more »

3 Ways To Protect Yourself When Returning Items Through The Mail

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How much do you trust the postal system, or any package delivery service? If you’re sending something of importance to another party, how much do you trust that they will acknowledge they received it? Maybe we’re all just a little too trusting. When my wife gets a new mobile phone, she always buys a specific screen protector to protect the screen. If you’re screen doesn’t work, your phone is useless. Since screens are expensive to replace, the $40 product, which comes with a lifetime warranty, seems like a good idea. This type of screen protector does it’s job well, however […] Read more »

How Much Could You Cut From Your Budget By Downsizing?

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It would be easy for you to cut a massive amount of expenses from your monthly budget. That’s a shocking statement, but it holds true for a very large percentage of the population. I came to the conclusion that it was certainly true for me. At the same time, how many of us have whined and complained that we don’t have enough money? With just a couple of lifestyle downgrades, I found I could cut thousands from my monthly budget. Mortgage This would be the hardest one to execute as I’d have to sell my home and move. But disregarding […] Read more »

4 Ways To Cut The Cost And Stress Of Graduation Parties

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In early June my son is graduating from high school, and as is tradition, we are having a graduation reception so friends and family can help celebrate this milestone event. Planning an event for a significant amount of people can take a lot of time, effort, and money. There’s food, drink and in the case of a graduation there is usually some sort of display honoring the graduate. Finding ways to cut down the effort and funds needed for the event is very helpful, here are a few of my favorites. Combine Graduation Parties If you have a child graduating […] Read more »

The Simple Reason Subway Has Lost My Business

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I’m switching sub sandwich restaurants for a very simple reason. Customer loyalty is a funny thing. We may live and breathe a specific brand name or restaurant because of a great experience, a certain product, or proximity to our home or work. But we can also switch in an instant for an equally, seemingly trivial thing. For me the thing that is causing me to change sub sandwich restaurants is the very simple thing of saving a little money. For my entire adult life, I’ve been a huge fan of Subway. Whenever anyone would suggest trying another sub sandwich shop, […] Read more »

Which Is Less Expensive, Buying or Leasing a Car?

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Automobile owners may be unknowingly wasting thousands of dollars making the wrong choice when getting a new vehicle.  Maybe you’re included in this group.   Many people purchase a vehicle with the thought that they will keep it long past the life of the loan, saving money by not having a car payment for those years.   Unfortunately, the facts suggest this is not what really happens. Let’s look at some national statistics regarding car ownership: The typical length of a new car loan is getting longer. In 2015, it reached an all time high of 67 months. That means that the […] Read more »

Savings Accounts Actually Lose You Money

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Making money through investing is hard. That might be surprising to hear but it’s really the truth. As a young child I was taught to put my money into a savings account to earn interest. If I had money I didn’t want to use for a relatively long time I was told to put it in a Certificate of Deposit (CD) to earn a higher interest rate. Some people even buy US Treasury Savings bonds. All of these savings methods earn interest and make it appear as if you have more money, but the fact is a person using these […] Read more »

Unlimited Cell Phone Data Plans Are Not Always The Best Choice

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Unlimited data plans are all the new rage with cell phone companies, promising to save you big money compared to paying overages on your current data plan.  Mobile phone users that don’t constantly evaluate new plan offerings could miss out big.  For example, a few years ago when we added my wife’s parents to our plan, they went from having limited minutes and texting, and no data to unlimited calling and texting and a 30GB data plan, for HALF the cost.   Wondering if AT&T’s new unlimited data plan would be one of those natural progressions of service that we […] Read more »