Despite tough economic times, most people still eat in restaurants on a weekly basis. Busy lifestyles, dual income families, and our car dependent lifestyle have made dining out way of life for many people. We all know restaurant food isn’t great for our waistline, but what about our wallets? Most diners don’t have a clue […]
The One Car Experiment
I almost fell over last week when my husband uttered these words: “I think we should go to one car for a year.”
I knew he was committed to paying off debt, like me, and that he was willing to try going to one car, but a year?! That was way more than I hoped for.
How I Fight My Inner Spender
I labeled my rationale for spending $ my inner spender. She’s sneaky, conniving, and able to talk me into just about anything. She thinks Kate Spade shoes on sale are an “investment,” and buying the kids ice cream will make them feel happy and loved.
Spending to Save
You often hear personal finance bloggers (even me), financial experts, and the media talking about cutting expenses in rough economic times. Yes, it’s true that cutting expenses is an effective way to “earn” more money, but that’s only half the story. Sometimes it makes sense to spend money to save money. Let’s call that “spaving.” […]
Budgeting Bi-Weekly Pay
One of the things that held us back from being financially successful for years, was confusion over how to allocate our money. A topic that came again and again over the years was how to make a monthly personal budget when you get paid bi-weekly. It is one of the main reasons our budgets failed […]
11 Ways To Save On Auto Insurance
Finding ways to save on auto insurance can be challenging, but I dug in to do some research to help us slash our insurance costs without giving up coverage. We started with a policy that we were paying $750/6 months for 2 vehicles. That included loads of discounts (multi driver, low mileage, etc.). We are […]
How We Cut The Cable Bill
We finally pulled the plug, well mostly. The one holdout on our monthly expenses was the cable “bundle.” We (stupidly) signed a (stupid) contract that had us at $99/month for phone, cable and internet for a year, and then it jumped to $144/month for the second year. We also have a TiVo which I adore […]
How To Create A Grocery Price Book
One of the easiest ways to save money on groceries is to create your own personal price book. For a time investment of about 4 hours you could end up saving hundreds of dollars a month. You need an hour or less to type up the price book, and 3 hours to scour local stores […]
NO Spend Month (1/1/09-1/31/09)
Not spending for a month is not an original idea with me. I found an article in Reader’s Digest about it. I found blog posts about other people who have done a No Spend Month. My favorite example is over at Small Notebook where Rachel and her family participate in a No spend Month yearly. The […]
Don’t Be Afraid To Negotiate Prices
Want to try the oldest form of saving money? Negotiate the price. It works for homes, cars, and other large purchases, but it also works for small and less expensive items. If you are planning to purchase a home or car, there is a ton of great advice on negotiating price, but too often people neglect […]
