We are quickly heading into the time of year when everyone is desperate to shed their holiday pounds. This can translate into big bucks for the local gyms and fitness clubs. I looked it up. The figure is about $21 MILLION dollars a year spent on gym memberships just here in the US. Sadly…
Residual income can be many things – it can be interest income from a savings account, small royalties or dividend payments from creative work or investments, or even rental fees from income property. In my case, my residual income takes the form of small dividends from some minor oil leases that have been passed down…
College IS the golden key, but there’s also a silver key, a brass key, and an aluminum key.
If you want to know how to manage your overspending, try switching from plastic to all cash. It will make you so much more aware of what you are spending and you’ll think about your purchases more carefully since cash is a limited commodity while plastic seems to be unlimited (although it really isn’t when…
If there’s one thing I’ve noticed, it’s that most people do not know how to make an effective complaint. I’m actually really good at doing that. I actually used to write formal complaint letters for people on Fiverr. So, here’s a situation I experienced recently that ended in a refund of several hundred dollars. As…
So, my middle son Matt got married about a month ago. I haven’t posted the pictures from it because it’s taken a while to get the pictures back from the photographer. But it was a lovely day and we were all excited to see them married. Great weather – perfect since it was a rooftop…
I am always surprised when I find that most people have not heard about a water alarm. I think it’s just as necessary as a smoke alarm in your home. These things are BRILLIANT and have saved our bacon more times than I can count. Water damage can be very expensive. We’ve had water in…
These 90 days* same as cash deals can be really good or really bad. Here are some tricks to keep them on the good side of things and save you money. These deferred payment deals can be very effective when used correctly. (*I say 90 days, but many of them are like 6 months or…
Sometimes I think the saving habit is one of the hardest habits to develop. But that savings account has saved my butt so many times, I just don’t understand how people function without one. That’s one of the reasons I came up with this stealth savings strategy. I think the trap people fall into is…
Most financial experts agree that the best way to teach kids to be a smart shopper is to actually let them TRY it. They need to learn from their own successes and failures. Since one of your biggest recurring expenses is your grocery budget, this is a great place to start. I think everyday finance…
Fast food seems like such an easy and harmless thing – a burger here, a pizza there, maybe a latte in the morning, but before you know it, it can really sabotage your budget. Take a look at some of the statistics below: That last one came as a bit of a surprise to me…
I’m a big fan of Dave Ramsey. I bought one of his books on his debt free strategies years ago and it really impressed me. I’ve read lots of similar plans, but this one really got my attention and it seemed like something I could really do, especially the debt snowball plan because at that…
One technique I like to use for getting my spending under control is to put my credit cards into a “time out”. It’s really helpful because sometimes I get into sort of a “binge spending” mode, and getting the credit cards out of my hands really helps to get me back on track. I’m betting…
This was a tough post to write. Even though I have relinquished my position in the direct sales industry, I still feel a certain loyalty to “my” companies. I don’t want to feel like I am bashing any particular company or say that they aren’t running their business ethically. Some of them are very ethical…
I’m the leader of the local Green Team at my company. We have designated teams like this at our major locations around the company to come up with ways to help the company be more socially responsible through recycling and other “Green” initiatives. Lots of easy ways to save on your power bill if you’re…
I am having such a tough time making a decision. So, I thought I’d take it to the blogosphere to get some perspective. I have a chance to send my son to the National Boy Scout Jamboree in 2013. A lot of the other boys from our Boy Scout Troop are going to be going…