A friend recently took her family to Walt Disney World over the holiday break, as many families do. (She gave me permission to write about this, by the way.) Hurricane season is over, and, well, it’s cold in a lot of the country. It’s usually not cold in Florida this time of year. And a … Read more
Retailers are. A Facebook friend snapped a picture from his local Walmart. The sign read “Days Until Christmas: 47.” When I was young, I made an advent chain out of red and green construction paper. I hung it on one of the lights in my room, and tore off one link of the chain each … Read more
I was a high-school salutatorian. More often than I’d care to admit, I translate that word as “first loser.” (I married a high-school valedictorian.) Most people don’t like to fail. They especially don’t like to fail in front of people. Plainly: it’s embarrassing. Your check was in the mail. You were called bluffing a two-seven … Read more
I’m sure you’ve heard the expression: “You get what you pay for.” Usually there’s a very good reason that something is so inexpensive. It’s essentially disposable, it tastes awful, or will fail exactly at the time when you need it to work. The same can be said for services. A bargain basement wedding photographer might … Read more
Some ways of saving money may be more trouble than they’re worth. There is always a tradeoff between time and money and in the end it’s not always a good idea to squeeze every last cent out of every purchase. There are other ways to save money that are really, really easy, and hardly take … Read more
On the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month, I have a Toastmasters meeting. Toastmasters is an international organization that helps people to improve their public speaking and leadership skills in a supportive, nurturing environment. Recently, Financial Money Spot mentioned that joining an organization as an investment in yourself is inexpensive and effective. He mentions … Read more
There are times that I really wish there were a course in how to make one-time purchases. The first time I bought a house I was incredibly naive and did just about everything in the book wrong. Since I bought in 2001, I didn’t get caught buying at the top of the market, but I … Read more
A colleague and his wife are extreme couponers. She spends the equivalent of nearly a full workday a week following through with sales, coupon clipping, stacking, turning in CVS Bonus Bucks, etc. They can get an entire bag of things for next to nothing, and sometimes they even walk away with money in their pocket. … Read more