And if you make up a statistic, 83% of working-class Americans will believe you. No, actually, the folks at our local Food Lion filled up two shopping carts with canned goods, snacks, disposable items, and other representative groceries. On the right, the cart was filled with all name-brand items. The cash register receipt was taped … Read more
Everyone and their brother have the perfect gift for you to buy for someone. (“Oh, of course! I’d love an electric nose-hair trimmer! How did you know?”) There’s no shortage of ideas, but there usually is a shortage of good ideas. As budgets tighten it’s important to maximize the value of every dollar spent, and … Read more
Frugality is quickly becoming a buzzword in America with people’s retirement dreams taking a bit of a detour into a ravine — and right before the holidays, too. How very inconsiderate. Here are a few tips and tricks for descroogifying what might be more modest holidays: Check out the library and paw through some December … Read more
Resoling your shoes. Patching a pair of jeans. Repairing a clothes dryer. Doing regular maintenance on your vehicle. Making things go a little further. Making do a little longer. Making things last. Dr. Thomas Stanley, late author of The Millionaire Mind, found that economically-productive households were more likely to “extend the lifecycle” on possessions like … Read more
Pretty much any good personal finance resource you run across will talk about this: Spend less than you earn. All this means is that your expenses (everything that leaves your wallet) are less than your income (everything that enters your wallet). If you’re spending more than you bring in, you’ll have to borrow the difference. … Read more
I was chatting with one of the members of my credit union’s supervisory committee after our meeting today. We had just talked with the CEO about the ongoing banking bailouts, buyouts, and other assorted taxpayer deficit bonanzas, and we all recounted stories of investments becoming worthless amidst company bankruptcy. Then my friend’s tone shifted, and … Read more
I stopped at a couple of yard sales after doing some highway cleanup with our Lions Club. I’ve gotten a lot more careful about buying stuff at yard sales because we already are running out of room for new stuff. When I do buy (for my wife anyway) I try to get things at a … Read more
My wife was at a quilting bee today so I got to spend the day with my three-year-old daughter. After we went to a park near the Potomac River we stopped at a community yard sale in one of the bigger subdivisions nearby. It’s a lot easier to say “yes” when we’re “shopping” at yard … Read more