On our trip to Florida this week, we saved some money literally by accident! Here’s how we did it, along with some other ways that are almost by accident … This past week, we took a family vacation down to the gulf side of Florida, in Indian Rocks Beach. The first night we went across … Read more
One of our mortgages is in striking distance of being paid off. Exciting times but what to do? Debt reduction is a long road to get back to zero. Mortgage debt reduction is a really long road to get back to really owning your house. When you can see the end, it’s a great feeling. Mortgage milestones … Read more
Healthcare credit cards appear when you have medical expenses in your future, whether for you or your pet. Here’s how to run the numbers … Pets are expensive. Not as expensive as children, but still expensive. Costs can vary widely, but a cost of five figures over the 12- to 14-year lifetime of a dog … Read more
Tax time. It’s just around the corner. Yay. But there’s a bright spot in figuring taxes for most of us: deductions. Those subtractions that pare down the adjusted gross income (AGI) that is the primary benchmark that determines your tax rate, and ultimately your tax. There are a number of kinds of deductions. One kind … Read more
JC Penney’s will be luring customers into its stores with pants priced at under two bucks this holiday season. I do give them quite a bit of credit on that one. Among discounted Blu-Ray players, large screen TVs, and laptops, pants at better than thrift store prices is so … ordinary. But so practical! If … Read more
Gift cards are not as liquid as cash. Gift cards are good for most purchases at a particular store — or a particular set of stores — but nowhere else. This is why there’s a secondary market for unwanted gift cards: People sell their unwanted gift cards for a discount to face value. They might … Read more
(This is a guest post. If you’re interested in guest-posting on this blog and hundreds of others, check out Postrunner.com.) In today’s harsh economy, people who are earning regular income through employment are considered lucky. After all, they do not need to worry about their day-to-day expenses. They can support for their needs and the … Read more
We’re doing Christmas gift-opening a couple of times this year because we’re traveling around to see family. Tonight we spent some time opening part of our gifts. Yesterday after work I had only a few last-minute Christmas gifts to get, and it was a fairly fast and painless process, even at the start of the … Read more