Gas stations are good places to buy gas

They’re not good places for buying much of anything else, though. I stopped in a Sheetz on the way home tonight.  (Somehow I managed to need exactly 8.000 gallons in my car, but that’s another story.)  Their subs are good; I’ll take their subs or Subway’s equally.  Made-to-order food is the one exception: this is … Read more

What to do with those State Quarter maps?

Over Christmas I found a Hawaii quarter, which is the fiftieth quarter in the State Quarters series from the US Mint.  We got home late Thursday and amongst all of the unpacking we punched out the last circle in the map and put Hawaii in. We looked it over for about 30 seconds, and then … Read more

Tips for the coming decade of frugality

I’m just about done with Peter Schiff’s new book The Little Book of Bull Moves in Bear Markets and the title of Chapter 11 is “A Decade of Frugality.”  This kind of horizon for hard times was even longer than I had thought it would be, and some of my blogging colleagues quip that I can … Read more

Earn free gift cards with these websites

I love receiving free gift cards.  Whether it’s something utilitarian like a WalMart gift card or something a little more yuppie like a Starbucks card, they’re handy. Free gift cards from Swagbucks Swagbucks is a site I’ve used for quite a while, and it’s just plain fun. The site itself is colorful with lots of neat … Read more

Patching up shortfalls can mean postponing retirement savings

This Michelle Singletary column on the Washington Post website has answers to a few readers’ questions regarding debt and debt reduction.  The first question outlines a situation that stings a bit.  Here’s a summary: Husband has less construction work coming in; takes lesser-paying jobs to bring in something. Couple cuts budget but is still short … Read more