After reading and listening to a story about a recent Northwest Airlines “severance package” there were several things I thought of. The main story deals with 60 laid-off employees of the bankrupt airline who received a tip sheet on “101 Ways to Save Money.” All of the tips are sensible ways to save money if … Read more
With all of the talk about getting rid of the penny because it’s getting so expensive to make, I came up with this short list of alternative uses for the Lincoln cent. Some of them are a little rebellious, and if you think they’re funny, shame on you. (Let me know how they work!) As … Read more
I couldn’t make up that word if I tried. This Bankrate.com article on Retirement for the Not So Rich gives some advice on surviving retirement when your nest egg looks more like a hummingbird’s than an ostrich’s because you’ve “undersaved.” Among them: Part time work. It can be something you love; it doesn’t have to … Read more
Here’s my Question of the Day, presented to you as part of the juggernaut that is JLP’s Question of the Day Marathon: What’s the best deal that you’ve ever gotten in a store? Here’s my best deal: My wife was looking for a trackball a couple of years ago because her arm was bothering her … Read more
Burn them. Or rip them out. Or hire a professional cleaner. Counterintuitive? Money Dummy confessed to hiring a professional carpet cleaning service instead of renting a cleaner and sweating through the cleaning. It sounded like the professionals were the more expensive option per clean, but the results were much, much better. From our experiences, it … Read more
I received a very thoughtful e-mail from Ben, a visitor to the blog, about the problems that our van was having with the air conditioning. His letter is in bold:Hi,Just read your post about the AC problems your van was having. I drove a 95 Chevy Lumina for years with a refrigerant leak. Since I … Read more
We own a 1997 Oldsmobile Achieva with about 157k miles. It was my wife’s car before we got married, then it became my commuter car. She bought it used in 1999. Our other one is a 1997 Chrysler Town and Country that we bought in 2003 with over 90k miles; now it has over 145k … Read more
Today we went to a neighboring town to help friends with their part in a community yard sale. We “donated” a bunch of things to their sale because they’re in the process of adopting a girl from China through the Philip Hayden Foundation, and these kinds of adoptions are very expensive, even with federal tax … Read more