This article on MSN was convicting: Too broke to save money? Never Liz Pulliam Weston responds to a reader’s e-mail. Jason Adair supports a family of three on $40k per year, and he finds most of the money-saving advice available — some of mine, probably as well! — quite unhelpful: “Please, spending $15 at Arby’s … Read more
Sometimes I get impatient with cashiers collecting marketing information. It’s really not that big a deal in the cosmic scheme of things, but I’ve come to be a little more protective of my address, phone number, and e-mail address. After getting $50 and $75 for targeting marketing surveys Borders has frequent drink cards (buy ten … Read more
Scott Burns of MSN Money speaks on old-age poverty: Stave off old-age poverty The phrase that is the title of this post comes from 1963: The shopkeeper of a corner store in a slum looked at the kid and said, “Do you want to know what it’s like to be old?” He pulled a 2-pound … Read more
Ran across a couple of posts about regular expenses that can cost you a ton of money in the long run: My Money Forest posts on an article he found in the OUDaily about how snacks can eat you (or, at least your retirement!) My Money Blog saved $250 on haircuts in one year by … Read more
I’ll go to quite some length to be frugal. $50 worth of bathroom tissue if it’s a really good price. Picking up change off the ground. Fixing the riding lawn mower, again. I questioned this one: Those little packets of coffee that the hotel gives you? The ones that might brew four cups of coffee … Read more
Toys do not need to be expensive. They don’t even need to be cheap. They can be free! The ToobShooterâ„¢ Starter Set (click the picture to enlarge) consists of a batting tube (my wife quilts), my computer chair, a Folgersâ„¢ coffee can, a yellow golf ball, and a defunct trackball ball. Assembly time required: 8.7 … Read more
Sometimes people will take on debt to start up their businesses — from $7,000 up! If you already have debt, it doesn’t seem to make semse to take on more. Starting a business can be an avenue not only to debt reduction, but also to financial independence. There’s certainly a lot of effort to get … Read more
I’m sure a lot of readers will remember Amy Dacyczyn and her Tightwad Gazette. If you’ve read her newsletters or the book, you can see why she calls herself the Frugal Zealot. Some of her money-saving tactics are generally applicable. Others you might get used to after a while. But some of them, you either … Read more