I got a survey the other day about my attitudes on the economy. I had to laugh when I got to the question that read, “Do you find yourself striving to save more money on your everyday purchases or foregoing those purchases so you can treat yourself to a more expensive indulgence?” (Evidently, this is [...]
On another finance site that I frequent, a poster asked for tips on how to afford an expensive car without incurring super-huge payments. She wanted to know if there were any “out of the box” ways to magically afford such an item. Bottom line: She wanted a car that her income couldn’t comfortably cover and [...]
Food is one of the biggest line items in a budget, usually behind only rent or a mortgage and maybe the utilities. It’s also a necessity so you can’t just give it up. Many people want to know how to cut their food budget yet still eat something other than Ramen noodles and Hamburger Helper [...]
I’ve been helping a neighbor attack her New Year’s resolution to get her finances in order. She’s been writing down all of her spending for a couple of weeks and I’m helping her identify things that can be cut back. Like a lot of people, she spends a lot on things like coffee from Starbucks, [...]
Several months ago I wrote a post about what traveling while broke taught me about finance. Now, while I certainly don’t travel five-star, first-class all of the time, I’ve reached a point in my life where I can travel comfortably. I no longer have to sleep in a hostel and wait tables in a bar [...]
Some of you may not even know what an image consultant is, but that’s what I am. Basically, I’m a certified image professional who helps people with their wardrobes and closets. (Have you ever seen the TV show “What not to Wear?” I’m Stacey…just nicer.) My clients range from stay at home moms to very [...]
We all remember fondly the games we played when we were children. There is a simple game that kept me entertained when I was young. It was called Barrel of Monkeys. My Barrel of Monkeys came in a bright yellow plastic barrel with twelve monkeys inside. The monkeys’ arms were sort of S curved and [...]
Entertainment is a large category in many people’s budgets. We all want to have fun, after all, with what limited downtime we have after work and chores are completed. The problem is that, “entertainment” money is easy to waste on things that have little lasting value. Now, by lasting value I don’t mean that something [...]
For anyone trying to get out of debt, the debt snowball method has become the choice of many to tackle their debt. This shouldn’t be a surprise as it is a straightforward and easy to follow method that works. While the basics are the same, there are a variety of different debt snowball approaches that [...]
It’s the time of year when many people resolve to get their finances in order. As with dieting, this is also the time of year when all the fads compete for your attention. You start to see ads for everything including computer software, apps for your phone, programs/groups that promise to solve all of your [...]
