Great neighbors are worth their weight in gold. While all of us are likely to be stuck with a jerk for a neighbor at some time during our lives, the number of decent neighbors will probably far outweigh the jerks. If you find yourself fortunate enough to have good neighbors, you can save a lot [...]
I came across the results of an interesting survey on vacations. The survey asked respondents in the U.S. and Eu ropean countries how much they wouldspend per person on vacation in 2010. The categories ranged from “Nothing and staying at home” all the way up to “More than $2,472″ per person. In the lowest spending [...]
Oprah had her annual “Favorite Things” show last week. Since this is her last season on the air, it was actually a two day orgy of consumerism. I don’t generally mind Oprah most of the time, but this episode gets on my nerves every year. It’s great that she wants to give all this stuff [...]
I have been car free for several years now, but there are times when I do need to rent a car. I have found that there is one way to consistently get rock bottom prices on a rental car that exceeds coupon specials and all the other advertised deals out there almost every time. Most [...]
I was recently helping a friend with her family’s vacation planning. They desperately wanted to go to Disney World, but felt like they couldn’t afford it. “It’s just so much more expensive than other places,” she said. I asked her what they were going to do instead. “Well, we’ll probably go to Cedar Point, instead. [...]
Now that the kids are in school and the back to school shopping is done, it’s time to think about the next big spending event: Christmas. Christmas is a little less than four months away. It’s time to take action now so that you have the money you need for Christmas shopping. It’s also time [...]
Just about every time we go on vacation, someone gets sick. I think it’s because we’re all off our normal routines and we’re exposed to a lot more people. We eat food that we don’t normally eat, we stay out later and get less sleep, we’re around large crowds of germy people, and we are [...]
A lot of times when you go shopping on vacation, it isn’t only those on the trip with you that you’re shopping for. You’ll probably want to get something for your friends, classmates, and family members who are back home. But how do you shop for other people plus yourself without breaking the bank? There [...]
If you travel with kids, you’re likely to have a bout of the “gimmies” at some point during your vacation. Your kids are likely to want everything they see and you’ll be trying to stick to your budget. How can you manage the “gimmies” while still allowing your kids to have some shopping fun? Buy [...]
A vacation can be a lot of fun. It can also be very expensive, although it does not have to be. There are many ways to cut costs on a vacation, but even the most conscientious cost cutters are sometimes guilty of throwing away money needlessly. It’s easy to waste money on vacation. You get [...]
