My first job was terrible. The boss was a bully and a sexual harasser. The work was brain numbingly boring, and the office politics were bloody and cruel. It was a lot like a game of Survivor without the eating of bugs. On top of it all, the company scammed its clients and lied to [...]
One of the things that makes getting ones finances in order difficult is the assumption that pleasure costs money. The truth is that it really doesn’t have to. The more that you enjoy the simple pleasures in life that don’t cost anything, the easier it is to get yourself out of the consumer mindset that [...]
I used to have a bad TV habit. A really bad TV habit. There were the daily prime-time shows during the week that I began watching as soon as I got home, and then sports the entire weekend. It never occurred to me that there could be a life without TV. It was just the [...]
I must admit that I wish I had more artistic talent. When there is an art piece that catches my eye, I can stare at it for hours wondering how the artist was able to visualize the final piece from the raw materials she decided to use. I also must admit that I have a [...]
Birthday parties can be a lot of fun. They can also be a source of great aggravation and angst, both for the party host and the celebrant. Some of this comes from the emotional aspect of birthdays, but some of the angst comes from the financial cost of the party. Sometimes it’s a combination of [...]
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 [...]
I love hitting the after Christmas clearance sales (and the sales after any major holiday), especially as they move into the deeper discounts. There are usually plenty of items left and prices are slashed to 75 – 90 percent off. When I hit the sales I sometimes look for holiday items, but more often than [...]
I don’t go to the movies that often, but when I do I’m reminded that it’s not only the movies themselves that can teach lessons about money. Sometimes you can learn about money simply by going to the theater and paying attention to the whole experience. Here are some money lessons that you might pick [...]
When most people think about New Year financial resolutions, they think about tackling those difficult issues that they know that they should be doing, but have been avoiding because they know working on them is going to take time, effort and probably a little pain. Get rid of the credit card debt. Reduce costs. Make [...]
For the first time in years, gas here went under three dollars a gallon. It was cause for a minor celebration. There’s just something nice about seeing that $2.98 on the marquee. It’s only psychological, but it was comforting. Of course, after my minor celebration I realized that there was no point in getting overly [...]
