Most people seem to have a lot of false beliefs about being debt free. They seem to think that those of us who are debt free never have to worry about money, or that we are somehow free from the concerns of everyday life. Some people work to become debt free because they believe that [...]

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This week we had a snowstorm. To many areas of the country this is no big deal. However, where I live we don’t “do” snow. We don’t have bi snow removal operations, most of us natives don’t know how or care to drive in it, and everything pretty much shuts down until the melting happens. [...]

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Regardless of whether you are looking to reduce spending for the purposes of debt reduction, or for saving, the first thing that must be done is to identify where you are spending money unwisely. If you are not ready to be honest about a budget breaker, a vice, or a ‘treat,’ then you are [...]

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My state, like so many others, is awfully short on money these days. There have been budget cuts and tax increases in an effort to make up the shortfall. However, some of these cuts have threatened my bottom line more than others and forced me to become politically active to save my money.
Most recently, [...]

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The other day, I was headed to our local dog park with my wife and our puppy. We were already in the car and actually backing out of the driveway when I realized that I had forgotten my business cards. I stopped the car and told my wife that I was headed back [...]

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I’m a huge Star Wars nerd and many of my favorite quotes come from the Jedi Master, Yoda. My personal favorite is the following:
“Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not.”
When I think about my debt free life, I often change that quote [...]

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We all know (or should) that living above your means for the long term is a recipe for financial disaster. Living above your means is spending more than you earn on a consistent basis. When you do it occasionally, as in the case of an emergency or a planned splurge, it’s not detrimental. However, it [...]

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I had an interesting exchange with my two sons yesterday (separately). I am trying to motivate my elder son to speak more articulately and with a greater awareness of proper grammar. He retorted that I do not know how to communicate and that as long as information is conveyed effectively, it does not [...]

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A while back I wrote about twelve things you could do with an old shower curtain liner. In the same spirit of saving money and cutting down on waste, I now offer you fourteen things you can do with an empty jar. Of course, what you’re able to do with a jar will depend on [...]

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A couple of weeks ago we got the news that the company my husband works for is cutting pay by twenty percent for all employees, for an indefinite period of time. Once I got past the anger and frustration, I took stock of our situation and worked on damage control. While we do have a [...]

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