If you use coupons with any regularity, I’m sure you’ve had run-ins with the people I call “coupon huffers.” These are the people who get behind you in the checkout lane and then huff, tap their feet, and practically climb over you in their impatience to check out. Your transaction is taking too long, they [...]

By Dean L.
When you read those statistics about Americans not saving money and going into credit card debt, you could place me as the poster child of the movement. Not only do I have a huge amount of credit card debt, I had less than $5 in my bank account a couple of months ago. [...]

Yesterday I went to the gym. That, in and of itself, is almost apocalyptic in significance, as I never go to the gym. Nevertheless, I am forcing myself to go, at least for the remainder of my period of unemployment, because I need to feel like I am accomplishing something and because I [...]

I used to think it was pretty rare for someone to “lose” a fortune by accident. But lately a few incidents, both public and personal, made me realize that this is a bigger problem than I thought. You may have seen the news about the woman who threw her mother’s mattress away — the same [...]

The older I get, the more I realize that cost is usually inversely proportional to the pleasure derived from the cost. Perhaps I just a boring fellow, or a “lazy, middle class intellectual” as the band Bad Religion might accuse. On the other hand, perhaps growing up really does mean that we become [...]

The dictionary defines obligation as, “To bind or compel someone.” It just sounds unpleasant, doesn’t it? Who wants to be bound and compelled to do things? Isn’t it much nicer to be free to choose your own path? I’ve always thought so. I try to shun obligations whenever possible, beyond the obligations I have to [...]

Now that the Fourth of July has passed, the next big item on the calendar is back to school shopping. This year is likely to be financially tighter than previous years for many people. Not only are families facing tighter budgets, state shortfalls are placing more of the supply burden on parents rather than school [...]

Yesterday I received an education in the importance of office equipment, even for the home. My day began rather quietly. I had accepted that new employment listings would be quiet due to the Independence Day Weekend, so I sat down at my desk with every intention of doing some writing. Before opening [...]

The other day I took one of my sons to a team party at a local sports bar. We all arrived separately and I did not even sit with the rest of the group because I had a book that I needed to finish in order to complete a review on time. My [...]

Lately I’ve been speaking to a friend who doesn’t know what to do about her job. She hates it. She hates the work, the boss, and her coworkers. The environment is toxic, with a lot of sexual harassment and verbal abuse. She desperately wants to quit but can’t because she needs the money. She knows [...]