There are certain luxuries that seem to have become necessities in the USA. Forty years ago, my mother would hang the laundry out to dry on a clothes line — even during the winter. Today, just about everyone has access to a clothes dryer. Thirty years ago, video games were very basic and [...]

I have successfully completed a month of visiting the gym. More specifically, I have religiously gone to the gym twenty-six times in the past twenty-nine days. I am certainly not remotely close to winning any body building prizes, but I am quite proud of myself.
OK. Don’t roll your eyes. I am [...]

I’ve known Ben since 1969. In fact, I have it on the best authority that he attended my third birthday party that year. Ben has always been consistent. I could always rely on him to be loyal, genuine and completely scatterbrained at times.
Once, when he was about nineteen years old, Ben’s [...]

What was former congressman and pro baseball player Wilmer Mizell’s nickname? Who played the part of the piano player at Rick’s Cafe American in Casablanca? How did the ancient Egyptians mourn a dead cat? I love questions like this and have spent countless hours over the past four decades reading the backs [...]

I once asked a friend of mine why he had not married his girlfriend of many years. He replied that he had always wanted to be a kept man and that she just did not have enough money to afford him.
Another time, back in the dark ages when I was in high school, a [...]

It’s hard to believe that I have been writing here for the past year. I thank you for visiting these pages and reading my thoughts on money and saving. I hope you have enjoyed what I have had to offer as much as I have enjoyed sharing it with you.
Over the past year, I [...]

Each of us has a personal reason for saving money. I very much doubt that any of us does so just to be able to brag about having died with the most money in the bank. Whether you are frugal because you need to be frugal in order to make ends meet, or [...]

It is the middle of August. That means that if you live anywhere in the continental United States, it is probably a lot hotter outside than you would like. With temperatures in the 90’s and 100’s across much of America, staying cool becomes a very serious pursuit. Staying cool without breaking the [...]

A few months ago, I wrote about the death of the DVD as a major delivery platform for movies. At the time, my local video store was charging $5 for five-day movie rentals and its stores were generally not very busy (based on my observations). By contrast, the local library was increasingly busy [...]

Are you a Facebook user?
If not, why not?
I would like to think that everyone already has some familiarity with Facebook. Nevertheless, for the three of four readers who have not yet encountered Facebook, it is a social networking site that enjoys more monthly visitors than any of its competitors. In essence, Facebook allows its [...]