We had a rare spring-like day this week – sunny and warm enough to shed the winter jacket for a bit. It was also the same day my favorite seed catalog arrived in the mail. Coincidence? I think not! Garden season is close.
Gardening has always seemed to me like a thrifty three-fer: exercise, time outside, [...]

Please consider the idea of haggling: a buyer negotiating with a seller to get a lower price. It sounds like a great way to save money. Why am I not doing it?
I believe that like other consumers, haggling just isn’t on my radar:

I pay what I see on the price tag without question. [...]

It has happened again. Because of the ailing economy, my local television news is reporting another story on how to save money. Very helpful, yes, but what got my ire up was the tone of the broadcast.
This particular story detailed the local rise in people shopping at thrift stores. The report left me [...]

One of the truths of getting older is that it takes a lot more work to maintain one’s fitness as compared to when we were younger. Not only do you need to be serious about watching what you eat, but what you eat is more likely to stick to unwanted places. Thus, began my search [...]

With this downturning economy, even governments are having a hard time. My own city is facing at least a $4 million dollar decrease in revenues, and my state is facing more than $140 million in shortfalls.
One alternative to getting out of the situation is to raise taxes, a solution that no one likes. Thus, the [...]

I have been walking regularly to many errands to save money on gas, wear-and-tear on the car, and to tamp down the urge to spend money on a gym membership. While an energizing and cleansing experience, these walks reveal unpleasant sights in my city: litter, leaves clogging street drains, and stray shopping carts.
These are not [...]

This is one of the hardest times of the year for me to continue setting money aside. For one, the money we earmarked for gifts has been spent, which makes the total in our account look smaller than usual.
I’ve learned some techniques to stay on the savings course from my dear mother. She went [...]

Eating out used to be one of my favorite things to do. I loved to relax and be served great food with a minimum of effort on my part.
This was before my husband and I implemented a budget, tracked our spending and were shocked at what we spent on restaurants. We didn’t even remember [...]

My father and I own a duplex. As the landlords for our small piece of property, we have seen plenty of tenants come and go in our college town. Most have been great. A few were not. In our experience, we’ve found that some behaviors can almost guarantee that your deposit will be history.
For [...]

Do you know that feeling when you’ve had something hanging over your head for a long time — and then it’s gone? My husband and I have been enjoying that feeling. We just paid off our vehicle loan. What a relief!
Now we have the happy problem of what to do with the “extra” money [...]