By Jennifer Derrick
It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of the library for the books they provide. But even I didn’t realize all the free resources and activities they have until I spent a week actively seeking out all they had to offer. I was surprised at how much I found and had to […]

By Shannon Christman
“Here, let me show you these great glasses — I want to make sure you get the full value of your insurance coverage,” enthused the salesman trying to get me to upgrade my purchase. I had already carefully chosen my favorite pair from the rack of frames my insurance would cover completely, […]

By Jennifer Derrick
School is out and the kids are home. If it hasn’t happened already, chances are it won’t be long before you hear those famous words: “I’m bored.” Now would be a good time to use that boredom to teach kids a little something about finance in ways that are fun. The more kids […]

By S. Shugars
For nine years I lived in million dollar homes for free and it is something that anyone who is neat and conscientious can easily do. My junior year in college, a professor who I had assisted received a year long sabbatical to live in a foreign country. During that time, he needed someone […]

By S. Shugars
Dear Mr. Cheap,
You know exactly who you are so I don’t feel a need to name you. While I know that you think that you are being sly and saving yourself a lot of money, let me say that your true nature shows through loud and clear. This would not be an issue […]

By Shannon Christman
When you take a vacation away from home, you spend enough to get there (especially with the higher gas prices this year) and to stay there (even if you camp) that you might not want to spend a whole lot on attractions. Thankfully, most areas have at least a few fun and […]

By Shannon Christman
It’s that time of year again. Some of us know it as spring; others call it the start of yard sale season. Yard sales (also known as garage sales, tag sales, rummage sales, and stoop sales) attract an interesting and diverse subculture of bargain hunters, environmentalists, and treasure hunters; they are […]

By Shannon Christman
It’s been said that when you take free advice, you should remember that you get what you pay for. I agree that it’s important to evaluate any advice — free or not — before following it, but rejecting all free advice because it is free is a really bad idea. (Unless you […]

By Shannon Christman
The boxes were gone. My three-year-old was crestfallen. He had looked forward to his regular job of returning the plastic bags from last week’s grocery shopping trip to the recycling boxes just inside the store. But the boxes are no longer there; an employee told us that the store had discontinued its recycling. […]

By Jennifer Derrick
A lot of people ask me: “If you don’t watch TV and you choose to limit movies, clubs, restaurants, etc. in order to save money, what do you do for entertainment? Aren’t you bored?” I usually look at them, dumbfounded, because to me there is too much to do and boredom is never […]