I love October, as it starts my favorite three months of the year: autumn weather, the beautiful transition from the final days of summer weather to the first days of winter, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas! There is not a better ninety days in the calendar.
Unfortunately, over the past few decades, the consumerism that [...]

As I write this, the final days of summer are winding down in the Northern Hemisphere. Autumn is upon us and most of us are looking forward to cooler weather, football and Halloween. It will be December before we know it and Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year’s Eve will occupy our thoughts [...]

Today I rode Atlantis another seven times. That brings my total up to twenty-two rides in the past three weeks. Atlantis, for those of you who are not familiar with SeaWorld Orlando, is a flume ride that my son and I rather enjoy — so much so that we have decided to ride [...]

We just had our first cool snap of the year. While it will be hot again by the end of the week, the cool weather reminded me of the things I need to do to get my home and family ready for the colder months ahead. Some simple preparation and prevention efforts now will save [...]

A friend of mine who, like me, has always lived a debt free life recently ran into a perfect storm of disasters. He was diagnosed with an illness and, despite having good medical coverage, ended up with bills that threatened to eat up much of his non-retirement savings. As if that weren’t bad enough, he [...]

We’ve all done it. Your best friend’s birthday is today and you completely forgot. Your anniversary is today and you haven’t done anything. You forgot to buy a Christmas present for Aunt Imogene and she’s at the door. You don’t have time to pick out a fabulous present, so what can you do, besides the [...]

Summer’s coming and that means vacation time! With gas prices lower than they have been in the last few years and with airlines gouging you for everything from extra bags to nuts, many people are hitting the highways this year. While road trips are typically less expensive than other forms of travel, there are some [...]

I recently described my frustration in dealing with a reservationist at a higher-end hotel chain. The reservationist was seemingly incapable of determining the best rate for which I was eligible. Unfortunately, my problems with the reservationist were only the tip of the iceberg of difficulty with the hotel.
Our problems started with [...]

I recently had to book a two night stay at a hotel in Tampa. The excursion was going to be work for me and an opportunity to relax for my wife and one of my sons. The hotel was an upper end brand – partly because I am a bit germphobic and [...]

If you ever vacation with friends or family, chances are that one of your journeys will eventually find you traveling with people whose financial means are different from yours. They may have more money than you (or be more willing to incur debt on vacation) or less than you. Whatever the case, vacationing with people [...]