I wrote last year that I like to look for money when I walk around. I find a minimum of $50 a year and would estimate that I clear over $100 most years (in helps living in Japan where they have $1 and $5 coins). I received an email asking me where are the best […]

As I mentioned in the previous post, this was the first time that I really have had a chance to see the shrine since our other visits were always when the shrine was packed with people. here are a few shots I took around the shrine:

Small shrine to pray for the horse the Ebisuten rides

A […]

At the end of each year I pick a quote that I would like to embody the coming year. This is the one I have chosen for this year:
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all - Helen Keller
I chose this one because I haven’t done much of the exploring that I love […]

One of the special moments that occurs when children are growing up is the loss of their first teeth. To celebrate this special occasion, parents often leave a small amount of money under the child’s pillow in exchange for the tooth that has been lost. Here are some ideas to make the exchange a memorable […]

Have you ever wondered why coins have a musty, metallic odor after they have been in your hands awhile? You may have assumed that it was the coins being dirty, but in reality it isn’t the coins at all - it’s you. That’s right. That smell is your own body odor. According to a recent […]

Let me begin here by saying that I hate tipping. Having lived 10 years in Japan where there is absolutely no tipping for anything, every time I come back to the US I cringe at the thought of having to figure out how much I should tip and who I should tip.
I could take […]

I started making this list a while back when others were making them and never got around to finishing it. Nate was doing some work on the blog and saw it saved and said that I should finish it. I have reservations and I’m wondering how many of you are going to be saying “what?!? […]

While this is usually not the place where you would come for information on stars the likes of Britney Spears (but hey, it’s not often a personal finance blogger like me finds an excuse to legitimately place a photo of Britney Spears in their blog - or even write about her ), I found […]

I saw a brilliant marketing move as I walked through the San Jose airport today on my way back from Seattle. In the middle of the San Jose airport is a bar/cafe. This is nothing unusual except for the name of the cafe which is “The Expedia.com Cafe”

The brilliance of it is that they get […]

As you may have noticed, Nate and I decided to make some changes to the blog this weekend. These were long over due and we think that it looks a lot better (we’ve always known we needed the change from the basic look we had before, but time has always been an issue). While I […]