Is it my imagination or are brands not nearly as big a deal today as they were thirty years ago? When I was growing up, there were endless discussions of Coke versus Pepsi, McDonalds versus Burger King, and Haagen Dazs versus Ben and Jerry’s. Over the past few years, however, I think that [...]

I’m a big reader and some of my reading materials are magazines. Yet over the last few years I’ve been noticing something: Magazines aren’t always good for my wallet. It’s not the subscription costs, but the advertising that’s the problem. Magazines are full of ads; it’s how they pay for their publication. I get it. [...]

When my wife and I were first married, we spent many weekends searching for art and antiques at auctions, antique shops and thrift shops. We never spent a lot of money on anything we bought and, after a few years, our New England home was full of wonderful 18th and 19th century pieces. [...]

By Maggie Ellis
It is widely taught in financial education that there are only two kinds of debt that can be considered “good debt”: A mortgage and student loans (as long as they aren’t beyond your ability to repay comfortably). We’re always taught that it’s okay to go into debt to buy a house or another [...]

I’m sometimes guilty of focusing too much on getting something for the lowest price right now. Many people are like this. We want to pay the least amount possible so we hunt for inexpensive items. Whether it’s an appliance or something as simple as sheets, I tend to want the least expensive (but still decent) [...]

Up until a year or so ago I had a pretty bad soda habit. I guess there were others who have a bigger problem than I did, but mine was bad enough. I would routinely drink soda with lunch and dinner, and maybe one in between if the urge hit. I always drank diet so [...]

I like to sip iced coffee when I drive. I am not sure that I like the coffee as much as I like crunching on the coffee-flavored ice, but for whatever reason, I like to have an iced coffee in the car. Of course, as a responsible frugalista, I would never admit to [...]

I’m all for saving money, but lately I’ve been focused less on buying the cheapest thing and instead looking at the overall safety and other problems associated with a product. You’ve probably heard about the lead tainted items from China, the BPA found in plastic that can cause hormone disruption, the PFOA found in microwave [...]

When is a deal a good deal? Unless something is absolutely free, we are necessarily paying for it, so how do we decide if something is worth buying? Even if something is absolutely free, there may still be costs associated with transporting it, storing it, using it or disposing of it. The [...]

If you spend any time in the frugal/budget world, you’re likely to come away with the idea that you should reject all fees. If it means switching banks, changing how you pay for things, switching airlines, or dumping credit cards, we’re taught to shun all fees. We’re taught to dodge anything that reeks of nickel-and-diming [...]