The Circle of Life is almost complete at Walmart. I just discovered that Walmart now offers a large selection of caskets for those of us who are planning for the great hereafter. I suppose that it can’t be too long before Walmart also offers a mid-wife service, and after that, dormitories for its [...]

The other day, I went out for coffee with my teen-aged son. My son and I went on a Sunday and I was not sure whether the bakery would be open as it was late in the day. My son asked why we were going to that particular bakery; since there is a [...]

Like most people, I love to find a bargain. A BOGO deal coupled with a great coupon is a cause for great pride. A 90%-off clearance sale where I can find things that I will actually use is a great thing. A 50th anniversary celebration at a restaurant that rolls back its [...]

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. [...]

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) [...]

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 [...]

You may recall that a labradoodle puppy joined my family earlier this year. Adding a dog to our household has brought many changes. Some have cost us money. Some have saved us money. Some just serve to demonstrate that it is easier for us to spoil our dog than it [...]