The Carnival of Personal Finance #159 has made it to Greener Pastures: Personal Finance, and the theme was about the construction of “the first zero-emissions city” in the world. My post on expensive children’s toys was selected as an Editor’s Pick! Thank you for the honor, Lisa! Here were a few articles I […]
My wife and I got invited to a Christening the other day. In fact the Dad might even be reading this post. (If you are reading, G, we aren’t likely to make the 3,000 mile trek. We will be doing Relay For Life). Anyway, we wanted to send a gift for the new baby. In fairness, it wasn’t really a “we”, I often outsource these tasks to Energi Gal (thanks Honey).
During her search she came up across this item… Tiffany’s Bunny Bank - Baby’s first savings account. The $1,225 price tag sure is a […]
You don’t need to break the bank to get into shape!
I just love before and after pictures:
Who wouldn’t want to get healthier, lose the extra pounds and feel better? After all, our health is our most important asset and these days, health care costs are among those things that are rising faster than inflation! Get […]
For some of you, I’m coming out with this a little late in the day. I apologize. If it’s still Friday, you’ve got a chance to take advantage of the following deals:
This week’s highlight for wacky pick is:
Unicycle - The savings of $10 isn’t that breath-taking, but I have to wonder how many unicycles Amazon sells. Aren’t you dying to know this? I’m can juggle a bit, but I’m not to adding a unicycle any time soon.
Best Value of the Week?
Bluetooth Portable GPS Navigator - I made that a question because I haven’t looked a GPS […]
Buying a Computer
It’s been awhile since I bought a new desktop computer. Liv has been around for a few years. To really begin the story of Liv, I should start with my laptop, Sarah Michelle. Most of the time Sarah Michelle runs fine - after all she’s just a couple of years old. However, now and again my 754 open tabs in Firefox brings her to a screeching halt. In fact, in the last month, Sarah Michelle simply shut off on me in the the middle of my typing a sentence. She put her […]
On some Friday, I look at Amazon’s Friday Sale and see what kind of products catch my eye. A few items caught my eye this week, but one stood head and shoulders above the rest:
Cruzin’ Cooler Scooter - This is the coolest product I’ve seen in a long time… I might have to dip into my tank budget to make this one happen.
Seriously, it’s a cooler… it’s a scooter. Why didn’t I invent this years ago? Maybe I came up with the dismissed the idea due to the fact that scooting and drinking are two great tastes that […]
In most places in the United States, there’s at least one grocery store that can supply most of your grocery needs at a good price. In New England, I used to shop at Stop & Shop or Shaw’s. In California, I prefer Safeway. On a rare visit to Florida, there’s a Publix. For the most part these stores are interchangeable. One or two might have better deals depending on your prefences, but they are minor. From when I started shopping on my own until about four years ago, I did about 98% of my […]
How much do you spend when it comes to your kids?
There are few things that are more delightful to parents than to see their kids happy: such as the moment right after the kids receive their toy of choice — a doll house, firetruck or new novelty gadget of the season. And few things […]
There comes a time, where you’ve just had enough. I think my wife and I have reached that point. So we decided to take some time off and say Phuket… …… Phuket Beach in Thailand that is. We are going vacation this September. If you read my posts a few weeks ago about military travel and my lust for the Asus Eee as a travel computer, you may have already connected the dots.
We didn’t set out to go to Phuket. We actually were expecting to go to Australia for 2-3 weeks. When we looked […]
I’m still on vacation in Boston for a few more days. Vacation probably isn’t the right word as we’ve been running around to meet every relative and friend we can. I thought I’d share a couple of our expenses and savings in bits and pieces.
The biggest reason we made he trek from San Francisco to Boston was for one of my closest friends’ wedding. It was a black tie affair. Luckily a good friend gave me his hand-me-down tuxedo years ago. Though I really need to get it dry cleaned, it worked well for the […]
Nearly six months ago, my wife and I decided to get a Netflix subscription. Many of our favorite television weren’t going to have full seasons due to the writer’s strike. Some, like 24, didn’t have seasons at all. We thought that this would be a good time to catch up on the classics that we missed through the years. It’s worked really well in that regard… We switch off picking one movie that we’d like for the other to see and every so often we come across one that we both missed.
I’ve been choosing movies like […]
Here are some interesting (not necessarily good purchases) that can be had on Amazon’s Friday Sale. If you want to take advantage you should act today.
Hooded Towel - I didn’t know that towels could come with hoods. Now all my towels have hood envy. Why is amazon suggesting that I buy this towel with a Betty Crocker double-sided non-stick griddle?
My Recommendation - Spot Bot Carpet Cleaner - We got one of these for our wedding. Our only complaint is that it works too well. The spot is so clean when it’s done that it doesn’t […]
Memorial Day weekend is over… *Sigh*… back to work. The local news last night interviewed a number of people about how they spent their Memorial Day weekend. I was surprised by the number that were really cutting down their driving to save money on gas. One family decided to cut down their vacations from 3 to 1.
My wife and I don’t drive very much for vacations. We might go 45 miles north to Napa for some wine tasting this summer. When/If we do, we’ll hopefully find a cheap motel or perhaps even camp out. […]
Live Search Cash Back is a new Microsoft initiative that is supposed to provide a rebate to consumers for items found via the Microsoft Live search functionality and purchased online.
The word on the street says this is Microsoft’s attempt to compete with Google in the online search market. The concept is that in return for […]
Last week I mentioned how I furnished much of my kitchen with purchases from Amazon’s Friday Sale. There are some good deals, bad deals, and just wacky products out there. Today, I’m going to go through and point some of them out.
Best Value: Hand Crank Radio - This made my list of items you should have in seven things you must do before an emergency.
Men’s Underwear - Cue up Sisqó! I’m including this only because I get a tiny, tiny portion of the sales for my picture on every box.
Amazon Reads Lazy Man - Last week Amazon […]
Each Friday Amazon has a sale on a few clearance items. In the past, I’ve found that you can a nice penny on them. Just looking around my kitchen, I saved some 70% on a Cusinart convection toaster oven, 82% on my flatware, and 57% on a martini set that I almost never use anymore - so it’s not all sunshine and puppy dogs. Still, if you are going to need something anyway, it can’t hurt to look. Prices are good for today only, so pull the trigger if you are going to.
Here are some things I […]
What college student do you know that isn’t cheap? When you’re in school every penny counts and you learn to manage your money on a very tight budget. Saving money simply becomes second nature to you. I was so cheap in college I used to:
-Wear every last piece of clothing to delay paying for the laundry […]
Original post on The Sun’s Financial Diary
If you do, then what’s the reason for you to budget?
I don’t and I don’t know whether that’s a problem for me or not.
There were several years in the 90s when I wrote every penny I spent in notebooks, not to better plan how to spend my money next […]
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. I try to bring my lunch to work with me, both for health and wealth reasons, but it just doesn’t happen all the time. I’ll say:
“I forgot to pack it and now I’ll miss the bus”
“There’s nothing good I want to eat”
“I like eating fresh veggies […]
Annual bonuses are here! Our company did well enough in 2007 that we’re getting a bonus, 3% of our salary is the rumor. They’re supposed to show up in our bank accounts or mailboxes tomorrow so the office was buzzing with talk of different ways to spend the money this afternoon.
How to Spend a BonusI […]
So, you succumbed to the temptation and used your charge card to get you through the holidays. Well, you can’t turn back the clock, nor stop the mailman from coming, but you can still exercise a little damage control.
Right now, get out your scissors and cut your way through to financial success. Although it may […]
If you take a drive up in the mountains, a frequent sign you will see says something like, “Caution. Deer crossing.” Do you ignore the sign? Of course not! You have been warned to keep alert, to avoid an accident. You know that if you hit a deer, it will be very costly […]
Do not shoot the messenger! Although I intellectually understand the necessity of paying my share of income tax, I too would rather not have the expense. As soon as the holidays are over, income tax information is deposited in my mailbox. Even though taxes are not due until April 15th, I […]
Christmas is a wonderful time of year! You look forward to the lights, the Christmas carols, the food, and the chance to be with family as you celebrate the reason for the season. However, along with all the festivities, the bills usually stack up during the holidays. For many, gift giving results […]
