I’m supposed to go pick up the home inspection report this morning. The inspection last night was quite interesting and I wound up with about ten pages of notes on it. It was just as I predicted – nothing big, but tons of very small nit-picky stuff – lots of fifteen minute tasks, about 90% of which I could easily do myself. I called our agent afterwards and after hearing the list, he suggested that we ask for a small cash stipend to take care of it ourselves and then just hold that cash for a serious repair.

Don’t Be Fooled Into Thinking An Oil Change Every 3000 Miles Is Necessary I do my own oil changes (would this be an interesting photo diary) and after checking my car’s manual, I discovered that my truck should have a change every 5,000 miles. So, compared to where I was two years ago (paying for an oil change every 3,000 miles), I’m saving a ton of cash. The key point is to check your manual to see how often it needs an oil change. (@ generation x finance)

12 Cheap Ways To Keep Fit And Stay Healthy My favorite, when I was in high school, was to push-mow the yard at a brisk pace. This always got me sweaty and the endorphins really flowing. I haven’t done it since then, but on some level I’m really looking forward to it with our new house. (@ the digerati life)

How To Use Credit Cards To Simplify Your Finances I’m a big fan of using credit cards for the convenience factor, but one should never, ever use them if they don’t have the cash on hand to back the purchases up. (@ money smart life)

The Simple Dollar Retro: How To Feel Happier About Not Spending Money More than one person lately has commented to me that they feel unhappy when they’re frugal and they feel happier when they’re buying stuff. This is basically my answer to that idea.