During the fall of 2010, I posted a series of articles on homemade Christmas gifts. Among these were personalized photo cards and stationery and photo cubes, both of which required a pretty solid supply of photographs.

Thus, I had the opportunity to print off quite a few photos at home in order to make these projects happen. I purchased a couple boxes of blank 4″ by 6″ prints at Sam’s Club, along with some fresh printer cartridges, and had a great deal of fun printing off photos for these projects (complementing some prints ordered from stores – we used a lot of prints).

This seemed to me to be the perfect opportunity to do a real cost comparison between buying prints from a store or printing them yourself at home. So, that’s exactly what I did.

Most of the costs were clear and straightforward.

For the pictures, I purchased a Canon PG-210XL/CL211 combo pack for $59.88. Since I really only utilized one of the three cartridges in this pack (the other two were black and white), my cartridge cost was $19.96. The other cartridges will provide a lot of black and white printing over the next year or so.

For the photo paper, I purchased two packages of HP 4″ by 6″ photo paper, which included 200 blanks each, for $19.88 each. This makes for a cost-per-sheet of approximately $0.10.

After searching around, I was able to get 4″ by 6″ photo prints from Target for $0.15 each.

The one piece of information still needed is how many prints can I get out of a single cartridge?

Obviously, I wanted the prints to have a high degree of quality, so I turned the quality settings up pretty high for these prints. Having said that, I got 116 prints out of the cartridge before I began to notice color problems.

Thus, the cost per sheet for the ink is $19.96 divided by 116, or $0.17 per sheet. Add that to the cost of $0.10 for the paper itself and you have a cost of $0.27 per print. This is substantially more expensive than the store purchased print offer I had in hand ($0.15 each), and it does not include the prorated cost of the printer (a fraction of which comes from each document printed with it).

So, clearly, if you have a large set of prints to make, you’re better off price-hunting for a service to handle it for you than printing it yourself at home.

Of course, as with anything, it pays to shop around in every regard. Some printers are certainly going to have a lower cost per sheet. You may also be able to find prints to buy for lower than fifteen cents per sheet if you shop around, particularly if you have introductory coupons for sites like Shutterfly.

What role does home printing really have, then?

For us, home printing works for things like snapshots needed for home art projects. Home printing is useful when my son needs a picture for a preschool show and tell about his family.

In short, it’s still a good option when convenience is at a premium. If you simply need a print or two for some immediate purpose, home printing really works quite well. It’s far less expensive and less time-consuming than going somewhere to make an instant print.

However, if you have any simple capacity to plan ahead or delay the printing, wait and use a service. Home printing is a great convenience, but it’s a costly one that quickly adds up.

When I first started writing this article, it had a much more challenging title. I originally titled it

The Power of Negative Thinking

The problem with that title is that negative thinking, just like positive thinking, is unbalanced on its own.

Let me explain what I mean.

I’m a huge believer in using positive thinking as fuel in your own life. Positive thinking can help you set powerful goals, can help you keep on track with those goals, and can get you in the right mindset for opportunities that can come your way.

The problem is that positive thinking alone ignores risks.

It is pure positive thinking that enables a bank to give someone a loan with payments that exceed that person’s monthly income.

It is pure positive thinking that convinces people to simply put all of their money in a stock-heavy retirement account and believe that money will always return at a 10% annual rate, thus funding an early retirement.

It is pure (or at least excessive) positive thinking that convinces people that they don’t need health insurance, life insurance, or long term care insurance.

It is pure positive thinking that causes people to leave great jobs for unestablished side projects.

Simply put, pure, unbalanced positive thinking can be an incredibly dangerous thing. It leaves you woefully unprepared for failure and setbacks because if you absolutely believe that the best outcome will happen, you don’t have to waste thought or energy considering the consequences of that best outcome not happening.

In my experience, successfully achieving a goal usually involves a mix of positive thinking and negative thinking. Let me show you what I mean, using an example from my own life.

Balanced Thinking and Running
A while back, I wanted to be able to make a reasonable appearance in a 5K (a five kilometer run/walk/jog). I had about twelve weeks to get ready for it.

My initial thoughts about the goal were very positive. I imagined myself participating. I visualized a smooth progression right toward that goal. I even came up with a wonderful plan that would get me right to that goal.

Of course, that plan was far from perfect. In order to make that plan more realistic, I had to engage in some negative thinking. What might go wrong during my progress toward that goal? How might I injure myself while practicing? How can I keep myself motivated when the going gets tough?

In each case, I had to plan for that negative thought. I consulted a personal trainer, who helped me modify my plan a bit and also helped me to find some better running shoes and other training suggestions. Knowing my own personal habits, I worked on a new training plan that incorporated more short bursts of training rather than longer and less frequent sessions.

As I started rolling, positive thinking kept me motivated when things were on course.

The problem was that when I fell off the path, positive thinking wasn’t enough to get me back on. I had to turn on the negative thoughts for a while by looking at my mistakes that caused me to fall off the path, figure out exactly where I went wrong, and fix those problems.

Balanced Thinking and Money
A similar philosophy comes into play with almost every single financial decision we make.

If you’re buoyed solely by positive thinking, you’ll throw your retirement investing into the riskiest investments, believing completely that you’ll receive the huge rewards because you’re ignoring the risk. Do that and you’ll have a strong likelihood of working well into your retirement. Balanced thinking leads to good investment choices.

If you’re using nothing but positive thinking, an emergency fund seems like a complete waste of time. Of course, the first time you need to cover something like a car repair, you’re going to be using credit, and the interest on those credit payments will eat your money like a hungry wolf. A more balanced thought process will lead you to a healthy emergency fund and much more success in terms of dealing with such crises.

If positive thinking is ruling the roost, you’ll never take out life insurance or health insurance or disability insurance, all of which are wastes of money if nothing negative can enter the picture. Investing in such things requires some negative thinking, but if something bad does happen, it’ll be one of the best investments you ever made.

Simply put, positive thinking has its place, but so does negative thinking. If you want to achieve personal goals and plan successfully for your future, you have to balance these two elements effectively.

I love walking in the woods on a warm spring day, searching for edible mushrooms.

I love my wife’s awkward smile when she’s been paid a compliment she richly deserves and doesn’t know how to respond to it.

I love reading a book from the library that both takes me to another place and teaches me something new.

I love my oldest son’s rapidly growing sense of humor.

I love watching people stretch their bodies and minds when they compete at a sport.

I love when I can make someone unexpectedly smile.

I love my daughter’s boundless creative impulses.

I love my parents’ endless giving nature.

I love the smell of lilacs.

I love the way my infant son cuddles in against me when I hold him.

I love seeing the faces on my closest friends when they’re thinking – or when they’re laughing.

I love the view of a winter landscape, especially ones with a trail or two of footprints across them.

There are so many things about life that I love dearly, that bring me so much joy. Almost all of these things come to me for free. Why do I need to spend money or time on accumulating more things when there are so many wonderful things already at my fingertips? Simply put, I don’t.

Life gives us more things to cherish and enjoy and love than we can ever possibly experience, and most of those things come to us with little or no cost. Step back and enjoy them instead of looking beyond them and chasing something you can never quite reach. Look at what you already have before desiring what you don’t

A few days ago, I tweeted something that I think is a very appropriate way to close this article:

“Life is beautiful. Don’t ever give up on it, even when it doesn’t look all that beautiful to you.“

What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to five word summaries. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question.
1. Generous severance, no job
2. Should I sell my bike?
3. Road tripping with kids
4. Health insurance in retirement
5. Moving from saving to investing
6. Disability insurance and credit cards
7. Young person starting to invest
8. Sweeping
9. Frugal veganism
10. Single woman wants child

Much like half of America, I spent yesterday half-watching the Super Bowl with a bunch of friends. The highlight was watching my son jump around like crazy whenever there was a big tackle. He actually liked the big tackles more than anything else in the game.

Q1: Generous severance, no job
My wife and I both work, she at a job she’s had for over 30 years. Until recently I had both a full-time day job and a part-time teaching job. I was recently fired from the full-time job and given a year’s salary as severance. While looking for a new job I can also collect unemployment.

Right now I have some breathing room but the future is a little scary. What would you advise?
- Larry

I would pay off your high interest debts, then bank the remainder of it and issue yourself payments from that account to “replace” part of your paycheck.

However, I would not just issue yourself your “usual salary.” When you return to work, most likely it will not be for a salary equal to what you were making. You’re going to be adjusting to some lifestyle changes.

I would instead sit down and make out a budget so that you’re clear on what your actual expenses are, then issue yourself a paycheck from that account that, along with your other income streams, adds up to what you need to cover that budget.

This will not only push you to live leaner, but it will also help the amount you have in savings to last a lot longer than it would have otherwise.

Q2: Should I sell my bike?
I have a pretty nice and only slightly used Specialize street/road bike that I paid around $350 for about five years ago. At the time, I was living in a small town with relatively flat terrain and wide enough streets, and I used it to get to work and run errands downtown when the weather was nice. Three years ago I moved to a large city with hilly terrain, narrow streets, and almost no bike lanes. I’ve looked at all the possible routes, and right now I’m neither in shape nor daring enough to try to bike to work, much less anywhere else. The bike has languished in storage all this time. Is it worth it to sell the bike now and bank the money away for replacing it at some point in the next few years when I’m in better shape (working towards that now), or should I hang onto it until I’m ready to start riding outside again?
- Anna

Well, you seem to have an intent to use it again, plus you seem to also have an active plan to get to that point. This suggests to me that it’s an item worth keeping unless you have serious financial needs.

Of course, if either of those attributes changes (your plan for riding it again or your intent to actually ride again) goes away, then I would probably sell off the bike because, at that point, it’s sitting around gathering dust with no serious intent for future use.

Be honest with yourself about this and you’ll make the right move.

Q3: Road tripping with kids
My husband and I just moved about five hours away from my parents. We plan on visiting them every few months because in the past we lived down the block from them and we have a close relationship and want them to know our kids as they grow up (they’re two and three). I know you take similar road trips to visit family. How do you make that long of a car trip work with little ones without going crazy?
- Cammie

We often do our road trip in the evenings, starting off with dinner and any bedtime prep we need to do. The kids will get their bath, they’ll use the toilet, they’ll put on pajamas, and then we’ll put them in the car. If that’s not feasible, then we try to bank on the period right after lunch for departure, as it’ll encourage the young ones to nap for at least some of the trip.

Always go prepped with activities in mind, as well as supplies for the most common kid problems (wet pants, hunger, thirst). We often sing songs for parts of the trip, for example, or play some sort of “I spy” game where the parent who is the passenger gets the kids to look for things outside the windows.

We used these tactics in 2009 to take a three year old and a one year old from north of Des Moines, Iowa to Dallas, Texas in a single day.

Q4: Health insurance in retirement
My spouse is likely to retire this year and our income will be cut in half. He is over 65 and developed a chronic condition last year that costs us about $1000-2000/year beyond what insurance covers, and has potential for developments that are more expensive. Usually I would ask around for other couples in the same situation as we, but he doesn’t want his age publicized.
First half of our figuring…
Better to put him on my plan which isn’t in-network for his specialist? Cobra his plan at $600/ month? Find a Medicare part B plan. We hear of doctors no longer accepting Medicare plans.
Second part to figure is insurance for our just-out-of-college son …
He is on Dad’s plan at $400/month and we cobra-ed the dental plan.
I have a not quite as good plan. To put both on my plan will be $1000. $500/month for spouse alone.
Our son has applied for many jobs, including part time, and is still looking after 6 months. It seems likelier he will find part-time before full time. So long as he is actively looking and doing volunteer work, we want to keep him insured. We live in an expensive area for health care and insurance.

My take home pay is just over $2000/month (affected by high flex withholdings – last year over $5000 in dental and medical bills). Hope to live on my salary as much as possible and put most of SS into savings. Our only debt is $900/month mortgage. In a year we’ll begin taking money out of IRAs (about $1700/year minus taxes).
- Mitch

If I were you, I’d sit down with his doctors and get some realistic pictures of his needs over the next few years. Is he going to need the specialist for continued care over the next few years (with the understanding that you would return to that specialist if necessary)? What self-care options does he have? What are the chances of a severe downturn in his condition?

To make a decision like this, you need facts. You need the clearest picture possible of his condition, what the minimal care requirements are, and what the odds are (in their best estimates) of further care.

Right now, you’re spending $X a year on care. Is that truly the minimum, or is that spending based on what the doctor throws out there without considering cost issues (in other words, a doctor assuming that insurance is paying for everything)? Obviously, if you can minimize costs, you should be on the least expensive insurance that really only kicks in in the case of a serious downturn.

Q5: Moving from saving to investing
my husband and I went through very hard financial times a couple of years ago (we owned a house in California that the value dropped two-thirds, and we couldn’t find work due to living in a county with a 20% unemployment rate) and we have since relocated to Oregon after filing for bankruptcy and including our home in it. So far, we have been successful in re-establishing credit with a used car loan with a reasonable payment and we each have a secured credit card. Our credit scores are back up to the 700s. Now, we each have steady jobs and have been able to sock away some savings each month. We are both contributing 5% to our 401ks (our employers contribute another 5% as well) so we have 10% going into each 401k monthly. We have emergency savings with ING as well as sub accounts set up for various items (a small vacation fund, and a fund for large purchases, for instance, our washer and dryer are on the fritz and we don’t want to have to finance that purchase when they finally give out). My question is what else we should be investing in. As our emergency savings grows to a point where we could pay for our living expenses for several months in the event of a layoff, we would like to invest in a vehicle to make our money grow, in the event that we ever decide to purchase a home again (which we are not sure we want to after the heartbreak of losing our first home). We are in our late 20′s.
- Lexie

When you reach that point – and I wouldn’t jump into investing until you do – your best bet would be to open a normal investment account at an investing house that you trust (I use Vanguard) and invest in a very small handful of investments that are well-diversified and that you understand.

Since you’re not quite at that point yet, I would suggest picking up a book or two on general investing. My personal pick is The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing by Larimore, Lindauer, and LeBoeuf. It’s my single favorite book ever on investing.

Take it slow. If you’re unsure, leave it in savings – it’s not losing value there and it is gaining a small return. There are far worse things to be doing with your money than simply leaving it there.

Q6: Disability insurance and credit cards
I am currently a 53 y/o female battling cancer. I have been following your site for about 2 years. Last year in an effort to get my financial house in order I started saving for an emergency fund and really looking at the future. I was working full time at a job with no benefits…..my choice, as the money was better. Health insurance is through my husband. I bought a disbility insurance policy in March 2010 with the plan to get a job with benefits eventually. In June of 2010 I was diagnosed with cancer. Since I’m older the premium was a little high and I opted for a 3 month elimination period before I could receive benefits. The wonderful folks I work with knew my dilemma and between them all they collected over $2000. How awesome is that? That money paid for all the medical bills I was responsible for. I have set aside enough money to cover my share of medical bills for 2011. I have applied for social security disability and was denied. Folks have told me I need a lawyer to facilitate that process of appealing. Do you have any knowledge of that? Also, if I should die will my husband be responsible for my CC debt? I owe about $7000 and a car note for about $3500. I realize how incredibly lucky I am that I listened to that little voice telling me to get disability insurance. I would encourage all who do not have that benefit to look at getting it.
- Joyce

I am not familiar with the Social Security appeals process, but I would assume an appropriate lawyer would help you with that process.

As for whether your husband would be responsible for your credit card debt, it depends on how the assets in your life are arranged. If the cards are in your name, then assets that are in your name will have to pay for those debts before he can claim them. You also can’t simply switch everything to his name immediately and avoid it, because laws also check property that was in your name within the last several years.

Some of the stickier areas – such as checking accounts you both use – likely come down to the aggressiveness of the credit card company in getting what they can from your estate.

Q7: Young person starting to invest
‘m a young student (around 20) and I’m starting to invest my hard earned income. I’m lucky to live in my parents’ house, so I don’t have rent or grocery to pay. Therefore, I think the timming is right to start. What book would you recommend me to read to get a better knowledge of investment (read here placement, investment fund, bond, etc.)?
- Gabe

Above, I mentioned The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing by Larimore, Lindauer, and LeBoeuf, which is certainly a great one-stop-shop for investment information.

However, you’re in a different situation than many of the readers of that book, so I’m not sure it would be the perfect choice for you. My first question would be whether or not you’re using student loans to cover your education. If you are, I would be focused more on minimizing the impact they will have on your future than on investing that money, because the weight of a large pile of student loans will heavily restrict your post-college choices.

Beyond that, I would probably suggest reading Michael Masterson’s Automatic Wealth for Grads (probably the best all-around “college graduation” type of book out there) and focus on putting yourself in the best place to execute the ideas in that book.

Q8: Sweeping
What do you think about sweeping (going online and entering in a ton of contests in the hopes of winning money, prizes, trips, etc)? I’ve heard of people making some significant money and/or selling the items that they won. The only drawbacks I can come up with is the spam (use a different email address) and the time involved in visiting thousands of websites every day or week to enter into these contests. I was just curious if you had heard of this being done before and what your thoughts were?
- Josh

If you’re looking at it as a hobby, I think it’s a reasonably good one. There are no costs involved other than the time you spend (and the resources you already have, such as the computer and the ‘net access) and if it’s something you get a great deal of personal joy from doing, then go for it.

If you’re looking at it as a revenue stream, then I’d say that it’s far too risky to actually bank on in any realistic way. You have no certainty of getting any type of return for your efforts when sweeping.

It comes down to you and what you enjoy. For me, entering contests isn’t an enjoyable thing, so you wouldn’t find me doing it much, if at all.

Q9: Frugal veganism
I’ve had an interest in veganism for a while now, but I can’t justify the additional costs associated with it. How do you find cheap tofu and quinoa? How do you avoid noodles that are made from eggs? That last part is particularly important to me, since I run marathons, and the noodles are essential acquiring energy. Even brown rice doesn’t seem to do the trick for me.
- Garrett

For one, tofu and quinoa aren’t the backbone of my diet. A great deal of my protein comes from beans and from raw vegetables, which, if eaten with any realistic abundance, will provide all the protein you need. Beans and raw vegetables are pretty inexpensive if you take the time to shop around.

Of course, you’re throwing another kink into the equation – you’re wanting a cheap vegan diet for a marathon runner? If you want to be vegan and also want to engage in very high-impact athletic events like that, I would consult dieticians and your doctor before making a move. Your body’s metabolism is going to have exceptional demands and I would want to be certain that those demands are met.

As for eggless noodles, you can easily make noodles from just water, flour, and a bit of corn starch and salt. I’d try three cups of flour, one and a half cups of water, and maybe a teaspoon each of corn starch and salt.

If you’re looking to buy them in a store, I’d look at the selection of a wide variety of stores. Some stores with health food sections sell such noodles.

Q10: Single woman wants child
I am a single woman, 32, never married nor do I want to. I am considering adopting a child. I have a fiexible career in which I earn $35K, plus I have $25K put aside to pay for the adoption and another $10K saved as an emergency fund. Is this a financially realistic thing to do?
- Mindy

I think it’s financially realistic if that’s your current situation. My concern would be for the child – and for you – in terms of emotional and intellectual needs.

Being a parent is very demanding. Your child will need a lot from you in ways that you can’t even anticipate yet. It’s not easy at all. There are times where you’re going to need emotional support and there are other times when your child is simply going to need the perspective of someone else in their life.

If you’re going to do this, I would not do it completely in a vacuum. Do you have a sibling that can help in certain situations with regards to giving parental advice and encouragement when needed? A close friend?

Make sure you’re ready to do this and that you’re going to have all the resources needed to give this child everything he or she needs.

Got any questions? Email them to me or leave them in the comments and I’ll attempt to answer them in a future mailbag (which, by way of full disclosure, may also get re-posted on other websites that pick up my blog). However, I do receive hundreds of questions per week, so I may not necessarily be able to answer yours.

Every Sunday, The Simple Dollar reviews a personal finance or other book of interest. Also available is a complete list of the hundreds of book reviews that have appeared on The Simple Dollar over the years.

Passive investing is a strategy that has a great deal of appeal to me, so I was quite eager to read this book that discussed passive investing as a broad strategy with great depth and reasoning.

So, what’s passive investing?

To put it simply, passive investing refers to an investing strategy that doesn’t require any kind of forecasting or predictions and thus requires very little effort to manage (thus the name “passive”). Because of that, the costs of such a strategy are quite low, meaning savings in the investor’s pocket (and thus more money to invest rather than dump into brokerage fees). Usually, this means either investing very broadly (usually meaning buying index funds that are essentially large collections of different stocks, commodities, bonds, or other investments, meaning if one fails the whole ship doesn’t go down) or investing in things that offer a very steady return (like savings accounts, CDs, treasury notes, highly rated bonds, or stocks that pay a very reliable dividend). Sometimes, you can do both at the same time.

This book, by Richard Ferri (a writer for Forbes and the head of Portfolio Solutions) and with a foreword by John Bogle (founder of Vanguard, the company where I keep much of my investments), simply makes the case for why passive investing is a very good choice for many investors, particularly those who do not have the time or financial expertise to compete with Wall Street professional investors.

The Active Versus Passive Debate
Although this section is called a “debate” between active and passive investing, it largely just makes a great case for passive investing as compared to active investing.

Let’s step back for a minute and state what active investing is. Active investing occurs when you invest in something with the goal of selling it at a profit at a later date. Doing this means not only forecasting what will happen in the market as you choose what to buy, but watching the market and deciding what the right time to sell is. You have to be actively involved with the investment.

That, of course, has a time cost. Many people choose to pay brokers and fund managers money to take care of that time cost, which would be great if such people could consistently beat the market.

But they can’t. The market is simply the average of what all of the investors out there are doing. Sometimes, a particular fund manager or broker might beat the average, but the next year, they very well might not. When you consider that you’re paying for this type of performance, why not just try to seek a way to find the average on your own?

That’s essentially what indexing does. The idea behind it is that you buy some of everything without doing any active investing at all. Then you sit on it until you’re ready to sell it. Over that period, it will have tracked the average very closely and the costs associated with it are really low.

Why doesn’t everyone do that? People often want to – or believe they can – do better than that. They tend to believe they’re above average and thus will get above average results. The problem is that simple math shows it doesn’t happen. Only half of the group actually can be above average, and with everyone competing, that above average group is constantly shifting, with people moving up and people falling back. The book estimates that at any given time, one in three investors will be able to beat the average after costs, and that one in three is constantly changing. If you’re paying a huge fee to be in this contest, why not pay a small fee and just bet on the average?

Chasing Alpha and Changing Behavior
Alpha refers to the excess return an investment bears for the risk borne. An investment with a higher alpha is one that returns very well for the risk involved, while something with a low alpha has poor returns for the risk. Loaning money to your deadbeat cousin is an investment with low alpha, for example, while finding the “perfect” stock pick has a high alpha.

Obviously, active investors are seeking alpha. They want investments that offer a return that far exceeds the risks involved. The problem is that everyone is hunting for these investments. High alpha investments don’t last very long because investors jump on board rapidly when it’s found, causing the price to go up and the advantage to disappear.

The truth is that very few people have enough investing skill to actually find investments with a high alpha before everyone else does. Those that do are usually quickly gobbled up by hedge funds or the family fortunes of the very rich. Unless you’re extremely lucky, your personal broker is not one of those people who can effectively find alpha.

Why don’t more people passively invest, then? Passive investments aren’t highly advertised and promoted like active investments are. Active investments (like managed mutual funds and brokerages) get television ads; passive investments do not because, by their nature, they’re trying to minimize costs.

The Case for Passive Investing
The final section of the book is interesting, as Ferri essentially rewrites the excellent case spelled out in the first two sections of the book and boils it down to a handful of pages targeted to various specific groups: the individual investor, charities and personal trusts, pension funds, and advisors. In each, Ferri pulls out the specific facts that are most relevant to the investing needs of that particular group.

For example, when making the case for individual investors, he argues that the best way for individuals to invest is to seek out investments that maximize return within the risk that they’re allowed to carry. So, for example, some personal investments may want no risk at all (retirement savings when close to retirement), while others can take substantial risk (your “dream house” fund).

Once you have a firm grasp on this, you simply select index funds on your own that match the level of risk you can accept. This is actually exactly how my wife and I started our “dream home” fund. We knew that we could afford some significant risk on this since it wasn’t a life-or-death situation, so we’ve put our money into a pair of diverse stock index funds that carry some significant risk (one is purely international stocks).

Is The Power of Passive Investing Worth Reading?
If you’re unfamiliar with passive investing, this is probably the best one-stop-shop book on the subject that I’ve yet read. It’s detailed enough to really teach you things, yet easy to read enough that you don’t need constant assistance in getting through the pages.

The only real weak spot of the book is specific advice – in other words, if you know how you want to invest, how do you translate that into specific funds? You’re somewhat left on your own there, but thankfully there are many online resources that will carry you on home from third base. Simply poking around the website of a reputable passive investment house (like Vanguard) will take care of what’s missing, for the most part. This book is not a book for hand-holding – it focuses on the “why,” not the “how.”

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and felt that it laid out the case for passive investing very well. Pick it up if you want some great food for thought.

Check out additional reviews and notes on The Power of Passive Investing at Amazon.com.

At the start of 2011, I started an interesting experiment.

I grabbed the first five Sunday papers of the year, clipped the coupons that I found in those issues, and saved them in a separate coupon envelope. Most of the coupons were for toiletries and household supplies. A few were for food items – mustard, bread, and cheese among them (remember, I’m the only person in my home that’s actually eating a non-dairy diet). One was for a trade-in discount at a local used video game store.

Once I had the coupons, I kept track of my actual use of those coupons, comparing the prices on the items to generics and figuring out how much I really saved by using them.

Over that five week period, using just the coupons clipped in 2011, I saved $13.11 over generics by using coupons (not including any sales tax that might have additionally been saved).

Each copy of the Sunday paper cost $1.50 at the newsstand, giving me a total cost of $7.50. The cost would have been lower had we been current paper subscribers, of course.

So, our total savings in this period was about $5.61. We do, of course, still have several coupons left in the envelope that will likely raise this total at least a little.

The time invested in clipping the coupons was negligible – it was usually a process done at the Sunday lunch table. I’d flip through the coupons and discuss them with Sarah while eating.

For curiosity’s sake, I took the most recent coupons from my envelope and attempted to find them online. I did locate them, but some required me to install additional software (not happening – it’s not a security risk I’m willing to take) and they were spread over several websites. While there are websites that do list some of the coupons together for you, you’re still clicking a lot and using unnecessary printer paper and ink. I find this method, on the whole, to be a wash compared to the Sunday paper, as the paper is much more convenient and doesn’t use resources, but it does cost $1.50.

So, is this all still worth it?

I think it comes down to a very simple question: is the act of spending part of your Sunday lunch clipping coupons worth a few dollars to you?

For some people, the answer will be no. The value of spending time focused on their family is more than the savings from clipping coupons to them. That’s a valid argument.

For others, the answer will be yes. The savings from a pattern of coupon clipping adds up in their lives and they’re able to do it at times when they’re not sacrificing anything else of value. That’s also a valid argument.

In the end, coupon clipping, like every other time and spending decision we make, comes down to what we personally value. There are financial savings to be had in the Sunday paper, but are those savings worth the time invested and the other activities left in their wake?

For me, it is worth it on the whole. Our children look at coupon clipping as a normal activity. They see frugal choices as being the norm, not the exception. I save a few bucks during the process. Plus, I still get to sit at the dinner table and exchange thoughts with my wife and children, which is what I’d be doing anyway during that coupon clipping session.

Is it worth it? Sure is, even if it doesn’t magically put a mint in my pocket. In fact, I think I’ll go re-subscribe to the Sunday paper now.

After my recent post on planning summer travel, I received a lot of emails from readers near the places we are planning on traveling to: Seattle, Boston, New Orleans, and Orlando. These helpful readers all offered up some great ideas for inexpensive travel to those areas and I saved all of them for future reference (because all but the Seattle trip is more than a year away).

One big thing I couldn’t help but notice, though, is that many of the emails contained very similar tips for inexpensive vacations in those cities. The specifics were different, but the general ideas were identical.

Here’s what I learned from those emails in terms of general tips for traveling inexpensively to a new city.

Hang out with locals that you know. They’ll almost always guide you straight to great deals, such as the best “bang for the buck” restaurants. Sometimes, they’ll even cover a meal for you while you’re traveling. If I know I’m going to a city where I know people, I’m always sure to contact them well before the trip and set up some sort of event with them, whether it’s meeting for lunch or whatever.

Look for local hotels, not national chains. Generally, these have stellar rates as long as you’re not traveling to the city during a key tourist time, like going to Mardi Gras. Local hotels often have rustic rooms that play on the history of the city, while large chain hotels have rooms that look more or less identical to every hotel in that chain. In Las Vegas, I would take this tip to mean to avoid both chains and hotels directly on the Strip.

Know the mass transit. If you’re staying in a large city, the mass transit system will likely completely take care of your travel needs (aside from perhaps going back and forth to the airport). Buy a seven day pass and let that take care of all of the travel you need within the city. It’s far, far cheaper than renting a car for that long.

Grab the local papers – especially the free ones. They often have huge lists of cultural events and attractions going on in the city. I’ve seen free concerts and gone to free museums in the past due to simply gazing through local free newspapers shortly after my arrival.

Visit areas near universities. In almost every city where a university can be found, the blocks around the university are full of the best “bang for the buck” food you can find, particularly if you like ethnic foods. Not only that, universities often have interesting cultural events going on that you can freely attend.

Take advantage of the staff at the local hotels. They usually know the area quite well and can point you towards options that you probably never considered before arriving. On our trip to Las Vegas in 2005, we stayed at the Artisan, a small hotel off of the strip. The staff was beyond helpful in suggesting things for us to do, even pointing out roadside free things to look at as we drove on to the Grand Canyon.

Do something completely alternate for housing, like camping. For example, if you’re staying in Seattle, consider camping in the Olympia National Forest or on Mount Rainier and then just go into town on days when you want to sight-see. The cost is much lower, particularly if you have someone in the area from which you could borrow a tent and some sleeping bags (like, for instance, the “locals that you know”).

Make a big list of the free sightseeing options. For example, on our Dallas trip, our list included Pioneer Plaza, the Dallas Farmer’s Market, Dealey Plaza, the Fort Worth Stockyards, Jazz Under the Stars, the Crow Collection of Asian Art, the Farmer’s Branch Historical Park, the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, and Thanks-Giving Square. We couldn’t possibly make it to all of this worthwhile free stuff, and the sheer size of the list gave us options for spontaneity.

Check out museums, zoos, and other cultural and educational attractions in the city. Museums are almost always a cheap way to spend a day, and it’s often easy to make it cheaper by planning your trip on days with even lower rates – or on free days. Most cities have a noteworthy museum or two and the largest ones (like Chicago and New York) have several.

Search around for tickets for events. If you know you’re going to, say, Disney World, don’t just wait until you’re at the gate to buy tickets. Keep your eyes open for better deals on tickets by buying them early, often through some sort of promotional package. A few years back, my parents were eyeing hugely discounted tickets through their credit union, for example.

Each week, I highlight ten things each week that inspired me to greater financial, personal, and professional success. Hopefully, they will inspire you as well.

1. A sick baby on the mend

This winter has been really hard on our infant son, as he’s come down with a series of colds. It seems as though as soon as he has one licked, he has maybe a week of good health, then he’s fallen with another one.

This week, he was fairly ill again and Sarah and I spent three days being his nurse. On the last of those days, he was beginning to feel a little bit better and we were having fun together playing with the camera. Most of the pictures were awful, but there was just something about this one.

I’m inspired by the boy’s perseverance. If a little baby can take it and keep on rolling, so can I.

2. Confucius on frugality

“He who does not economize will have to agonize”
- Confucius

A reader sent this to me this week, and it truly sums up how I feel about frugality. If I can regularly make decisions that don’t really have a big impact on me, like not buying a new game until I’ve played the ones I already have or using the library or making a meal at home, then I forego the stress and worry that comes with having difficulty paying bills or going into panic mode if my income falls.

3. Iowa State University’s central campus

I spent a bit of time this week on the campus of Iowa State University. As I was walking out of the Memorial Union on campus, I saw the campanile (a large clock tower) that sits in the center of campus, shrouded in snow. It reminded me of many winters I spent in college, trudging across a freezing campus with a load of books on my back, hoping my toes didn’t freeze by the time I reached the far side.

Thanks to Dirk Hansen for the image; unfortunately, I didn’t get a good one with my own camera.

4. Chili in the oven

A couple days ago, I tried a different approach to making chili, far different than I’d done before. It involved cooking it by baking it – putting the whole pot in a 300 degree Fahrenheit oven for two hours.

Not only was the chili delicious, but the aromas filled the entire house, making the whole house smell gently of delicious chiles and tomatoes.

The mere thought of that aroma makes me want to experiment with our meals.

5. Jacque’s speech from William Shakespeare’s As You Like It

We only have one life, and in that life we go through stages. We shift from one to the other, not realizing what we’ve lost until it’s too late. There is much to celebrate about where we’re at right now.

All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms.
And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

6. Self-made and off-the-cuff music

More and more, I’m in love with the ability of people to just grab an instrument and perform something amazing. One example of this is this video of Joni Mitchell performing “Big Yellow Taxi.”

Another is when I walked along Main Street in Ames, Iowa and came across a music shop. I stuck my head inside for a moment to find someone playing an amazing ragtime song on the piano, basically off the cuff without any sheet music.

That’s an amazing and inspirational skill.

7. George Burns on failure

“I honestly think it is better to be a failure at something you love than to be a success at something you hate.”
- George Burns

This is a philosophy, eloquently stated, that’s beginning to shape how I parent my children. I’m happy to help them into adulthood if they’re actually chasing a dream, but if they’re just working to goof off on the weekends, I don’t have much interest in assisting that.

8. Van Gogh’s Still Life: Vase with Twelve Sunflowers

This has been my desktop wallpaper all week long. I yearn for the return of summer. Thanks to Steve Dorrington for the image.

9. Ray Comfort on recovery

“Never let the defeat of the past rob you of the success of your future.”
- Ray Comfort

Everyone has made mistakes in their past. While it’s good to reflect on them to help yourself to improve, you’ve always got to keep in mind that things are moving forward, not backward. The mistakes you made in the past are in the past. You have a clean slate today, one by which you can prove yourself and build up opportunities all over again.

10. Mozart’s Symphony No. 25 in G Minor

I spent a lot of this week listening to the soundtrack to the film Amadeus while I worked. This is the highlight of that soundtrack for me.