About once a month, either one of our own children or one of the children that live near us pops up with a fundraising form. They’re trying to raise money for their school band or their soccer club or for extra classroom supplies – all of which are noble goals. Usually, this comes hand in
A few days ago, I had a great conversation with a couple that live about a block away from us. They have regular yard sales throughout the summer and we’ve stopped at the sale a few times. Their process is simple. They have an area of their garage that they devote to “yard sale” stuff.
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. Sam Harris on what success won’t get you “If you are perpetually angry, depressed, confused and unloving, it doesn’t matter how much success you have, or who is in
Most of us have heard the classic story “The Gift of the Magi.” It’s a short story by O. Henry and is easily one of the most culturally known stories out there. If you’re not familiar, here’s the rough outline: it’s about young married couple and how they deal with the challenge of buying secret
Our children, like most children today, will choose something sweet when you give them a beverage choice. They’ll want fruit juice or a soda or something akin to that if I let the child make the choice. Thankfully, I’m a parent and I understand that it’s a terrible idea to establish a pattern that a
Don’t spend a second worrying about what kind of financial success someone else has achieved. Be happy for them, but don’t waste even an ounce of your energy using it as a benchmark. The only benchmark that matters is whether or not you’re in a better place than you were a year ago. It doesn’t
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. Newly widowed and worried 2. Overwhelmed by money stress 3. Money book for late teens 4. Toning down big dreams 5. Emergency fund and debt snowball
Sarah and I have three children. According to the official USDA statistics on food costs, the monthly cost for our family to eat per month assuming we use their “liberal” food plan is $1,337.80. On the other hand, if we use their “thrifty” plan, our monthly food cost for our family drops to $686.60. In
Over the last few days, I’ve watched as several of my friends have been completely shocked by the giant twist on the Game of Thrones television series. Since I actually read the “Red Wedding” scene several years ago, it was very entertaining to see all of the surprise from people. I’m really glad that they
The best way to maximize your value from a car, regardless of when you buy it, is to drive it until the problems become overwhelming, then trade it in for whatever value you can get out of it. I consider that the first rule of frugal car buying. The tough question is whether or not
Imagine for a moment that you’re a prisoner. You’re sitting in your cell. A prison guard comes in and says, “We heard a rumor that you and your friend are involved in a conspiracy. Do you have anything you want to tell me? If you tell me, there will be no punishment for any involvement
One of the first steps that people take when they first have their “financial epiphany” is that they assemble a budget. There are countless templates and ideas and forms for making budgets out there, but they all come back to the same thing. A budget is a guide to help people make sure that they’re
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. Helping new college graduate 2. Constant complaints 3. The value of trade school 4. Lessons for children 5. Lending Club thoughts 6. Selling off part of
I had a long conversation with a reader whose brother seemed to be caught in an endless cycle of payday loans. He works about thirty hours a week earning about minimum wage at a convenience store. About two years ago, his car broke down and in order to get it back on the road very
Several readers sent me this wonderful article describing the frugal habits of several billionaires. We’re not talking millionaires – billionaires. These are people who could keep a personal staff of a dozen assistants to take care of everything without breaking a sweat. Here are a few tidbits: US oil magnate T. Boone Pickens, worth $US1.2
I have three young children at home, which means that quite a lot of my time is spent on parenting activities. I prepare meals, buy groceries, fix up scrapes, clean messes, and do countless other things. I’m also a proponent of what I like to call “free range parenting.” We have our children in a
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. Mark Twain on reading “The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.” – Mark Twain If you choose not to use the
My children love drawing on the sidewalk and driveway in front of our house. They’ll draw huge pictures, hopscotch diagrams, long messages, and body tracings all over the place. My daughter particularly gets into this, as she recently filled a large portion of our driveway with a giant rainbow. I’m a big fan of sidewalk
I get this type of question all the time. A family member or a friend is trying to get a loan for some reason. Those evil banks won’t lend them any money. They want you to cosign their loan for them. It won’t cost you anything (so they say) and it’ll help a friend out!