When you purchase food, you are paying not only for the part of the product you intend to eat but also for the packaging, the bags, wrappers, and boxes which usually go straight in the trash. While plastic wrap and bags have little use beyond stuffing them full of trash, cardboard food cartons have a [...]
2010 03 13

Expansion Difficulty/Complexity: Medium-Hard This is a credit card add-on for the game of Monopoly wherein players have both cash and credit and may opt to “charge” certain expenses in lieu of paying cash in order to keep the cash flow for investing in property and buildings. For being such a careful money saver in real life, [...]
2010 03 12

Lesson 1: When Not to DIY In the past year, we only went out an average of 1-2 times per month to run errands and our garage door therefore got very little exercise. One day last month, when I was leaving for my monthly grocery shopping trip, the door wouldn’t close. I left it to Madoline [...]
2010 03 11

I participate in a couple of online forums where members have been eagerly discussing the various ways in which they plan to spend their tax rebates this year — $300 for retirees, $600 for most individuals, $1,200 for married couples and $300 for each child per family. While some have spoken of saving it or [...]
2010 03 10

For years, savvy travelers have been booking flights as many as 6 months ahead of time to take advantage of early booking discounts. This year, however, what used to be a smart move could end up costing travelers more money as airlines begin to cut back and cancel flights this fall. According to Airline Cuts [...]
2010 03 09

Next to the TV, DVD, flushing toilet, hot shower, computer and properly working automatic garage door, the internet is one of the best inventions ever. In fact, living in the desert as I do, I couldn’t get along without the internet. Even with the rising cost of internet service, the number of things it allows [...]
2010 03 08

Now that tax time is coming around, I’ve noticed an increase in tax related scam emails in  my inbox and spam folder. They come in various forms with different sender names and subjects, claiming to be important notifications about your taxpayer account, your tax refund, and new this year, your economic stimulus or bailout check. By [...]
2010 03 07

As most of you must know, the California wildfires have been getting worse with each passing year. According to Peter Sanders of the Wall Street Journal, fire season has barely begun, but in the past 3 weeks, the fires have consumed 631,000 acres of and $112 million in State funds. In the past 12 months, [...]
2010 03 06

It is not easy to be young, single and frugal these days when designer clothing and accessories, iPods and Blackberrys are king, and being cool and having fun is dependent on how much money you can spend. Frugal is not a word often associated with the first 2 traits – young and single – and [...]
2010 03 05

I’ve seen several threads on forums where individuals in debt have posted a general plea for help in reducing their debt and most people simply respond by telling them to cut spending. But how to cut spending and decide what to cut and what not to cut? This is where you have to discern luxuries [...]
2010 03 04

These Miniature Gift Baskets are a part of our Freebies series of Printable Gifts and Accessories by Madoline Hatter. They are great for gifts, flowers, treats or decorative purposes. These templates are provided for personal non-commercial use and may not be published elsewhere. If you want to share this with your friends, please link to this [...]
2010 03 03

A few months ago, I received a letter from our ISP Charter Communications. The good news was that everyone in our area who subscribes to their High Speed Internet was getting upgraded to the 5 Meg service and we would be surfing [I forget how many] times faster than dial-up. The bad news was that [...]
2010 03 02

The topic for this month’s PF Bloggers Group Writing Project, “Poorest Time of Your Life” which was decided about 5 months ago, comes at a somewhat inopportune time. When our group picked out these topics, whoever it was that suggested this topic must have thought that we must all be in a position where the [...]
2010 03 01

Playing the Piano is a Privilege (Not a Chore) An interesting experiment would be to forbid a young child to ever touch the piano, after all it is a very expensive instrument. One can easily imagine how much higher the piano instantly rises in that child's estimation. One then promises the child that he or she will be “allowed” to begin learning the piano at a certain age. Even better then, if someone in the family—a parent, older sibling or cousin—were to frequently play very charming pieces of the kind accessible to children. Pieces from the Romantic era are very suitable...
2010 02 28

Just a reminder for our American readers that new and increased USPS (United States Postal Service) postage rates take effect this coming Monday May 12th, 2008. If you are planning to ship any packages via USPS, now is the time to do so – today Friday May 9th or tomorrow Saturday May 10th – especially [...]
2010 02 27

Vinegar is the frugally-, environmentally- and health-minded person’s best friend. Vinegar derives its potency from acetic acid, CH3COOH. The acidic nature of vinegar gives it the ability to kill bacteria, dissolve unwanted substances, and kill and deter insects and pests. Keep in mind that vinegar will corrode certain metals if not wiped away promptly. Because [...]
2010 02 27

Apologies for not posting anything of substance yesterday or today, but due to feeling a little under the weather these few days, I thought I would post a summary of recommended reading for those of you who are new to this blog, and a few news items from the personal finance blogosphere. From Our Fourpence Worth Father’s [...]
2010 02 26

Our freebies today are mini carrier gift bags in Wall Street Journal headline and print from the July 12-13, 2008 Weekend Edition. The headline reads: “Talks on Mortage Titans Continue.” This makes a cute gift or decorative item for a friend with interests in finance, newspapers and all things quaint. In our sample pictures, we show [...]
2010 02 25

Having been operating an online business for the past 2.5 years, I have almost come to take my knowledge of mailing and shipping options for granted and consider it common knowledge. However, a recent incident at my local USPS Post Office made be realize that this is not the case and that a lot of [...]
2010 02 24

An amusing excerpt from the popular novel Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie in which Mr. Darling calculates, upon the arrival of his children, and speculates whether he can afford to keep them.
2010 02 23