Emergency Funds for College Graduates
May 23, 2009
Emergency funds are for old married people, not recent college graduates, right? Just scraping by financially is an art form perfected by many college students. Creative ways to earn extra money in college and spend as little as possible helped you make it through school. Now that you’re leaving college and looking for a job it’s time to start [...]
Renting Movies Online with Blockbuster and Netflix
January 27, 2009
Renting movies online was the topic of a piece on NPR yesterday that covered the cost of going to the movie theater vs renting movies. “Trading down” was the term they used to describe the increase in the number of people who were renting movies from Netflix or Blockbuster in order to save money on [...]
New Years Action Plan
January 1, 2009
New Years resolutions are no good unless you take action on them. Rather than make a long list of improvements I’d like to make this year, I’m going to make three specific resolutions and detail how I’ll achieve them. Exercise Four Days a Week Problem Managing my career, spending family time, and running this site [...]
10 Hidden Holiday Costs People Overlook in Their Budget
December 16, 2008
I ran across an article on CNBC about the top 10 hidden costs associated with the holidays, and it struck a chord with me, because I often overlook these expenses during the holiday season. Here is the list from the article and my take on each of them. 1. Holiday meals/gifts for hosts/entertaining My wife [...]
Save Money on Video Games – Video Game Rental to Online Games
December 6, 2008
Video games are not my area of expertise. When I was a kid I used to love Castlevania, Tecmo Bowl, and Contra; then I wasted hours in college playing Mario Kart and FIFA Soccer in between classes and just hanging out in the dorms. I haven’t really played many new video games or computer games since then, I know, [...]
Save Money on Movie Rentals – From Free Movies to Blockbuster Online
December 5, 2008
Renting a movie to watch curled up on a warm couch is a favorite weekend treat on cold winter evenings. Saving money on movie rentals is a matter of balancing new releases and older movies, title selection, and convenience. Free Movies You can rent free movies from most public libraries. In my experience the selection of [...]
Save Money at Restaurants – Tips for Spending Less When Eating Out
December 4, 2008
Saving money on your restaurant bill is simply a matter of doing several small things that can add up to big savings. I cover most of them last year in how to cut your restaurant bill big time but I’ll cover a few of them here and add in one that I missed. Main Course & Appetizers [...]
Save Money at the Movie Theatre with Discounted & Free Tickets
December 2, 2008
Who doesn’t love love going to the movies? There is something special about watching a great movie at the movie theater for the first time, rather than seeing it on television. There’s something mystical about watching it with a crowd of people, booming sound, and a picture that’s 50 feet long and 20 feet high. [...]
Save Money on Your Television Bill
December 1, 2008
Watching TV is a favorite past time of many people in the US, the problem is your television bill can get expensive quickly if you’re not careful about managing your TV costs. Here are some tips to help you save money on TV: Bundle Your Cable Services Many companies run $99 dollar promotions to bundle your cable, broadband [...]
Christmas Budgeting – Building A Christmas Fund
November 10, 2008
Halloween is over, Thanksgiving is around the corner, and the biggest shopping season of the year is close to follow. The shopping in November and December is what keeps financial planners and debt counselors employed. Budgeting for Christmas Gifts Many people go nuts with Christmas and holiday shopping. I know I’m guilty of it; I tend [...]