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For those who aren’t aware, Valentine’s Day is less than a week away. Begin panic mode if your significant other has high expectations. Thankfully, Valentine’s Day puts more emphasis on the romantic gestures over the dollar amount spent on a gift. Still, you need to put in the effort. Here’s how to woo your significant other on a budget – at the last minute.
Forget Going Out to Eat
Eating out on Valentine’s Day is like toy shopping the day before Christmas. Everything is premium-priced and the place is crowded. Plus, most of the meals are pre-made so the food doesn’t taste as good as it should. Instead, bring the meal home and set up a romantic dinner. Candles and rose petals are inexpensive, but they can go a long way in making a swoon-worthy tablescape. Not an expert in the kitchen? Try hiring someone who is. Find local culinary students or friends that are self-proclaimed Gordon Ramseys. It might cost a lot less than you think, and bonus points if they clean up afterwards. [ continue reading… ]
I used to get a kick out of The Simpson’s Ride commercial each time it aired on television. But when my oldest son began to ask this question repeatedly on an extended road trip, it suddenly wasn’t so funny anymore. In fact, I felt like Homer cruising down the highway, and vowed to do whatever it takes to keep him entertained on subsequent car rides.
And now that we’ll be hitting the pavement soon for a few family visits and mini-vacations, making travel arrangements and packing our bags aren’t the only items on the to-do list. We’ll also be make preparations to keep our children entertained for the long haul.
There aren’t televisions in our headrests and we’d prefer they not spend the entire ride glued to a handheld device. So how can you keep kids entertained on long drives without spending a lot of money?
Here are a few cost-efficient activities, that have been tested by my kids, that you can use to ensure a fun car ride for everyone.
Credit repair services and credit monitoring services often make it a point to dispute negative items on your credit report. This is because negative information about your payment history, and inaccurate information about your credit habits, can damage your credit score. When you dispute these negative items, the creditor that reported them has 30 days to respond. If the reporting company does not, the credit bureau changes or removes the information, and you end up with a better credit score.
However, this credit tactic rarely works as planned. This is because disputing negative items is not a surefire way to have them removed from your credit report. When you dispute negative items, you are asking for a review of the item, checking it for accuracy. If the item is, in fact, accurate, then it will remain on your credit report. While the dispute will not lower your score further, it can represent wasted time and energy. [ continue reading… ]
One of the rules of frugal grocery shopping is to buy in bulk.
Indeed, we’re told to buy larger amounts of the things we like when they are on sale so that we save money in the long run. However, in some cases it’s actually better to forgo buying in bulk.
It’s exhilarating when you finally catch on to the power and freedom that comes from saving money to pay for things rather than using credit cards and loans. But, unless you’re a professional, it can also be overwhelming as you try to keep multiple objects airborne without dropping one (or all) of them.
Sure, you no longer question whether to save a certain percentage of your income every month, but a new question emerges: which goals should I direct the savings to? Just thinking about all the ways you need and want to use your hard-earned savings can quickly lead to discouragement. How will your savings ever stretch far enough to accomplish everything?
The best way to tackle these feelings is to start making lists, evaluating things, and, yes — crunching the numbers. It is possible and realistic to juggle multiple savings goals at once. You just need a plan. [ continue reading… ]
We often think of spring and summer when we think of home buying and selling. Additionally, we assume that selling a home is hard in the winter because of the thin market and fewer buyers.
Research goes against the idea that winter is a bad time to sell, however. A report from Redfin from a couple of years ago found that homes listed during winter months are about 9% more likely to sell, and then sell for about 1.2% more. Not only that, but they sell about one week faster.
Here are some of the reasons Greg Jaeger, vice president at USAA Bank, believes that selling your home during the winter can make sense: [ continue reading… ]
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