Sharing insights since 2007 on carefully saving money, investing, frugal living, coupons, promo codes because the little things matter in achieving financial freedom!
Two weeks ago, I wrote about how hoarding ends up costing us more time and money. I loved reading all of the comments, and it’s obviously something we all struggle with. I just wanted to share a little bit of my personal tragedy this year and how beneficial it’s been for me not to turning to overspending, shopping, and hoarding belongings.
This past January, my mom committed suicide. She babysat my daughter on January 5th, we gave her hugs and told her we loved her, and then on January 6th she drove off a cliff. She’d been struggling with a bi-polar disorder for quite some time, but it’s still hard to have her die without explanation, or even a goodbye.
When a family member or loved one passes away without any warning, there’s often quite a bit of personal items that need to be sorted through and gotten rid of.
How do you deal with it? What do you do when you’re facing a tough life event and want to overspend, shop, or hoard your way to comfort?
I do a large portion of my holiday shopping (or any shopping, for that matter) online. Not only is it more convenient because I live about an hour away from the closest city, but I often find precisely what I need for a lot less.
But there are, of course, some trade-offs in online shopping that aren’t as optimal as shopping in a physical store. I’ve learned to deal with this medium so make it not just convenient but cost effective. Many of these tips I’ve learned mostly by trial and error, and wasted my share of money along the way.
So, if you’re new to shopping online (or even a veteran like me), here’s some wisdom that will hopefully help you avoid some of the pitfalls of shopping online.
The holiday season is in full swing and with that comes the joyous music, sweet smells of delicious food, and precious family time. The holidays are a great time to relax and prepare for the New Year.
However, this time of year has also turned into a consumerist frenzy, with many people stressing about money, running around trying to find the perfect gifts, and some even going into further debt to pay for all holiday expenditures.
But there’s a better way! You can say “no” to holiday spending without being a grinch. I know this because of my personal experience.
Frustrated with not getting the cable or satellite TV service you really want? Are you tired of wasting money on channels you don’t watch? It’s time to stop wasting money and start getting the value you pay for.
It’s all too common to let the cable or satellite TV bill sneak out of control until you have no idea what your bill includes anymore. This is why it’s important to evaluate all your household expenses (not just your cable TV bill) and make certain you…
Know what you’re paying for
Are actually getting what you’re paying for
Aren’t paying for things you don’t want
When it comes to cable or satellite TV, the channels are packaged together and services sometimes bundled, making it easy for customers to be unsure of what they’re being charged for when the bill arrives every month.
Even if you started out with a plan that was right at the time you signed on, introductory offers may have expired, causing your bill to creep upward, unnoticed.
In addition, your tastes, lifestyle, and television programming has likely changed over time. For these reasons you want to re-evaluate your TV plan on a regular basis. Don’t know where to start? I recently followed the case of a particular cable TV customer who decided her bill was higher than she wanted it to be.
When researching expensive baby buys during pregnancy, it’s usually the mother-to-be who makes her requests known. However, with our first baby, it was my husband that spent hours researching costly cameras and asking if we could buy one.
The price tag was $1,600 for a Canon DSLR, which he assured, would be worth the investment as our child grows up. That is quite the cost for a so-called “baby item”.
In fact, I don’t think I spent that much the entire first year of raising our baby (thanks to used items and cloth diapers). After purchasing our new Canon camera though, I admit that my husband was right.
It was a good investment for us and has saved us hundreds of dollars on photography costs over the years.
But is buying a new camera a good investment in general? Especially with smartphone cameras and other alternatives that are a lot cheaper?
I recently sold my home for $173,500 and this, combined with my move across the country, has me thinking a lot about home affordability. While I’m not anxious to buy again anytime soon, I was interested to see how my new local real estate market compares with the market I left behind a few months ago.
First of all, I found there isn’t really anything in my new ZIP code that compares exactly to the home size, year built, and lot size I had previously owned. The closest I could find was a condo-type home (without the large yard we had) for $275,000.
The stand-alone homes with square footage similar to ours are 3 BD/2 BA homes, as opposed to the 4 BD/3 BA home we had in Utah. But these homes are right around $300,000 to $475,000. Buying a home in our new area, (which is part of the Philadelphia metro area) is much more expensive than it was in our semi-rural neighborhood in Utah.
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