Sharing insights since 2007 on carefully saving money, investing, frugal living, coupons, promo codes because the little things matter in achieving financial freedom!
If you haven’t been to your local library lately, you’re missing out on boatloads of free fun. The library isn’t just for books anymore; they’ve progressed with the times and offer tons of activities that you probably pay for — all for free. With summertime approaching, why not save a few bucks by taking advantage of everything your library has to offer?
A Few Library Basics
Nearly anyone can get a library card. You’ll need a current ID with your address. That’s it. Fill out an application, and you can start using the library’s services within minutes. You can also get a card for each of your children, but you’ll be responsible for any charges their accounts incur, so keep track of what they check out and return.
Not all libraries are created equal. While you likely have a library near your home, you should also check out neighboring libraries to see what they offer. For us, our county seat library has the best offerings for children, so we frequent that branch most often. Some of our local branches have gardening clubs, special displays of collections like baseball cards or quilts, large DVD collections, or extra computer stations. Some libraries have quiet gardens for reading or overstuffed chairs tucked into quiet corners. Some are all about kids, so noise isn’t a problem. Make it a point to visit all the libraries in your area to find out what’s available to you. [ continue reading… ]
While my wife and I travel the country as I move around for work, we need to be as frugal as possible. And due to our dog, we also need to be creative with our style of living. The big things that we focus on are: how to travel, where to live, and what to eat.
How to Travel
We often think about our method of transportation, as we need to determine how many cars we’ll need, and how to get them there. This is affected by how much we want to drive, as well as how much other forms of transportation will cost.
When traveling south, we decided we’d need two cars, so we both drove across the country. When I was moved up to the east coast a few weeks ago, we had to decide how to get a car where it needed to be and how we would get ourselves where we needed to be. [ continue reading… ]
There are a number of moving companies that can help you move your possessions to a new location. Unfortunately, there are also a lot of scams.
There are movers who will load up your possessions and take off with everything. There are also scammers who move your things, but then hold onto them until they can extort a higher rate from you. You might keep paying and paying, with your possessions held hostage.
While not everyone on Craigslist is a scammer, the unfortunate truth is that the unwary consumer can be easily snared by ads appearing on online classifieds. Instead of looking on Craigslist or similar sources, ask for recommendations from friends and family. You can also get ideas of what reputable moving companies are available by asking a local real estate agent. There are plenty of sources that can provide you with solid recommendations. [ continue reading… ]
Trading time for money is one of the hardest ways to make cash. But when it’s your job (or hobby, or second job), you must use it wisely or you lose. Since time is finite, every second wasted means dollars gone.
When you waste money, car payments may come up late, rent may be hard to make, or you may not have enough to buy the extras you want. Either way, wasting time hurts your bottom line.
Here are a few ways to help service-based business owners and hobbyists find more time, so they can make more money.
1. Start out with a detailed plan of what you must accomplish each day.
Never go to bed without knowing what you need to do the next morning (or whenever you work your gig). This is your Do-or-Die List. If you don’t do, your business dies, and so does your money. Create a focused plan before you sleep. Then, check it again when you wake up. Make it a habit to check it before you sit at your computer; it can help jog your memory before you get lost in the Facebook rabbit hole. [ continue reading… ]
Though we all know that overdrafting your bank account is bad, it’s also something that we’ve probably done with minimal — if any — consequences. For a few reasons, overdrafting has recently become an easier and more acceptable bad financial habit.
Why Overdrafting Has Become More Common
Overdraft protection
Before overdraft protection, you had to deal with the embarrassment of bounced checks and declined transactions. Although this was less forgiving, it created more motivation to keep close tabs on your checking account. Most banks still charge fines every time you overdraw, but will allow transactions to go through, up to a certain amount, regardless of whether your account currently has the funds to cover it. This is a courtesy known as overdraft protection. [ continue reading… ]
When it comes to kids clothes, I’ve recently changed my mind about dealing with the pileup that always seems to collect at the turn of the seasons. Every fall and spring, I dread the task of sorting through each child’s entire wardrobe to pack away what’s been outgrown, what’s too worn to keep, and what won’t be appropriate for the oncoming season’s weather.
This task is made even more cumbersome because we tend to keep two sets of clothes for each child: one to wear on the farm (work and play clothes) and one to wear on days we leave home (no stains or holes). Keeping up with the laundry, sorting, and inspection of that many clothes can quickly turn into a nightmare.
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