I have a confession to make: I don’t really like to travel. I know that’s not popular to say, but there it is. The reasons are at least twofold: I have some anxiety about flying and travel in general. I’m a homebody. I just really enjoy being home. Having said all that, I’ve traveled quite a […]
Every once in a while I’ll venture out to the stores to do some Christmas shopping, but it’s mostly to soak up the Christmas displays and piped-in holiday music more than anything else. Online shopping is just too convenient. And even though Cyber Monday 2013 is in the books, online shopping during the holiday season […]
We’re getting ready to have a new patio put in. Our old patio, made of pavers, was a bit small and was also settling and sloping and just generally needed to be replaced. Here are a couple of pics of our patio before. Part of the process of replacing a patio is, of course, removal […]
I’ve always liked back to school time. I think it has to do with the possibilities of new beginnings. And I have fond memories of picking out new school supplies. Is there anyone that doesn’t remember the smell of a fresh box of crayons? But as I pass parents in the aisles of Target or Wal-Mart, […]
In a little less than two weeks we’ll be putting our daughter on a plan to London, where she will be studying and working a journalism internship for eight weeks. It’s such an amazing opportunity for her, but one full of lots of details and new things to learn about. One of the many things […]
Lots of personal finance advice assumes you have 12 or 24 or 26 equal paychecks each year. But if you’re a person or family with a fluctuating or irregular income, much of that advice won’t work for you. We’re such a family, and if you have income from any of the following sources, chances are you […]
It’s almost St. Patrick’s Day, so let’s talk a little green. Six years ago a blogger named Dawn wrote a list of 25 things she did to save money on her blog, Frugal for Life. (It appears Dawn no longer blogs at FFL, but the blog remains up if you want to check out the […]
When it comes to money, I believe in looking for ways to save money before you look for ways to make more money. And when it comes to saving money, I believe in examining recurring charges before one-time purchases, because the same amount of effort will pay rewards month after month. But it pays to […]
It’s gray and rainy here today, and I’m working on getting our tax information together, so I wanted to quickly pass along these tax resources to you. If You File Your Own Taxes You can complete your federal tax return for free using H&R Block’s online product. State returns are additional. If You Use an […]
Note: This post contains my referral links. See my disclosure policy for more details. I’ve been a satisfied ING Direct (now Capital One 360) savings customer for at least five years now. One of the things I love best about my accounts is how easy it is to create additional savings accounts, once your first […]