My oldest son moved into an apartment with two roommates a couple of weeks ago, and his budget for furniture was essentially zero (good thing his old man was there, huh?). He lives in another city, and I was returning home two days later, so we had to furnish his new pad in a rush […]
Ah, autumn is in the air, and with it visions of tailgating in the parking lot of State U.! Nothing beats a chunk of fire-grilled meat and a few beers in the company of fellow travelers just before your team thumps the competition on the old gridiron. But one thing can put a serious damper […]
My son and I were in the grocery store the other day looking for cereal. At 15, he’s a pretty savvy shopper, so he immediately directed my attention to a display of generic, bagged cereal instead of the brand name boxes. On that particular trip we ended up buying Rice Chex, the real branded one, […]
The summer camping season is in full swing, and you might be thinking about packing up the family truckster and heading to the woods. But don’t think that skipping the hotel means your forest vacation is going to be cheap: camping can put a serious ding in your wallet! Here are six tips to soften […]
Saving money is probably one of the last things on your mind when a loved one dies. But when the drama ends and day-to-day life resumes, you will be relieved if the bills are less than expected. Funeral expenses can easily reach $10, 000 or more; here are six tips to reduce that figure. 1. […]
My oldest child just graduated from high school, thus concluding an exciting, but often expensive, youth sports career. Over the past decade he has played hockey, baseball, soccer, football, wrestling, and basketball. In two sports — hockey and baseball — he played on “traveling” teams (read “very expensive” teams). But even the non-traveling teams were […]
The other day at my son’s baseball game, I got to talking to another dad about where he gets his hair cut. Yes, this is definitely something that moms talk about more than dads, but I think the conversation started when I told my wife I was going to cut our kids’ hair myself to […]
When you buy something new, you naturally expect it to be perfect. Who wants a refrigerator with a ding in the door, or a loaf of bread nearing its sell-by date? Well, it turns out a lot of people want those things, because they know they can save tons of money that way! Here are […]
Money problems are the top reason so many marriages collapse, people say. So if you want your marriage to collapse quickly, why not start the money problems early? Here are nine tips for blowing your wedding budget, leading to more stress than any young couple can handle: 1. Plan your wedding for a Saturday Saturdays […]
As the weather grows warmer, many people start thinking about unloading those assorted, needless items they’ve accumulated over the last year by holding a garage sale. How many wicker baskets and bud vases does one family need, after all? Most garage sales fail to produce the windfall the proprietors are seeking however, because they just […]