Government regulations are about to take effect to get rid of some of the sneakier/more unethical ways credit card companies have of getting extra money out of you. In response to this, credit card companies are raising fees on balance transfers, APRs and other sorts of transactions. But they’re also inventing or implementing brand new fees to make up the ...Read More

Posted in Frugal, Scam Notices No Comments »

I recently had a physical. My routine bloodwork claim was completely denied by my health insurance carrier, which made me responsible for paying nearly $400.  I called them to find out why, and got a surprising answer: the lab had simply used the wrong diagnostic code – if they would resubmit it with the right code, the claim would be ...Read More

Posted in Frugal, Scam Notices 1 Comment »

Sew Mama Sew has a lovely triad of wedding or party favor bags you can make yourself to save money or make use of coordinated fabric left over from other wedding decorations. They include a cone and two types of drawstring bags, all designed to be simple and quick to make, since you’ll probably need quite a few.

(I made a ...Read More

Posted in Crafts, Frugal No Comments »

I decided to do my taxes on Sunday. I thought it would take two hours because even though I have a schedule C and some 1099-Divs, TurboTax has always made it fairly easy in the past.

This year, I tried TurboTax online rather than downloading the software. You set up an account, do your return online, and pay when you’re satisfied ...Read More

Posted in Do It Yourself, Frugal 3 Comments »

So you’re thinking about buying something, or you’re comparing two purchases. You have the ability to pay for it the purchases you’re considering. But you find yourself wondering how to determine whether you can really afford it. Being able to pay for something isn’t exactly the same as being able to afford it. Whether or not you have the cash ...Read More

Posted in Frugal, Personal Development No Comments »

Here’s a problem we all wish we had – what to do if you suddenly come into lots of money.

Do not touch the money for several months. Allow the initial emotion to pass. Get over the initial urge to spend the money on a big house or a fancy car. Live your life as you has before.

The comments are worth ...Read More

Posted in Frugal No Comments »

Once upon a time, before everyone had access to all the cheap sweatshop produced clothes they could afford, people did this fascinating thing with clothes that had developed imperfections, and it was called mending. Froo*Gal sums up what I’m talking about here:

I sent it to the dry cleaners and when I brought it home I noticed that it had about ...Read More

Posted in Crafts, Frugal No Comments »

Before you rip into all the presents, remember that you can repurpose used giftwrap (and boxes) before recycling them. The less torn the wrapping is, the more options you have for repurposing. But if half the fun for kids is actually ripping into the presents, don’t worry: there are plenty of things you can use torn gift paper for, too.

Posted in Frugal, Going Green No Comments »

Christmas is just around the corner, for those of you who celebrate it, and we have DIY ornament crafts, instructions for making gifts, recipes and tips for getting the most out of your holiday season before it gets the better of you.

Since Christmas ornaments make good gifts and stocking stuffers, I’ve lumped all the links to ornaments ...Read More

Posted in Crafts, Do It Yourself, Easy Food, Frugal, Personal Development No Comments »

A lot of people are doing their holiday shopping online this year, and everyone’s looking to save money. One way to boost your savings is to take advantage of the price matching guarantees some online vendors offer – the ones where, if you find your item for a lower price within a certain amount of time after you bought it, ...Read More

Posted in Do It Yourself, Frugal 2 Comments »