Beating the Recession

This is a sponsored guest post. The economic global recession has now been with us for a while and the effects seem still to be snowballing amongst consumers, rather than improving. Even though in the papers we hear ‘big business’ news and recovery indicators, occasional economic growth and rare nods to a fragile recovery (at [...]

Adding Pizzazz to Your Military Letters

Happy Memorial Day to all of the Veterans, Active Duty Military Personnel, and their Families, Loved Ones, and Friends! Most of you know that my husband and I met while he was in a Cryptologist in the Navy. He was stationed in Japan, and so the first three years of our relationship took place over [...]

Financing Your First Apartment

This is a sponsored guest post from Jessica Bosari, is a personal finance writer for LowIncomeApartmentFinder.com. Careful planning before signing a lease on your first apartment will help keep pizza and beer on the menu rather than resorting to rice and beans. It will give you enough financial wiggle room to eat out and have [...]

Frugal Confessions Friday – Frugal Living

Hello Frugal Confessions Readers! Here’s my frugal confession of the week: I’ve been sending in for lots of rebates lately for products that my household as well as my grandmother’s uses. These include finesse shampoo (my grandmother’s favorite), Nexcare bandages, and Active-On pain relief (my grandmother just had her shoulder replaced and can use all [...]

What Will $5 Buy You on a Flight?

Ever since I boarded a plane for the first time as a sixteen year old foreign exchange student headed to Burgos, Spain I have been in love with flying. Perhaps it is because there is nothing else to do once you board the cabin but to sleep, read, write, or relax. I get to turn [...]

Save Money on Stocking Up this Hurricane Season

Hurricane season starts on June 1st—are you ready?                 I first moved to Houston three days before Hurricane Ike hit. I had lost my job in June of 2008, which was the only thing keeping me in South Florida. Paul had lost his job just two weeks before me, and he was the first to [...]

Frugal Confessions Friday – Frugal Living

Welcome Frugal Confessions Readers! Here is my frugal confession of the week: Unfortunately, Paul’s grandmother passed away early Mother’s Day, unexpectedly. She lives in Arkansas, and it is an eight hour car ride. With gas prices at about $4.00 per gallon, it was nice that Paul’s brother rode with us and helped us to pay for the trip. [...]

The Price of Gasoline Alone does Not Paint the Whole Picture

For the last several years gasoline prices have been steadily rising, peaking, and then slowly declining to a new and uncomfortable norm. According to a recent article by CNN Money, American households have spent $368.09 on average on gasoline in April 2011, or 9% of household income (using the median national income). This was with [...]

Budgetary Cuts Force Employer Creativity

The impact of budgetary cuts has been felt by most of us at the state agency where I am employed. Some upcoming training has been cancelled, seminars that used to be four days of travel are now condensed into one, we are being asked to perform duties outside of our normal job responsibilities, and the [...]

Free Oil Changes for Life: My Experience with Mystery Shopping

Mystery Shopping is one of those things that have intrigued me for years. The first time I heard the phrase was back in college from my aunt who works in marketing. She matter-of-factly threw into a conversation that companies pay people to shop. Woah—hold the phone. Wouldn’t anyone be intrigued by that? All kinds of [...]

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