Money

Fighting Food Inflation

Inflation is real. Prices went up. A lot. Here's how you can win... My grandfather used to tell me about the size of the Hershey bar he could get for a nickel. Today, a nickel won't pay the tax on a candy bar so tiny it won't even ruin a diet. We measure the...

Thrifting is Cool Now

I started thrifting when it wasn't cool... I got my prom dress thrifting at Salvation Army. It was $19 and straight out of the 70's at a time when we were still trying hard to forget the 70's. There are some dresses that are timeless. Take the little black Audrey...

Do You Know Your Credit Score?

There's no excuse not to, In the old days you could write to the credit agencies and get your report in the mail for free, but now, you can check immediately. Transunion, and Experian, the two main credit reporting agencies, now have apps. You can also use apps like...

Paying Off Student Loans Could Tank Your Credit Score

"Should I pay off my student loans?" Little known fact: When you pay off student loans, your credit score drops. A lot. I know. I finally paid mine off after 27 years. I’ve never taken a forbearance or deferred them. I overpaid when I could. This was a major...

Are You Frugal or Cheap?

Are you frugal, a little too frugal, or downright cheap? It's an important question. I've studied it over the years. "I don't know how you do it," a friend said. "I wish I could." Lots of people looked at my spending and wished they could be as cheap as me. "You can!"...

How to Use Free and Cheap Sites Safely

Need to save this holiday season? Or all year round? It's two days before Thanksgiving as I write this. Seems like we just got done with Back-to-School sales. Then, Halloween candy hit us like a diabetic brick, and we didn't even get Thanksgiving this year--Black...

How Much Is Your Time Worth? How to Charge for Your First Consulting Job

If you're thinking "Boy, I'd like to ditch these ramen noodle lunches and start buying some steak," you may be a soon-to-be-not-broke teacher if you learn how to charge for consulting. Consulting, freelancing, "side-hustle," the gig economy...No matter what you call...

Use These 2-Minute Tips to Save Big on Things You’re Already Buying

Need some strategies to save on things you already need to buy? "We're out of dog stuff." "Stuff" is notoriously expensive heartworm and flea meds. That stuff adds up. What adds up more? Fleas. So, it was time to buy. With coupons on the site and Black Friday...

Things You Pay Too Much For: Storage

Do you have storage overkill? If you have more than two of these: Dropbox, Google, Box, an external hard drive, and Apple Storage, you're paying way too much for storage you can never fill. And you're paying every one of those bills. Remember when your hard drive...

“Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.”