budget

Love My Timeshare

by Alison Moore Smith on January 11, 2012 · 3 comments

People say you shouldn’t buy timeshares. I’m not so sure. When I was a tween, my parents bought two. One in Snowbird, Utah — a ski resort packing some of the greatest snow on earth — the other smack dab on the beach in San Diego. All these decades later, our family still uses them. [...]

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A Penny Saved is a Step Toward Your Financial Goals

by Alison Moore Smith on January 2, 2012 · 3 comments

Whatever your financial goals are in 2012 — whether it is to become debt-free, create an emergency savings account, or buy a mountain cabin — your grandma’s advice still holds true. A penny saved is a penny earned. Every single time you save money on something you need, it’s as good as earning the same [...]

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Online Coupons for Holiday Savings

by Alison Moore Smith on December 21, 2011 · 3 comments

Never, ever do I make a major purchase — and rarely even one over 30 or 40 dollars — without doing some internet comparison shopping. Using a shopping bot, I can compare prices all over the internet. If you haven’t done this before, you’ll be amazed at how vastly different prices on the exact same [...]

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College Poor

by Alison Moore Smith on September 28, 2011 · 2 comments

Help With College My husband and I have a total of 14 years of college education. That’s a lot of tuition and scads of (exorbitantly-priced) books and (tiny, white-walled) apartment rental and hot dogs and ramen soup. That’s a long time to be poor. It’s even longer when you have have two children while making [...]

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Budget Birthday Parties

by Alison Moore Smith on September 27, 2011 · 2 comments

We are seriously into themed birthday parties around here. While I only have two kids under 12 now, even the older kids still get into the mix sometimes. We’ve been doing big birthday parties for over 23 years now (not coincidentally, since Jessica’s first birthday). Considering that we had two children before completing graduate school, [...]

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Budget Your Auto Repairs

by Alison Moore Smith on March 26, 2011 · 5 comments

This post brought to you by AutoAssure. All opinions are 100% mine. We haven’t purchased a car in eight years. We have a 2002 Hyundai Sante Fe and a 2003 Ford Excursion. (How many vehicles seat a family of eight?) The former has over 100,000 miles on it and the latter is running along in [...]

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Entertainment Book Coupons – $17 Sale

by Alison Moore Smith on March 16, 2011 · 4 comments

We’ve been using the Entertainment coupon books since we were married in 1985. (In Utah they are often referred to as “Happenings books.”) As struggling students the only way we could spring for a real night out on the town, was if we got a deep discount. (Seriously, if you’ve been in graduate school with [...]

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Hawaii House Rentals

by Alison Moore Smith on March 15, 2011 · 8 comments

During the 10 years we lived in Boca Raton, Florida, Sam went to Hawaii numerous times on business. Each time, he invited me along. We would pay for the airfare with frequent flier miles and I could fill the other half of his hotel room for free. The only real expense would be food. But [...]

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Easy Lunchboxes Save Money On Trips

by Alison Moore Smith on February 25, 2011 · 27 comments

In two hours my daughter, Alana, will be leaving to catch a 5:00 am bus to Idaho with her ballroom dance team for a competition. Performing tours are not cheap and food is another expense. Since they’ll be riding the bus for a number of hours, I packed up some food for the trip. I [...]

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Do the Reuse Challenge

by Alison Moore Smith on September 28, 2010 · 2 comments

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Aladdin. All opinions are 100% mine. When I was in second grade, Mrs. Black talked to us about litter. This was back in the day of public service announcements  featuring Smoky the Bear (“Only you can prevent forest fires”) and Woodsy Owl (“Give a [...]

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Custom Home Building: Busy Like Crazy

by Alison Moore Smith on August 11, 2010 · 1 comment

If you’re thinking the house building has come to a stand still, think again. The reason I’m not posting about it — or about much of anything — is because I’m too busy with the details. Painting, cabinets, trim, hardware, flooring, decking, landscaping, fixtures. Not to mention stupid budget overruns that never should have happened. It [...]

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Make Money Online

by Alison Moore Smith on July 20, 2010 · 2 comments

Looking to add to your bottom line? Aren’t we all! Of course, the million dollar question — literally — is how to go about it? Have you considered some kind of internet marketing? It’s one of the best home business ideas around. In 1994, I started an educational products company for homeschoolers called Bright Spark [...]

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Local Discount Coupons

by Alison Moore Smith on June 21, 2010 · 2 comments

If you’re looking for real discounts on services, products, and events in your community, I’ve found them. A friend just posted this site on an email list, so I clicked over to check it out. It’s free to sign up and you’ll get a daily alert, informing you of an unbeatable deal being offered in [...]

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Gas Line Bill Sent – Over Budget

by Alison Moore Smith on February 11, 2010 · 6 comments

The man from Questar dropped by and consulted with us about line and meter location. We’ll be placing it in between the laundry room wall and the hall wall in the basement. The listed appliances with accompanying BTUs: 1 boiler: 178,000 1 barbecue: 20,000 1 dryer: 22,000 2 fireplaces: 70,000 3 furnaces: 300,000 1 range: [...]

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