There’s an old adage from my parent’s generation that too often seems to be forgotten in our disposable society. Use it up, Wear it out, Make it do, Or do without. Believe me, my parents lived this verse! When I cleaned out my dad’s house to sell last fall (he moved in with us after [...]
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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