Blog
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It’s worth dressing up a dresser
Last spring I decided to upgrade my old dresser. It was from Target, and chosen swiftly during the sea change that is post-college life. Darkly paneled, with brushed steel handles, the dresser looked nice enough sitting on the sterile Target shelves. I’ve used it for four solid years now and despite a couple of scratches…
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Cash For Clunkers Is A Lemon
What brought this train of thought about was Nina’s post and then Alex’s post on the “Cash For Clunkers” bill… and a bit of a rant too… sorry… but I really hate it when our elected idiots don’t think things through. The idea is not even a good one… unless you’re a bank or love…
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Fee Free Weekends in National Parks
On August 15 – 16, 2009 the United States National Park System will offer a fee-free weekend at over 100 National Parks. This is an incredible savings as the fees typically begin at $10 per car but can run over $35 per car. For the weekend, almost every state has a National Park, National Historical…
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Bike Commuting: Maintenance Resources
So last week I gave a basic overview of how to fix up a bike, but if you need a little more here are some additional resources for curing what ails your bike. As one DIY repair shop pointed out, “Since it’s your hide that will get injured when the bike falls apart, learn how…
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Stretch Your Food Dollar: Are You in a Food Rut?
One of the challenges of sticking to a food budget is that you sometimes get in a food rut. It’s really easy to budget if you buy the same things each week – especially if you’re a solo homo. But it can also get boring. I mean, how many times can you eat chili, spaghetti,…
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What I wish I’d done about money ‘“ a short list for my younger selves
Age makes us time travellers in our own bodies. Propelled into the future, we see changes and miracles unfold, events we never could have predicted and circumstances develop that our younger selves couldn’t have anticipated. The one problem is that we can’t go back in time and tell ourselves how it all worked out. This…
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Cash-for-Clunkers is Working, Give the Gov’t Credit
There has been a lot of discussion, and spin, going on about the Cash-for-Clunkers program. And it’s unfortunate that the only “journalist” who can cut through all the b.s. is John Stewart. The program has been an unlikely success, both on the economic and environmental fronts, and Republicans won’t allow the government to show it…
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A tutorial on 529 college savings plans
My financial advisor scheduled my midyear review for tomorrow. In addition to our general discussion, I told her that I needed advice on 529 plans and saving for Sam’s college education. I figured it would help if I did a little research on my own so I could speak intelligently about the program and ask…
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My Financial Implosion: Recovery is Possible
‘œHealing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity.’ ‘“Hippocrates Just over ten days ago, just as I was getting ready for my vacation, I got a very surprising letter from my credit card company. It read: Congratulations. We’ve increased your credit line to $17,840. It’s our way…
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