Blog
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Improve Public Speaking By Breaking Bad Habits
I’m going to admit deep, dark secret. As loyal readers, I trust you not to be too harsh. Here goes… I judge people based on how they speak. Ok, ok, I know it’s bad. I try not to, but sometimes I just can’t help it. Let me explain. I don’t expect people to drop…
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Stretch Your Food Dollar: Does Clipping Coupons Make Sense?
I’ve been writing the Stretch Your Food Dollar series for almost a year. During that time, we’ve talked about a lot of things: How to Set a Food Budget For Your Household Shopping with a List The Benefits of Frozen Produce Canning and Preserving Making Your Own Bread Proper Food Storage One thing we haven’t…
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How Much Does it Cost to Feed a Family of Four?
In February 2007 we adopted two kids (then ages 9 and 11) and I decided at the last minute to take parental leave. It was an unplanned move and we had no contingency fund set aside to cover the sudden loss of 2/3 of my income while simultaneously doubling our family size. Kids are…
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When the economy gets tough, people cook (in rented kitchens).
We’ve all seen the lists telling us what the Top 25 Careers to pursue in a recession, but here’s a new idea. Cook. Bake. Boil. Blend. Mix. Create. The tough economy is inspiring creativity in the kitchen. The ‘œincubator’ kitchen, that is. Yesterday, the Los Angeles Times featured a story about Chef’s Kitchens Co-op in…
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My Financial Implosion: Better Decisions
‘œIn any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.’ ‘“ Theodore Roosevelt Although it would be easy to blame my financial implosion on a variety of reasons, such as a poor economy,…
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ETF’s vs. Index funds: The good, the bad, and the ugly
An index fund is a mutual fund that owns all the stocks in a particular index. The index could be the S&P 500, the NASDAQ 1000, the MSCI EAFE, or any of a hundred other indexes. If you want your portfolio to have 80% domestic stocks and 20% international, then you could invest those proportions…
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The Real Estate Market Shows Significant Signs of Optimism
Just as the busiest season of the year for residential real estate gets underway for springtime, fresh data from a variety of convincing and reliable sources gives the market renewed hope. While home prices have indeed deteriorated, the silver lining underlying all that vanquished equity is that prices are now very attractive to buyers. Most…
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Save Money on Student Loans with Paperless Billing
Want to save money on your student loans? Register for paperless billing with Sallie Mae, and you could earn up to $25,000 in student loan forgiveness. The giveaway ends on April 31st, so you’d better log into your account today and git-r-dun. You can even earn additional entries by signing up for automatic bill pay…
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4 ways to save money by buying generic / store brands
I can remember growing up and opening up cupboards to a wonderful display of color, as long as it was black and white only (there was the occasional blue or green as I recall also, but mostly black). There would be the occasion issue come up where quality was lacking, so she would just move…
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