E Stands For Excellent

February 8, 2008 · Filed Under · 8 Comments 

E for ExcellentNow this is flattering. Stephanie over at Stop the Ride! honored me with the Excellent Blog Award. I always thought Stephanie was a little off, and this confirms it! ;-) So I guess I am suppose to pass this along to 10 other blogs that I find excellent. Not hard to do as I have a proficiency for sucking up to blogs I like. Thus, I have picked 10 blogs I would classify as Excellent. So here we go:

  • Gather Little By Little – Blog written by a father of 6 kids! I always find his posts interesting, plus, anyone who can find time to blog and raise 6 kids deserves a SHOUT OUT!
  • Sense To Save - Kacie’s blog has some great budgeting techniques and I like how she has learned to make money when she shops. Sweet!
  • Being Frugal - Lynnae’s blog always inspires me to keep focused on the things that really matter in life. Great read, go check it out.
  • Mommy Gets Paid - LJ always lists great freebies from around the web. I had no idea most of these freebies existed. You just have to know where to look and LJ certainly does. Worth a look.
  • Cash Money Life - I have been reading Patrick’s blog for a couple months now and I find his posts and tips on personal finance very well done.
  • Brip Blap – Steve, AKA Brip Blap, never fails to deliver blog posts that inspire and make me use my noodle.
  • Four Pillars - Written by a couple Canadians, Four Pillars offers great posts about hockey and ice fishing. Um, oh, wait, I mean investing and personal finance. Always a great read.
  • Uncommon Cents - One of the easier to read personal finance blogs I have stumbled across.
  • Finance and Fat - This blog is about “Some dude trying to get out of debt and lose weight.” As a guy who has struggled with weight and finances as well, I find this blog to be very honest and refreshing.
  • Punny Money - I have been enjoying Nick’s quest to score 4 Nintendo Wii systems in four weeks. I especially liked his meeting with the foreign dude behind his local Toys R Us. Hilarious!

So all of you Excellent Bloggers, feel free to pass the love to some of your favorite blogs or just go away and speak nothing of this!

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50 Valentine’s Ideas That Won’t Break The Bank

February 6, 2008 · Filed Under · 22 Comments 

Valentine Gift IdeasOK guys, we have a little over a week until Valentine’s Day. Still plenty of time to come up with something special for her. I have been working on this list for awhile, many of these ideas I have done personally and my wife loved them. Some are actual ‘things’ and many are special touches that you can do to brighten the day of your special Valentine. Good luck guys, and remember, it is often the thought that counts more than a very expensive necklace with no emotional attachment behind it. Make her feel special and do the unexpected! Here we go, drum roll please:

  1. Make her a music mix with songs that remind you of her.
  2. Wash her car and leave a nice note inside.
  3. Leave stick-it notes around the house; write the things you love about her on them.
  4. Organize and clean her bathroom.
  5. Pick up the kids from school and give her some quiet time in the afternoon.
  6. Set up a bubble bath for her with candles and her favorite book.
  7. Do the laundry and put the clothes away.
  8. Clean out and organize the pantry.
  9. Make her breakfast; serve her in bed.
  10. Give her a back massage certificate. You do the massage.
  11. Vacuum the house.
  12. Dust the house.
  13. Do the grocery shopping and make dinner for her.
  14. Surprise her at work with lunch, go for a picnic.
  15. Leave a few love letters around the house.
  16. Play hooky for part of the day and spend time with her.
  17. Wear your silk red boxers and dance for her. (I never did this)
  18. Stop at Starbucks and get her favorite drink.
  19. Open the door for her all day long.
  20. Dinner date? Come to the front door and pretend it is your first date.
  21. Make her favorite dessert.
  22. Get her favorite jewelry cleaned; do it yourself. (not hard)
  23. Flirt with her all day long.
  24. Heat her towel in the dryer and have it ready when she gets out of the shower in the morning.
  25. Paint her toe nails. (Bull Durham anyone?)
  26. Organize the 2 messiest drawers or cupboards in the house that drive her crazy.
  27. Re-enact your first date as close as possible.
  28. Go see a matinee movie together.
  29. Clean out the refrigerator and put her favorite Jamba Juice smoothie inside.
  30. Finish that “honey-do” list that is 6 months old!
  31. Opt for her favorite plant instead of flowers that will have to be thrown out in a few days.
  32. Write her a love poem.
  33. Give her extra time to herself; take the kids to allow this to happen.
  34. Leave her love messages on her cell phone and home phone.
  35. Make her a homemade Valentines Card out of red construction paper.
  36. Rent a movie that you would typically not like, but she would. (Anything with Matthew McConaughey!)
  37. Use red lipstick and write something romantic on the bathroom mirror.
  38. Take her on date and not tell her anything about it. Take her to where you first met. (if possible)
  39. Set up a foot soak for her; play her favorite music while she soaks.
  40. Give the kids a bath and get them in bed by yourself; give her the night off.
  41. Wash the dishes, load the dishwasher, don’t let her lift a finger.
  42. Buy 3 of her favorite magazines and put them by the bathtub with some candles.
  43. Clean the toilets. The one job she hates more than anything else!
  44. Get some paint swatches and offer to paint a room in the house how ever she wants.
  45. Vacuum out her car.
  46. Give her a foot massage.
  47. Fill her car with red and white balloons. Blow them up yourself.
  48. Hide her favorite candy bars around the house. (Don’t hide them really well!)
  49. If she pays the bills, do it for her, and then balance the checkbook.
  50. And last but not least, combine any variation of the above 49. For example, clean the toilet while you are giving her a foot massage. Oh wait, bad example, but you know what I mean! Have fun with it and be creative!

Feel free to add your favorite Valentine’s Day gift ideas!

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Do You Want Hash Browns With Your Socks?

February 5, 2008 · Filed Under · 8 Comments 

dog_chew.jpgThanks to Lynnae for putting together the 111th Festival of Frugality and providing the inspiration for this story!

Once upon a time, I had a friend who was a very frugal guy. He was known to pick up pennies off the ground in hopes of building an emergency fund. Some called him cheap, some called him smart. One thing was for sure, he was a great friend and his socks smelled great! I once had the opportunity to smell his socks when I was going through his closet looking for a suit that might fit me so I could borrow. I am not sure if he cleaned his socks in maple syrup or not, but the smell reminded me of this french toast dish my Mom use to make. It was kind of embarrassing when he walked into his closet and I had his socks in my mouth. He said, “my dog likes to chew on my socks, but what the heck are you doing!” Totally embarrassed, I mumbled, “oh well, umm, yeah, I noticed your dog chewing on them earlier and so….I was just curious…”  Weak, but he bought it. Being the great friend that he was, he gave me a great explanation on how to lower my vet bills and he never mentioned the encounter again. What a guy!

But what I really remember were the great frugal tips that he swore by, and shared with me from time to time. He knew I was struggling with debt and one day he sat me down, set aside his Origami, and explained to me how he saves money paying his bills every month. He also explained how I needed to build some self discipline when making big buying decisions. He then pulled out some olive oil, lifted his shirt, and started rubbing it on his stomach. He was a very eccentric guy. Kind of a Howard Hughes type. I got so I did not even question the things he did. I realized that he was not a miser at all. In fact he was wise beyond his years and was one of the happier people I have ever met. He was quite athletic as well, his favorite player was Tom Brady, and every Saturday he would put on his football uniform, stuff really clean, raw fruit in his pants and jersey and head to the local park for a pick-up game with these guys. The game was always a blow out and needless to say, he lived happily ever after on his yacht! The End.

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Anatomy Of A Great Deal

February 4, 2008 · Filed Under , · 2 Comments 

rather_dollarsign.jpgI am obviously a big proponent of online shopping. Having run this coupon site for a few years, I have figured out how to combine coupons with deals for big savings. Not very difficult, you just have to know which sites to use. My wife and I do almost all our shopping for Christmas and birthday gifts online. I hate the mall and everything that goes along with it. I can sit here at my desk with a cup of coffee and get free shipping, or a deal on eBay, or find a deal with a price comparison site, and have it delivered straight to my front door.

Just like people say to make frugal living a game, I make saving money shopping online a game. For example, this past Christmas, I took $100 and tried to make it go as far as possible. I used a bunch of coupons, did price comparisons to find the cheapest stores, and was able to shop for 6 family members on my list for under $100. Nice thoughtful gifts too! Here are some online resources I use to find a great deal:

Compare Prices First

  • Price Grabber.com – This site is great is comparing prices for the product you are looking for at dozens of online stores. I always use this site with any electronics purchases. They give you a breakdown by price, availability, and even shipping charges. Price Grabber also keeps track of customer reviews of products. I think there is no better way to find out about a product than by reading what those that actually own it have to say. I often will go to Amazon.com just to read the customer reviews. They always have well done customer submitted reviews.
  • ShopZilla.com – Similar to Price Grabber, good way to compare prices without having to visit a bunch of individual stores.
  • mySimon.com – Another price comparison site that is easy to use. They have some daily shopping picks that are good for deals on gift ideas. These are made for guys like me who have no idea what they are doing when buying for their wives. Hey, at least I can admit it.

Deal Sites

  • Keeca.com – This is a cool service I just discovered. Keeca.com is a free search service that searches for the best sales, deals, and coupons found on the Internet.
  • Fat Wallet Deals Forum – This is a forum I visit regularly when shopping online. People submit great deals from all over the Internet. Last Christmas, through this forum, I found a heap lamp for like 85% off the regular price. Sweet!
  • Woot.com – This site is kind of interesting. They sell one product everyday. Only one, and it often is a pretty darn good deal. I like the concept. TIP: I would sign up for their RSS feed so you easily check each days deal without having to go to their site everyday.
  • Deal News.com - This site is great for consumer electronics purchases, that is the majority of their deals. Worth a look.

Coupon Sites

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Invest Now, The Stock Market Is On Sale!

February 1, 2008 · Filed Under · 2 Comments 

NasdaqI have been reading around the blogosphere, in the news, and on TV, how many investors are very nervous right now. I just don’t get it. I suppose it is human nature, people want to bail when things are going bad. I look at the current state of the market as a great time to invest. It goes back to the wise adage that when you are considering selling, you should actually buy. How else are you going to follow the principle of “buy low, sell high.” This is especially true if you are a young investor like myself, because you have ample time to ride out the bad spells and will really grow your investments during the good times.

I talk all the time how you should only shop when things are on sale or when you have a coupon. Why should the stock market be any different? If stock in a quality company is going down, then the stock market is essentially putting that company on sale. I mean heck, the company is still the same company, just now you are armed with a “coupon” for 20% off the retail price. This advice holds true for a bull market as well; not the best time to invest because you will have to pay full retail price and your coupon code will not be honored!

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