5 Reasons You May Need To Update Your Wardrobe

August 28, 2008 · Filed Under , · 5 Comments 

As most of you know, my wife and I are the proud parents to 3 kids. The oldest of which just started 1st grade. He wanted me to take him to his first day. A very proud moment for this Dad! Although, as I was leaving, I was feeling really down in the dumps. Not sure if it was because he is getting older, or because I am! I am thinking it was a little of both.

But anyways, all the kids in our house had a dresser full of clothes that didn’t fit. So my wife and I had to stock them up with some new threads for the school year. This got me thinking of my own clothing choices over the years, and how I really needed to update some of my threads. So while I was weeding out some REALLY old clothes and putting them in a bag for Goodwill, I came up with this list. So without further-ado, or with plenty of ado, your call, here are the Top 5 Reasons You May Need To Update Your Wardrobe:

  1. Drawer full of shirts so small, that when worn, appear to be half-shirts straight from the mid-80’s. Oh wait, they are half-shirts from the 80’s!
  2. You have one of these hanging in your coat closet:
  3. Your jeans are all stonewashed and will greatly lower your sperm count if worn.
  4. Your socks are of the tube variety and have 3 colorful stripes across the top.
  5. Shorts that will make Larry Bird and Magic Johnson proud!

Feel free to add to my list. Looking forward to your comments!

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Frugal Gift Giving Done Right

August 27, 2008 · Filed Under , , · 2 Comments 

~ My wife and I (disclaimer: mainly my wife!) have often tried to figure out the secret to finding thoughtful gifts at the right time and at the right price. Instead, we often end up shopping at the last minute for gifts and end up spending more than we would have liked. Whether it be for Christmas, kid’s birthdays, house warming, or a slew of other reasons, wouldn’t it be nice to build up an arsenal of gifts that you have at your disposal and at the ready?

So when I found Jennifer over at The Gift Therapist I was immediately impressed with her advice. Especially her Sanity Savers where she lists 11 ways to make shopping for gifts not only enjoyable, but also easy on the pocketbook! All the tips are great, but a few I really like are to establish a realistic budget, create a shopping wallet, and our biggest mistake, avoid last-minute shopping. Go check out her website for yourself, I think you will find her common sense advice a real asset, especially when shopping this December.

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Can We Have A Frugal President?

August 25, 2008 · Filed Under · 4 Comments 

Secure your cats and cover your children’s eyes, my Dad is back! He is not a newcomer to my blog, as this post would attest, My Old Man: Frugal, Cheap, or Just Strange?. So with no further-ado, I once again present my Dad!

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We are being blitzed by the media coverage of the upcoming presidential election. Details of the contenders voting records, religious beliefs, family life, health records, tax records, and even personality traits ate under the public microscope.

Based on past elections these criteria do not guarantee an effective comander-in-chief. One personal trait that might have more validity in choosing a national leader is how careful he or she is in conserving their personal resources. This would provide a leader more experience in making “prudent” economic decisions. We often hear of how the government wastes tax payer money. Blame is often laid at the feet of politicians who seemingly lack the skills to make good decisions with our hard earned tax money. By choosing our leaders based on their frugality we might eliminate $600 hammers and million dollar bridges that lead to nowhere.

Perhaps the most significant opportunity any president has is the opportunity to set the tone for the entire nation. This often overshadows many decisions they make or bills they sign. One would not expect a president to walk around the White House turning off the lights; however, the knowledge that frugality was one of the criterion that got them elected would go a long way in promoting frugality among the American people.

For any person who has lived their entire life in an affluent family it would be difficult to relate to buying a fuel efficient car or turning the thermostat down to 68 degrees on cold winter day. In poor or middle class families these decisions are usually the norm.

Do you think it would be possible for a wealthy person to be a frugal president? Looking forward to your comments!

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Saving Money Goes To The Brits

August 21, 2008 · Filed Under · 6 Comments 

I found a cool blog worth passing along. It actually is quite hilarious and original as the post The 13 Most Disgusting Ways to Save Money in 2008 will indicate. My favorite: Only flush the toilet once a day! Your esteemed blog authors are Kathryn and a dude named Captain Frugal. I kid you not!

But in all seriousness, PromotionalCodes.org.uk might be a mouthful but if you live in Britian, their Free UK promotional and discount codes will be a money saving sanctuary. If you can’t take advantage of their coupons, at least check out the money saving blog where you will get a laugh and learn something along the way.

Also, for my UK visitors (I think I had one once), you may be interested to know that they have a Comet promotion code as well as a Currys promotional code for the taking. These 2 stores appear to be the U.S. equivalent of Best Buy and Circuit City. Good to know that saving money with coupons is not only for us Yanks!

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Free 5-pk Sharpies from Office Depot!

August 19, 2008 · Filed Under · 5 Comments 

I love Sharpies and just couldn’t pass up this offer for a FREE 5-pack from Office Depot. What is it with Sharpies? I can have like 112 of them in my desk drawer, yet when I see them on sale, let alone free, I always say to myself, “huh, that’s a good deal, I’m sure I could use some more Sharpies.” Then I get home and realize that I have enough Sharpies to continually sign my name on a glossy 8×10 picture of myself for exactly 333 consecutive days. What can I say, it makes me feel like Pete Rose! But FREE is really hard to pass up, so I had to share this deal with ya!

But anyways, here are the offer details for your free Sharpies from Office Depot:

  • Sharpie Fine Point Markers 5 PACK
  • $4.49 less $4.49 MIR
  • Limit 1 Pack per Customer
  • Expires 8/23/2008
  • CLICK HERE for Yours!
  • CLICK HERE for Rebate Form

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Travel Surprises + A Couple Coupons

August 13, 2008 · Filed Under , · 7 Comments 

Got back last night from our final summer fling. My wife and I took the kids to a San Francisco Giants game, to Gilroy Gardens, and to the beach on the beautiful Monterey Pennisula. We had a great time, but it had some interesting financial travel surprises. Here are a few:

  • Gas Prices. At one point on the vacation, I actually got excited when I found gas at only $4.13 a gallon. It made me consider the post I did about the great new uses for my truck!
  • Park or Eat? When we pulled into the parking lot at the Giants game, and I saw the sign that said it cost $30 to park, I darn near passed out. Are you kidding me? Who, besides Bill Gates can afford to take their entire family to a game more than once a year? Ridiculous. Don’t even get me started on the price for a hot dog and beer either! Go to a minor league or high school game instead.
  • Toyota Prius Snobs. I use to think that people that owned a Prius and had a license plate that read “4 R PLANET”, were upitidy folks who were trying to make a statement rather than save money. Starting to reconsider that opinion!

Also, upon my return, I had some great new online coupons in my Inbox. Here are a few that grabbed my attention.

Home Marketplace.com
Save 20% OFF your $50+ order
Coupon Code: 50618000002
Expiration: 9/15/08

Eddie Bauer.com
Save $20 OFF your $100+ order
Coupon Code: AUGFLH8
Expiration: 8/18/08

JCPenney.com
Free Shipping on your $49+ order for 1 Week
Coupon Code: WK28FSH
Expiration: 8/21/08

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Smartest Money Advice You Have Ever Received?

August 5, 2008 · Filed Under · 3 Comments 

Last year on my blog, I wrote about What My Dad Taught Me About Money, and just a few days ago he mailed me an article from the current issue of Money Magazine that I wanted to share. The article is titled, The Smartest Advice I Ever Got, and shares what 3 dozen “great” minds say has been their best money lesson or piece of advice. Interesting stuff. I wanted to share my 3 favorites from the article, then let you chime in with the best money advice you have ever received.

  • Elizabeth Gilbert, Author; Eat, Pray, Love - Her Dad told her to avoid debt like the plague. My favorite quote from the article, “Borrowing money is like wetting your bed in the middle of the night. At first all you feel is warmth and release. But very, very quickly comes the awful, cold discomfort of reality.” AMEN.
  • Roy Blount Jr, Author and Humorist - A barkeep once told Roy, “Don’t ever carry a bill bigger than a $20, because you’ll think it’s a $20, like you just did, and everybody won’t be as honest as me.” LOL. This one is not an issue with me! I can’t remember the last time I even saw a bill bigger than a $20…
  • Derek Jeter, Shortstop, New York Yankees - Derek talks about the advice from his parents that has to do with just flat-out being involved. Involved in “where your money is. Even if you have someone who handles your finances for you, you should always be involved in the process.” I really like this advice. I have seen to many people take no interest in their finances and it almost always leads to debt and financial misery. Financially speaking, just get involved and you will want to do things the right way.

So what was the smartest piece of money advice you have ever received? As always, looking forward to your comments.

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3 New Retailers, All With Coupon Codes!

August 1, 2008 · Filed Under · 2 Comments 

As this site grows in popularity, I find myself getting a little pickier about the stores that I add. I do quite a bit of research before I decide whether I am going to add a store or not. The main things I look for are great customer service, quality products, and of course, online coupons. So I feel good about 3 new stores that I added this week, and wanted to let you know about them in case you are ever looking for a coupon for any of them. Here they are, in no particular order:

  • Pfaltzgraff.com- I am very familiar with Pfaltzgraff, I have been eating dinner off of them for 9 years as a matter of fact! We own the Naturewood collection, and they have held up great. They still look pretty new even nine years later. Pfaltzgraff sells dinnerware, cool stuff for the kitchen, glassware, flatware, and bakeware. I have a coupon for them as well: Save 20% Off your Entire online order, Coupon Code: EAUGWS, Expires 8/03/08.

  • Vision Direct.com - This one is for Shelley! She cleans my teeth every 6 months and always asks when I am going to get some Vision Direct coupons up on my website. Well, I finally got around to it! I am actually proud to have them, they seem like a first class outfit. They sell contact lenses and supplies with all the major brands offered. They gave me a slew of coupons as well. One the better ones is: Save 15% Off your entire order for new customers, Coupon Code: 15NEW, Expires 12/31/08.

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