It takes courage to face the bogeyman.
I bet many of the good folks in Great Falls, Montana, were more than a little worried earlier this month after a local television station there sent out an ominous message warning viewers that the dead were ...
Continue reading Economic Collapse 101: What It Will Look Like, and How It May Start
9 ‘Oops’ Moments That I Ultimately Paid For (One Way or Another)
Last week I needed to venture into my attic to check on some rat traps, so I grabbed my flashlight to help me navigate my way through the rafters. As luck would have it, the flashlight wasn't working; the last person who used it forgot to turn the ...
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The Unconventional Wisdom of Household Strategic Planning
My son, Matthew, is quickly approaching his 16th birthday and so I've been giving him a few driving tutorials.
I haven't let him get behind the wheel just yet -- that's on next month's agenda -- but it's gotten to the point now where every time ...
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Essential Tips for Lowering Your Grocery Bill (Part 3)
This is final post in my three-part series outlining essential tips that the Penzo household follows for keeping our grocery bills under control.
Of course, there are many methods for cutting the grocery bill that go way beyond shopping at ...
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Essential Tips for Lowering Your Grocery Bill (Part 2)
Food isn't cheap.
Want proof? Then chew on this: I spent almost $12,000 in groceries last year for my four-person family, including two teenagers.
And what's really scary is that I work very hard to keep my food bill as low as possible every ...
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Essential Tips For Lowering Your Grocery Bill
One of the big reasons the Honeybee has tolerated me for so long is because I love to cook. Some of you fellas out there would be wise to keep that in mind.
Why is that, you ask? Well, it's somewhat ironic, but the fact remains, the more time men ...
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Why Financial Success Often Depends on the Road Not Taken
Decisions, decisions. Like it or not, our lives are defined by them.
It's no secret that a big part of our financial success is based upon the decisions we make in life.
Just ask any person who has jeopardized their financial future by, say, ...
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Why I Refuse to Get Upset By Subtly Deceptive Advertising
Last weekend I was lured to an online calendar website with the following promise: "Everything up to 60% off!"
Sixty percent!
While I was visiting there I found a calendar that was on sale for $13.49 -- $1.50 off the regular price of ...
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100 Words On: A Grim Warning to Those Who Think Money Grows On Trees
A democracy can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the treasury, with the result ...
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The Unexpected Bill That Added $2406.88 to My Recent Vacation
"Whatever it takes."
That was the answer the Honeybee gave me three years ago after I asked her how much she would pay to save a pet's life.
Unfortunately, last week we got a chance to reconsider that question after we returned from a week-long ...
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Cheap Thrills: 6 Awesome Halloween Movies That Aren’t Scary
Everyone knows that staying at home and watching a movie is one of the cheapest ways to share a night, but that can often get tiresome. There's something about the Halloween holiday season that brings the notion back to life, as Halloween movies are ...
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Your Disaster Fund and the Best Places to Hide Money in Your Home
Most people who have emergency and rainy day funds use banks to keep their cash safe. However, it's also wise to keep a home-based readily-accessible disaster fund in the event a situation arises that makes it impossible to withdraw the cash from ...
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My Daughter’s Latest Business Venture (A Car Wash? That’s So Last Year!)
This is another post from my 12-year-old daughter, Nina.
Hi everyone! My dad asked me if I would write another article to tell you about my latest accomplishments so far in 2012.
My last post received a lot of attention because it was put on ...
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The Apocalypse Can Wait: My State of the Household Report for 2012
As the old saying goes, knowledge is power.
When it comes to tracking personal finances, one of the most important pieces of information in you can have in your knowledge database is a detailed summary that highlights where your household income ...
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The High Cost of Getting My Son’s Wisdom Teeth Removed
Nobody likes a big mouth.
At least that's what I used to think.
My teenage son, Matthew doesn't have a big mouth -- although I wish he did.
That's because most big mouths have one particular virtue that makes the rest of us extremely envious: they ...
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A True Love-Story: My Proven Method for Online Dating Success
I thought this article would be apropos today, considering the Honeybee and I are enjoying a bit of a second honeymoon in Maui this week -- sans kids, of course. And yes, we're having a fabulous time!
It's tough being single. Perhaps that's why ...
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My BBQ Sauce Taste Test: My Family Bucks Conventional Wisdom (Again)
Depending on who you talk to, barbecue sauces have been around since the days of the American colonies.
Wikipedia claims that the first commercial barbecue sauce appeared around 1909. I know; please don't grill me on my source, folks.
And while ...
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Dogs and Old Cars: Why Both Are Worthy Of Being Man’s Best Friend
I was surfing the Internet this week when I stumbled upon a brilliant essay by The Washington Post's Gene Weingarten on why old dogs make the best dogs. In it, Weingarten astutely observed:
"It's no big deal to love a dog; they make it so easy for ...
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How to Choose a Reasonable Health Care Plan on a Budget
by Patricia Walling
Every year there are millions of Americans who struggle to afford health care. This can be due to insurance companies raising premiums, but there can be other reasons too. For example, many people who are either unemployed or ...
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100 Words On: Why My Dog Is Worth Every Penny I’ve Spent On Him
Earlier this month our Rhodesian Ridgeback, Major -- that's him there in the picture -- celebrated his 8th birthday. Over that time, we've spent a little over $6500 on him -- not counting the $1500 the Honeybee and I paid for him way back in 2003. ...
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