Although having a million bucks isn't as impressive as it once was, most people still consider it as a sign of financial success. And judging by the number of actual millionaires enjoying life in the world today, there are apparently quite a lot of ...
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How to Avoid Paying a Mandatory Gratuity for Bad Service
It used to be that tipping was meant to reward and encourage your server for exemplary service. Unfortunately, with the advent of tipping pools, mandatory gratuities, paltry wages and general tip inflation, that's clearly the exception now rather ...
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Good Personal Finance Habits Everyone Should Follow
There are good habits and there are bad habits - and I have a lot of bad habits.
For example, I tend to bite my nails when I get stressed out. I also have a penchant for opening the cupboard to get a drinking glass -- then walking away and leaving ...
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Is It Okay to Eat Foods Past Their Expiration Dates?
This weekend I was pouring a little half-and-half into my cup of coffee (no, not Folgers) when I noticed something extremely disturbing: the creamer was 34 days beyond the expiration date printed on the carton top.
Yes, 34 days. I know.
Of ...
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Why I Prefer a Spreadsheet to Track Expenses & Manage My Finances
I've been diligently managing my personal finances and tracking household expenses for more than 20 years.
How diligent, you ask?
Well, I can tell you that my cable bill in February 1998 was $8.03, and that I spent $141.16 in 2006 for an annual ...
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100 Words On: Why Competition Is Good For Everyone
Human nature is such that, if given the chance, most folks would choose to take the path of least resistance by avoiding competition. However, those who lack challengers almost always miss the motivation required to innovate or otherwise stay at the ...
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A Simple Trick for Getting Credit Card Interest Charges Waived
There are those who steadfastly insist that credit cards are evil, and that credit card companies are greedy heartless scalawags that care only about one thing: making a profit.
I've got news for them: Credit card companies aren't evil.
Neither ...
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4 Must-Read Personal Finance Books
If you take time to focus only on the most important things, living a comfortable life will no longer be a vision but a reality. If you think that it is difficult to create their own strategy, then you can look for practical financial advice that can ...
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5 Nuggets of Financial Wisdom from The Thomas Crown Affair
The Thomas Crown Affair is a fun movie that grants the viewer permission to imagine a world where money is not a concern. It transports viewers to a world where private planes, yachts, European luxury cars, tropical excursions, fine art, and mansions ...
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Why Restaurant No-Tipping Policies Are a Bad Idea
In the United States, diners have been tipping their servers for more than a century. It's a time-honored practice that's as American as, well, baseball and apple pie.
Tipping was originally intended as an incentive for rewarding and encouraging ...
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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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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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100 Words On: How to Avoid Burning Out
It takes real drive to turn our biggest dreams into reality, but sometimes the relentless passion that fuels our inevitable push for success becomes counterproductive. When personal expectations finally exceed what we can reasonably achieve on our ...
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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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What Goes Around Comes Around: Rising Interest Rates Are Inevitable
Last summer my 12-year-old daughter, Nina, was extolling the fashion virtues of her hot pink Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star high-top sneakers, better known to many as simply, "Chucks."
What I found amusing was while Nina really thought she was on ...
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Sometimes It Pays Not to Look for the Best Deal
Although it's hard for me to believe, my humble home recently turned 14-years-old. So, as you might expect, a lot of the original appliances we bought when we first moved in -- or were included with the brand new house -- have been acting up for ...
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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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