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Len Penzo dot Com

The offbeat personal finance blog for responsible people.

How I Live on Less Than $40,000 Annually: Kacy from Iowa

By Guest

My name is Kacy and I'm currently employed full time as a leasing agent and resident manager for a community college property in Central Iowa. I've always been financially responsible. My dad is very good with finances and he taught me to always ...

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September 11, 2013

How I Live on Less Than $40,000 Annually: Jeff from Washington

By Guest

My name is Jeff and I've been reading Len's blog off and on for a couple of years now. I'm 55 years old. After getting my high school diploma I spent six years in the military, and then followed up my service with a series of various jobs. My ...

Continue reading How I Live on Less Than $40,000 Annually: Jeff from Washington

August 28, 2013

How I Live on Less Than $40,000 Annually: Jonathan from Ohio

By Guest

My name is Jonathan. I'm 27 and I've been married to my wife, Kate, for almost four years. We have three girls, ages 3, 1, and a newborn. After graduating from college, Kate worked for two years at a job that paid $35,000 annually. Then, after our ...

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August 14, 2013

How I Live on Less Than $40,000 Annually: Tracie from North Carolina

By Guest

My name is Tracie and I'm 30-years-old. I'm an associate chemist in coastal North Carolina. I have an eight-year-old son and I'm engaged to his dad. I wasn't always financially responsible -- I was saddled with $10,000 in consumer debt. Twice. Then ...

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August 7, 2013

How I Live on Less Than $40,000 Annually: Ruth from Kansas

By Guest

My name is Ruth and I'm a stay-at-home mom for our four kids. When our first child was born, I vowed to stay home as long as we could afford it. It's been 16 years and three more kids since then, and I'm still here. I was always very frugal, ...

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July 31, 2013

How I Live on Less Than $40,000 Annually: Barb from Alberta

By Guest

My name is Barb and I live in Alberta, Canada. I've been working in retail sales management for ten years. My income is just over $40,000 per year, although the climb to get there was very gradual. I have a teenage daughter who lives with me. ...

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July 24, 2013

How I Live on Less than $40,000 Annually: Mary from New Mexico

By Guest

My name is Mary. I'm 58-years-old and I live in New Mexico. I've been working since I was 16 years old. I have a bachelor's degree, as well as a master's degree. I was fortunate to attend college in the 1970s and 80s without accumulating any ...

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July 17, 2013

How I Live on Less than $40,000 Annually: Caine from Colorado

By Guest

A little about me. On the internet, I usually go by "Caine Volfram." No, that's not my real name. I also go by "Clockwork Gremlin." I am largely unremarkable. Single white male, just turned 28, Irish descent (among others), living in rural ...

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July 10, 2013

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Guess Which Item Costs More.

By Len Penzo

Last night I was doing a little shopping on Amazon and I came across an item that was being offered for sale by two different vendors. Here was the price summary that appeared on my screen: So, which item is the better bargain? On first ...

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July 9, 2013

How I Live on Less than $40,000 Annually: Jen from Virginia

By Guest

Readers: Welcome to the first installment of my new series featuring Len Penzo dot Com readers who make ends meet on roughly $40,000 per year -- or less. Originally, I was hoping to run one or two articles per month, but the initial response has been ...

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July 3, 2013

The Trouble with Buying Movie Tickets Over the Internet

By Len Penzo

We all come across things in life that are wildly popular, even though it makes little sense to us. Take "Duck Dynasty" -- going into its fourth season, it's one of the hottest shows on cable television. I recently watched a couple of episodes ...

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July 1, 2013

Cheap Cooking: Fantastic Frugal Meal Ideas from Past and Present

By Len Penzo

I was on an extremely tight budget when I was in college, so I had cheap cooking down to a science. Back then, dinner was number four on my list of priorities; right after tuition, beer, and rent -- in that order. Many people on limited incomes ...

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June 26, 2013

Is Cell Phone Insurance Really Worth It?

By Len Penzo

Last month our previous cell phone contract finally expired. That made the Honeybee happy because it meant we could finally move to a new carrier with better coverage. However, nobody was more excited than the kid with the fastest thumbs in the ...

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June 10, 2013

Yet Another Reason Why I Hate Buying Tickets from Ticketmaster

By Len Penzo

Most of you know I've had a hate/hate relationship with Ticketmaster for a long time now. After all, this is the company that wrote the book on ridiculous consumer fees that, many people argue, only serve to exploit their hapless customers; it's a ...

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May 27, 2013

A Fun Interview with Stacking Benjamins’ Host, Joe Saul-Sehy

By Len Penzo

I recently met with Joe Saul-Sehy to talk about his new money podcast, Stacking Benjamins, which debuts this week. We had just finished recording his final Two Guys and Your Money show, and I figured it would be clever to conduct the interview via ...

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May 20, 2013

More Reasons Why I Decided to Buy a New Car Instead of a Used One

By Len Penzo

As I mentioned in my previous post, I finally relented and bought myself a new car. I can understand why some of you may be scratching your head at my decision to buy new instead of used. Especially when the playbook of good personal finance ...

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May 1, 2013

I Finally Broke Down and Bought a New Car

By Len Penzo

OK, I did it. After commuting to and from work in my 1997 Honda Civic for the past 13 years, and with my son on the verge of getting his driver's license, I finally relented and bought myself a new car. That's right. I'm now the proud owner of ...

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April 29, 2013

How to Get the Best Travel Deal from Price Comparison Websites

By Sabado Domingo

Price comparison websites are a great resource for budget-conscious travelers, with many people skipping travel agents altogether and doing the flight booking themselves. Due to the huge growth in this type of website, there are now more price ...

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April 26, 2013

A Small Victory in My Quest to Raise Financially Literate Kids

By Len Penzo

Teaching kids about personal finance is not an easy job. Even so, as a parent I believe it is my responsibility to ensure that my kids have a thorough understanding of good personal finance practices before they leave the nest. Ultimately it will ...

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April 10, 2013

Why Bag Ladies are Financially Savvier Than Many Celebrities

By Len Penzo

Grammy Award winner Dionne Warwick, who found fame in the 1960s singing "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" filed for bankruptcy yesterday. Younger folks may recognize Warwick from the 1990s, when she was the celebrity spokesperson for the Psychic ...

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March 27, 2013

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