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Lately, I’ve been talking to someone long distance a lot.  Fortunately, right now, he is calling me- so I don’t have to worry about phone cards and long distance minutes and the like.  However, it did get me thinking… it seems like it can be expensive to find a significant other.  If you are living in the same city, of course there is the matter of dates and dinners out and valentines gifts and other such things that people tend to splurge on when courting.  If you are doing a long distance relationship, then it becomes even more expensive in many cases, considering the cost of plane tickets and phone calls and such.  Of course, it is all worth if it you find the person of your dreams and get married and live happily ever after (right?)  But what if you don’t? Is the money spent just another lost investment?  Certainly not one you can deduct from your income tax to offset capital gains, thats for sure.  So, that brings up the next question- how sure of a person should you be before you start investing huge sums of cash in the relationship (like, say for plane tickets)?

My dad just opened the pool today.  I’m excited, because we (my puppies and I) really like swimming… but at the same time, swimming pools are expensive.  Before you put one in, you need to think not just of the fun you will have with hours of beachside volleyball, but also about the cost of opening (anywhere from $250-$400) and maintenance (if you don’t know how to clean it & test the water yourself, its about $150 a week here to have someone do it for you) and chemicals (cost varies depending on the type of pool you have).  Fortunately, its not my pool so I just get to enjoy it without all that extra worry

This April, Swine Flu (something I had never really heard of) started appearing on every news channel.  Apparently, the outbreak is dangerous enough that there are actually schools being closed in some parts of the country.  While this outbreak has only 90 cases reported as of now, it still raises important questions- how prepared are you for an emergency of any kind? (more…)

As I mentioned, I’m trying to look for ways to bring in more income so that I can pay down my debt faster.  I know that I should just be looking for jobs- any jobs, including jobs that I am not really interested in doing (like jobs that take advantage of my degree) if the jobs pay well.  The economy is still not doing very well (duh, right), and unemployment is causing all sorts of problems for everyone, not just people who lost their jobs (who obviously are affected) but also for people who are lucky enough to find new jobs or people who already have jobs (no negotiation for pay/benefits, wage freezes, etc.).  But, as of this point, I am still resistant to applying for jobs I am not interested in, just for the sake of the income.  (more…)

There have been times lately where I was a little down.  My life isn’t exactly where I want it to be, my debt is not getting paid off as fast as I would like, and I’ve been really striving to find opportunities to increase my income without taking a job that I hate (if I could even find said job-that-I-hate in this economy).  One of the things I decided to do was to volunteer for a local pet rescue organization.  I’ve long been thinking about doing something like this, and a few weeks ago I actually took affirmative steps to find an organization that I wanted to join and to contact them.  (more…)

Some people argue that cutting all ‘luxuries’ out of your budget is akin to a barebones diet… eventually you will burn out and splurge.  The question comes up- are there certain little luxuries that make life worth living, or should we keep certain indulgences in order to make frugality feel less like a burden?  Personally, I think this is the wrong mindset entirely. (more…)

I have a few friends that always want to go out to dinner with me.  While eating out once in a while is a great treat… it is not something that I want to do on a weekly basis.  It just doesn’t fit into my budget.  So, I found myself left with an uncomfortable choice… do I abandon my budget to avoid embarrassment, do I broach the subject of money and possibly create an awkward moment, or do I just claim I’m busy all the time and potentially risk the friendship?  None of these seemed to be attractive options.   (more…)

I like to save money on a lot of the little things.  Stamps is one of those little things.  Some people can buy stamps with Extracare bucks (even though technically this is a nono).  Since I’ve never tried, I’ve found another way to save a little bit of money.  I buy Forever stamps on Ebay.  I found $42 worth as a $40 buy it now with free shipping.  That is already a 4% savings.  I use Ebates (referral link) to get another 3% cash back.  Then, I pay using a 5% cashback rewards credit card when I pay through Paypal.  4% savings, 3% cash back and 5% cash back adds up to a nice little chunk of change back for something I would have had to buy anyway.  And, since I bought $40 worth at a time, I now have a bunch of stamps around so I don’t have to worry about not having one when I need to send a rebate or a last minute birthday card.  

It is clear there are a number of problems in America right now.  In less than 1 year, Americans have lost more than 1/4 of their net worth.  Many of these losses come from the sharp, staggering drop in housing prices when home equity went down more than 5 TRILLION dollars. Many Americans who had been using their homes as ‘bank accounts’ were no longer able to do so and American’s who bought expensive homes without down payments or any hope of affording the homes suddenly couldn’t keep them.  And, with the crash of the stock market, retirement assets dropped more than 2 TRILLION dollars.  Credit card companies are slashing credit limits, and those nice home equity lines of credit that made it possible for us to live well above our means were disappearing faster than chips in a Las Vegas casino.   (more…)

I am all for saving money, but there are some times when cutting costs can definitely end up costing you a lot more in the long run.  (more…)