From the category archives:

Dollars and Sense

The 80/20 Principle and Money

November 14, 2011

You’ve probably heard of the phrase “the 80/20 rule.”  The technical term for this common phrase is called the Pareto principle, named after…you guessed it, a man named Pareto.  In the early 1900s, Vilfredo Pareto noticed that 80% of Italy was owned by 20% of the population.  On a much smaller note, he observed that [...]

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Are Your Credit Card Rewards Really Rewarding You?

October 12, 2011

When my friends tell me how much money their credit card companies pay them each month, I ask myself, “What is the catch?” After all, credit card companies are not in the business of losing money. Is it possible…really possible…to make credit card companies pay? Even though I don’t own any credit cards, I am [...]

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I’m Not THAT Wasteful Am I?

October 10, 2011

I walked back downstairs after dinner last week and found that I had left the light on in the basement.  I hadn’t been down there for at least two hours and yet the bulbs still burned bright, lighting up an empty room.  Now, usually I don’t think about wasting electricity by leaving lights on, but [...]

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The Hard Truth about Easy Monthly Payments

September 28, 2011

Vendors offer “easy monthly payments” to lure buyers into purchases they should probably be avoiding. The problem is that these easy payments do not make your life easier; they are actually a recipe for a lifetime of debt. Here is why:

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11 Ways to Cope With High Gasoline Prices

September 19, 2011

If you have been waiting for gasoline prices to go back down, you may be in for a long wait.  It seems that higher gasoline prices are here to stay, so instead of passively hoping for them to go back down, it is time to be proactively cope with them.  These tips will help.

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Will Your Children Live Better Than You Do?

September 14, 2011

The authors of the recently released study, “Downward Mobility from the Middle Class: Waking up from the American Dream” challenge the widely accepted idea that the economy is improving to the point where the  next generation of the world’s population has a high chance of living better than their parents. This may be, at least [...]

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Your Emergency Fund is for More Than Emergencies

September 5, 2011

Homer and Tricia (fictitious names) were doing well. Or so it seemed. Homer had a good paying government job and Tricia was self employed. They had a mortgage on a nice house and were making payments on a nearly new car. They carried credit card debt, but “so does everyone”, they reasoned. Then the unexpected [...]

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Would You Spend $25,000 on an iPhone?

August 22, 2011

I have a hard enough time spending $200 on a phone and over $100 each month on our cell phone bill.  That’s well over $1,200 each year on cell phones!  Now, think about $25,000…that just seems absurd.  But it’s not that far off if your living in China and you want an iPhone.

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Co-signing for Your Spouse – Something to Think Twice About

August 10, 2011

I discourage co-signing for two reasons: it doesn’t help the one who is making the request and it invites trouble in the relationship. The reason someone needs a co-signer is because the potential lender has determined that this particular borrower is not a good risk. Therefore, the best way to help this borrower face the [...]

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Buying Quality vs. Buying Cheap

August 8, 2011

I hate it when things break, don’t you?  Maybe you can relate to what happened to me last week.  We just finished moving into our new place and unpacked our appliances.  Now before I share about the great appliance mishap, let me preface quickly. We couldn’t take the microwave from our old apartment because it [...]

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Johnny Appleseed: An Unlikely Entrepreneur

August 1, 2011

Johnny Appleseed was born John Chapman on September 26, 1774. He was an American pioneer nurseryman and missionary who became an American legend while still living, not only because of his great leadership in conservation, but also because of his kind and generous ways.  According to this definition of entrepreneur: “A person who organizes and [...]

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7 Tips To Save Money at Baseball Games

July 25, 2011

One of my favorite things to do in the summer is to attend baseball games.  There’s just something fun about being a part of the crowd, sitting outside, and watching people cheer for the home team.  While I’m not a baseball fanatic (though it would seem so with the number of baseball articles I write..) [...]

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