When you’re touring an apartment in a reportedly “safe” neighborhood, the beautifully painted walls, quiet tree-lined streets, and upgraded entryways can feel like confirmation that you’re making a smart move. But what many renters don’t realize … [Read more...] about Why Apartments in ‘Safe’ Neighborhoods Cost More in Hidden Fees
Inspired by FiveCentNickel, I looked into refinancing both our loans into a single 30-year mortgage. If you recall, we're 100% financed on our home with 2 loans. The first (80%) is an interest-only, 5/1 arm that's up in November, 2009, while the … [Read more...] about The Housing Bust Hits Home
Growing up and hearing my parents talk about cars, I always heard one thing: We're always going to have a car payment You can probably see where this is going already, but hear me out. From about 1984-1998, my parents leased a new vehicle every … [Read more...] about Do you always have to be in debt?
In Part One: Luxuries, I outlined the few expenses in our life that could easily go if we wanted to save a few bucks extra, pay off debt faster, or buy that giant 60" plasma TV (with a few months savings of course). In Part Two: Semi-Luxuries, we dug … [Read more...] about What could you give up when you’re in financial trouble? – Part Three
In Part One of this series, I talked about giving up luxuries if you find yourself in some financial trouble. However, luxuries are just that: expenses unnecessary to keeping us fed, housed and employed. Different people have different ideas of what … [Read more...] about What could you give up when you’re in financial trouble? – Part Two
During the holiday season, we give thanks to family and friends, but we can also use this time (and really any other time) to think about what we would do if we were in financial trouble. We all have different life situations, and different levels … [Read more...] about What could you give up when you’re in financial trouble? – Part One
Thanks to Being Frugal for including Stacie's article "Inexpensive Ways to Woo Your Wife" in this week's Festival of Frugality. Here are a few of my own favorites from the festival: Frugal Journey shows some great ways to reuse those bland, soggy … [Read more...] about Best Frugality Posts from the Festival of Frugality #98
Hello again from Clever Dudette. This time I figured I'd write towards the "Marriage and Life" section of this site, but with a financial twist. So, all you frugal men out there probably think that it's better to be frugal than to spend money to … [Read more...] about Inexpensive Ways to Woo Your Wife…By Clever Dudette
