Frugal Friday: Who’s Worse – Wal-Mart or the Government? + MORE

Summer has finally arrived here in Minnesota (or at least a really late spring)!  We had a 90 degree day along with a bunch of 70 and 80 degree days.  My wife and I were finally able to plant our garden for the year and now we’re just crossing our fingers that it all turns out.  We’re off to the the horse track (Canterbury Park) tonight for the very first races of the year!  Hopefully we come back big winners…

I have spent a ton of time reading about decluttering.  The more I read about any subject, the more inspired I become.  Acquiring more information helps me conquer any task, and getting inspiration from experts and regular people who’ve accomplished the task always helps motivate me.
Here are some of my favorite books and website to inspire myself to declutter:
1…

With its cash back rewards, balance transfer offers and no annual or overlimit fees, Discover has a solid credit card offering. Here’s a review.

Happy Friday party people! It’s been a great week and it looks like Spring (errr Summer) is finally upon us. Just two weeks ago we were getting snow and this week I had to break down and turn on the air conditioner as it reached 102 degrees. Anyway, that’s beside the point. Today I want to draw our attention to an article I read on NBC News about the federal government and its basic funding of low wage jobs…

On May 2nd, we had 15 inches of snow dumped on us.  On May 14th temperatures soared into the middle 90s.  My son, who inexplicably is somehow 14 years old already and will be entering high school next year, is being confirmed this weekend.
Life is crazy.
Even more crazy, we received a flyer in the mail for that 14 year old son to signup for driver’s training…

Another day of story time with Grayson!  I wanted to share a little story about how a hot summer day, a broken A/C unit, and a company mixed to create a bad taste in my mouth.  Like many, I am a big fan of quality customer service.  I will give my business to any company that gives me a quality experience and service…

If you’ve sworn off debt but are trying to dig your way out, 0% balance transfer credit cards can be a great tool. You have to know that you’ve completely sworn off incurring any more debt in order to play the 0% balance transfer game, but if you’re certain then you can save a ton of money by taking advantage of some of the best balance transfer credit card offers…

I had a magical week on the stock market this week. The stock which I have most of my money in has gone up almost 80% in the last few days and I get the feeling that good news might be just around the corner. Still in the current market it is prudent to take The post Top Personal Finance Articles #14 appeared first on MPB Personal Finance .

I have life insurance!  I had hoped to write this post about my house insurance, but my credit union has yet to send me the information needed to see my full coverage.  I signed up for new house insurance through … Continue reading →The post I have Life Insurance! appeared first on Financial Black Sheep…

Gift for My Cousin’s Baby-Cost $7.00
It’s probably just my age (the big 3-0) but everyone I know seems to be knocked up. Friends, family, co-workers… Apparently I roll with a  fertile crowd. With so many people pregnant, the cost of baby shower gifts was really adding up. A shower here, a shower there and I’m broke…

Photo: MuseScore
One of the easiest ways to make money online is to take surveys. There’s little more to it than signing up, filling out a profile, and giving your opinion on ads, products, services and more.
The big question is just how much money can you make and how much work is involved. While you probably can’t make a full-time living taking online surveys, they can leverage your spare time to earn a bit of cash…

The decision to go and work overseas can be a tough one – as well as dealing with the cultural changes involved, and the possibility of being separated from your friends and family, you may also need to adjust to a new language, as well as handling the details of a major move. Depending on … Continue Reading »

I’m not going to provide my usual personal finance related advice and commentary today.  My wife Sondra’s grandmother is suffering from some severe health issues, and is likely not going to be around much longer. Sondra’s mother is understandably eager to see her mother before… well, let’s just say, before things get really bad…

Passive income, or income for which no or minimal work is required,  is the key to securing a comfortable retirement or just financial independence.  Passive income on a smaller scale can be a great way to boost your annual income, or supply some extra spending money.  In this post I want to explore 11 different sources of passive income that can bring in a few dollars per year all the way up to millions…

SourceThe following is a guest post written by Katie from Ask the Young Professional. If you are interested in guest posting for my site, please see my guest posting policy and shoot me an email.It’s the month of May; graduates are walking across the stage and throwing their hats. Then they’re freaking out about how to get a job!I find twentysomethings split between living the life in college and struggling after they walk across that stage…

Today my boss confirmed my first annual merit increase!
Time to rejoice like Ross in Friends?

Maybe…

I wasn’t expecting a huge raise, but somehow the raise I got disappointed me. I should be happier my paycheck is increasing by $50 every two weeks, but somehow I’m not. $50 is not going to change my life…