Cash Money Life

Cell phones. You just can’t seem to get away from them nowadays. It seems that just about everyone in America has a cell phone. In fact, my wife and I use cell phones as our main form of communication. We just don’t have the need for a land line, and not having one saves us [...]

I got my cable bill a couple months ago, and noticed my rates were jacked up over $20 more per month. Needless to say, I was less than pleased. In my opinion, no one should have to pay over $100 per month for basic cable and cable internet!
So, I did the only thing I could [...]

Being frugal is about more than just saving money. To me, being frugal is about using your resources wisely and being more efficient with everything you do. Unless you are independently wealthy, you probably have a limited amount of time, money, and other resources - and you probably need to find a way to make the [...]

Yesterday I transferred my cell phone plan to a coworker to avoid paying early termination fees for breaking my contract. That saved me anywhere from $20 -$175! Verizon Wireless has a $175 early termination fee, but you can avoid paying early termination fees by transferring your service to another person.
My new cell phone plan: Last [...]

My wife and I were recently talking about the cruise we took last fall for our honeymoon. Our cruise started and stopped in the port of Barcelona, Spain, while the rest of the trip circumvented the Western Mediterranean. We had a wonderful time on the cruise ship itself, and taking excursions at the various port [...]

Welcome to the 107th Edition of the Festival of Frugality! What is frugality? According to Wikipedia, frugality is the same as thrift or thriftiness. But frugality is not being cheap or miserly. Being frugal is all about saving money, time, energy, effort, and resources. I like to do these every day, and the good news [...]

This morning I took out my trash and noticed several Christmas trees on the side of the road next to the neighbor’s trash cans. There weren’t a lot of them, which leads me to believe that either most people use fake trees nowadays, or some people are waiting until next week to throw them out.
My [...]

Upselling is an unavoidable part of doing business and the art of the upsell has graduated far beyond the ubiquitous line, “would you like fries with that.” Just about anywhere you spend money, the salesperson is going to try and make you part with more of it. I understand it from a business perspective, but it can [...]

Now is the best time of the year to stock up on ornaments, wreaths, and other seasonal decorations! Of course, the savings isn’t just limited to Christmas items, but other decorative items for Hanukkah and other seasonal holidays.
Why is this the best time to save? Supply and demand! Stores don’t want to waste their valuable [...]

I accidentally left my Chrsitmas lights on last night. It was still dark out when I awoke, and I could see the glow through the window. I went outside to turn them off right away, and since we only have a medium size tree wrapped in lights, I don’t think it used enough energy [...]

I finally got my flu shot this week and I didn’t have to pay for it. In fact, the nurse was even kind enough to give me a piece of candy and a colorful band aid! I think getting a flu vaccination is very important, and I have had a flu shot pretty much every [...]

Winter heating bills are never fun to pay. But when faced with the choice of paying the bill or shivering all winter, I would rather just pay up! However, that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t do everything in my power to lower the sticker shock that comes in the mail every month.
The following tips [...]

I love fall. The leaves change color, the weather turns cool and crisp, and the holidays bring families together. But fall also means that winter is just around the corner - and rising energy costs are sure to make this an expensive winter unless you do something to reduce your heating bills. These [...]

This is a list of common things my wife and I do to save money on a regular basis. Luckily, we are both frugal by nature, and we actually do most of these things without needing to discuss it much. Note: in most cases, “I” is interchangeable with “we,” and “my” with “our.”
Here [...]

First impressions are extremely important, especially in the business world. However, not everyone has the money to buy the latest fashions from designer stores. The good news is, designer clothes are not necessary to dress professionally.
Here are some great tips on how to build a professional wardrobe on a limited budget:

Buy simple, classic designs. The [...]