Gather Little by Little

If our financial situation ever worsened to the point where had to cut every single unnecessary expense, coffee would be the last thing to go. There is something about that black, bitter brew that just keeps me coming back for more. And I am not picky about my java, if I listed all of the places and formats and temperatures at which I had consumed the beverage, this post would start to sound like a Dr. Seuss poem. I drink gas station coffee, truck stop coffee, bank lobby coffee . . . I would drink it in a box, I would drink it with a fox, I would drink it in a house, I would drink it with a mouse . . . As a result, I am always on the lookout for a cheaper way to get coffee for less.

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My wife and kids and I live a fourteen hour drive from my family and a twelve hour drive in the exact opposite direction from my wife’s family, so sometimes it is difficult to make a decision about where to spend the holidays. This  year we drove east to be with my family. Here are the numbers:

Gasoline: The trip is a thousand miles one way and our minivan gets approximately 21 miles per gallon. We will drive another 200 miles during the four day visit and then another 1,000 miles to get home. Total fuel cost: $280.

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Insider trading is one of those things that we all hear about. Yet few know what it is and tend to think (incorrectly I might add) that only the big hedge fund managers should worry about trading on “inside information”. It always seems like investors think that they are above the law.

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Here are some articles about the day that has come to be known as Black Friday. The name comes from the fact that many retailers stay in the “red” or operate at a deficit all year until the Christmas shopping season. The Friday after Thanksgiving is the first time of the year that they move over into profitability or “into the black”.

Trent at The Simple Dollar recommends restraint . . . makes sense.

PF Firewall lists a few tips, tricks and a caution or two for getting the best deal. He has a great list of Black Friday websites.

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Okay, that title was just to get your attention. People who have little money are certainly not all lazy. A lot of people struggle to make ends meet while still working hard. My point is that many times we allow money leaks into our lives simply because of laziness.

Lazy people miss out on deals or discounts because of procrastination. Coupons? Too hard to cut out and use.

What about sweat equity? Sometimes a house owned by a lazy person does not appreciate because he simply does not make the effort to paint or clean or decorate. He does the bare minimum in his yars and then loses money when it comes time to sell.

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Last week, I attended an Economic Conference about the global stock market. The economist pointed out that most Americans started saving again instead of spending away all their money. I was happy to see that the population has finally realized the impact of saving money towards achieving their goals instead of borrowing money on their home to pay off their credit cards. This is a huge step to gain control of your personal finance.

Back in early 2008, there was a review of SmartyPig done in this blog (you can read the Smarty Pig Review here). Since we have now arrived at a time to save money, I started looking for the best interest rates in savings’ accounts.

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Some of us are going to be seeing a lot of traffic lights over the next week or so . . . Here are some articles that I like:

A great article from Kevin at Moolanomy where he challenges us to help ourselves, not the economy. He is right. Our government needs us to spend money. They want us to spend money, even if it is not in our best interests. I say that they need to balance their own books.

Being Frugal recommends using Smarty Pig to save for Christmas next year. That particular type of account has some interesting applications.

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As I had written a few weeks ago, a good friend of mine is getting married in early 2010. Being a financial planner, I always find it interesting to see how couples deal with money. It is often overlooked but it shouldn’t be. Studies have shown that financial corners and disputes rank at the top of the reasons for separation/divorce. It’s a lot more complex than most people think and it’s so easy to overlook when you are in love and visualizing the wedding, your honeymoon and all the other good stuff that is to come.

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Hey! Another Carnival at GLBL! Don’t worry; this is the last one until the Carnival of Personal Finance at the end of the year ;-)

Along with the Carnival, I’ve decided to share a few of my money successes. After sharing my money flaws last week, I also wanted to share some financial achievements from the past year. Handling personal finance is not always easy and it is important to acknowledge our failures yet it is even more important to acknowledge success!

But before we start, here are a few good readings from GLBL:

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There were so many questions from yesterday’s post on Homeschool Finance, that I decided to do a follow-up post today and explain a few things:

Mike asked: Have you calculated the option cost of having your spouse at home teaching your children instead of working full time or part time?

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