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Mighty Bargain Hunter

I enjoy talking about saving money, finding deals, living frugally, making money, and investing, in addition to talking about current events in the financial world, online and offline. I’ve published articles at this domain name since 2004 and have been blogging since May, 2005.

I also started and manage the Carnival of Debt Reduction, a weekly blog carnival that highlights posts on getting out of debt. Personal debt reduction progress reports and posts about reducing debt are what this carnival is all about!

Latest Posts from Mighty Bargain Hunter (page 2)

Earn gift certificates with Swagbucks and get cheap education

Published Saturday, March 9, 2013 - 23:51 by Mighty Bargain Hunter

I’ve been a member of Swagbucks for a bit, and I’ve earned over $300 in Amazon.com gift cards since then.  Amazon.com gift cards are one of the best deals that Swagbucks has going on, and they’re almost as good as cash, since you can get just about anything on Amazon. I recently signed up to tutor someone in business math.  The mechanics of getting to the correct answers is well within reach for m […]

A pizza guy shouldn’t make a cardiologist salary

Published Friday, March 8, 2013 - 03:21 by Mighty Bargain Hunter

Saw this story on MSN Money about a pizza delivery guy who delivered 85 pizzas, costing $1,453.95.  He received a $10 tip.  A friend of the driver then posts a picture of the receipt on Reddit, and the 15 minutes of fame begins. The article points out that the tip is less than 1% of the total bill of $1,453.95.  (It’s 0.688% of the bill, actually.)  Some standards would recommend $2 per pizza, whi […]

Eat out less for memorable meals

Published Thursday, March 7, 2013 - 11:18 by Mighty Bargain Hunter

Eating out is a common budget-buster.  A meal at a restaurant can cost easily several times what a meal prepared at home would cost.  And don’t get me started on the 1,000%-plus markup on sodas! If dining out is killing your budget, then a simple way to begin bringing the problem under control is to eat out less. This implies, of course, that you were eating out too much to begin with.  What I’m g […]

Prepare for federal employee furlough with a furlough practice budget

Published Wednesday, March 6, 2013 - 08:22 by Mighty Bargain Hunter

At the beginning of this month, sequestration went into effect.  This means sweeping cuts of $85 billion from this fiscal year’s budget.  To shore up this shortfall, many agencies are furloughing employees during this time, which effectively is a partial layoff. I live in an area with a lot of federal government employees, many of whom are my friends, and the furlough will affect them if it’s carr […]

Save money with a targeted no-spend month

Published Tuesday, March 5, 2013 - 10:43 by Mighty Bargain Hunter

We all have spending habits. Some spending habits are more expensive than others, but we have habits nonetheless. The spending habits we have are often the result of guilty pleasure (choose your favorite; I certainly won’t judge). […]

Reduce financial problems in marriage with regular financial dates

Published Sunday, March 3, 2013 - 09:23 by Mighty Bargain Hunter

Life can become hectic.  The incessant activities of making a living, raising children, and feeding passions can strain the connections associated with married life.  One piece of advice that’s often given to married couples experiencing these kinds of strains is to schedule dates — as in put it on the calendar, make reservations, get a babysitter. What works for “getting the spark back” can also […]

The best time to redeem in-store coupons

Published Monday, February 25, 2013 - 08:51 by Mighty Bargain Hunter

I give grocery stores a lot of credit. They do seem to come up with new and exciting ways to get you to spend more money while giving you the impressing that you’re saving money. As I was going through my receipts to enter things in Quicken to track our spending, I ran across what looked like an in-store coupon for Mio Water Enhancers. […]

How to get your taxes done in two hours

Published Sunday, February 24, 2013 - 02:04 by Mighty Bargain Hunter

My mother-in-law was very happy today.  Four popped collars happy.  So happy, in fact, she gave me not one, but two high-fives. Her taxes were finished.  Practically signed, sealed, and delivered.  Just waiting on one form from an investment firm that was overdue, but otherwise, done and done! She didn’t have a simple return, either.  Let’s just say that her tax situation this year was … complicat […]

Retirement savings wake-up call

Published Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - 10:31 by Mighty Bargain Hunter

My tax-advantaged retirement account from my employer offers a valuable piece of information on our annual statements. It’s the amount of monthly retirement income I can expect, given the amount I have in there now. This amount really was nothing to write home about.  (It amounts to about 6% of my gross income.)  But I’m forty, so I still have time to bolster this.  Whether or not my age group has […]

Five ways to save money for big expenses

Published Thursday, February 14, 2013 - 10:57 by Mighty Bargain Hunter

Nothing derails well-laid-out financial plans like a giant expense.  The kind of expense that consumes one or more full paychecks. Big expenses happen to everybody.  Some are unplanned, like an emergency room visit, or a trip to the vet after a pet gets bitten by a copperhead.  It’s for this reason that building up a decent emergency fund, even before paying down debt, is a good idea. Many big exp […]