Posted March 3, 2008 - 19:04 by Xin Lu
Lifestyle
Eight years ago my family purchased our dog Happy on a total whim. Since then we have made some mistakes in raising him that cost us quite a bit. We also faced other challenges in raising him but we would not give him up for another dog. However, I have learned many lessons in pet ownership and if I do acquire another pet I will be doing my research. Read on for some of the things you must consider before becoming a pet owner.
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Posted February 29, 2008 - 19:37 by Xin Lu
Personal Finance, Frugal Living, Cars and Transportation
When I lived in Berkeley I loved taking public transportation, and since I was such a bus aficionado I did not learn to drive until I was 20. Right now I live in San Mateo where the public transit is not as prevalent, and I really miss the days when I got everywhere with a bus pass. Since I am feeling nostalgic today I am going to write down why I love public transportation, and I hope some of you will also discover the joy of riding a bus or train.
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Posted February 26, 2008 - 23:27 by Xin Lu
Personal Finance, Frugal Living, Career and Income, Food and Drink, Lifestyle, General Tips
If you are a cube dweller like me you may be familiar with the usual benefits of a salary and paid days off, but there are many other ways you can benefit from your workplace. I am not talking about stealing pens or embezzling large sums of money. Read on for some of the practical and legal means I think you can use your work to squeeze just a little bit of extra savings for yourself.
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Posted February 25, 2008 - 12:03 by Xin Lu
Personal Finance, Frugal Living, Announcements
This week is officially America Saves Week 2008. This is a campaign started in 2007 by many government agencies and private entities to encourage Americans to save because the personal savings rate of Americans is nearly zero. This year the focus is on automatic savings. Read on to see what the campaign is all about!
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Posted February 20, 2008 - 17:11 by Xin Lu
Personal Finance, Frugal Living, Lifestyle, Investment, Real Estate and Housing
My goal has always been to work for ten years and then have enough financial freedom to do whatever I want to do. Whenever I tell people this they seem to be rather incredulous and sometimes say things like, "sure, you could try." Even though I am quite young, I have met enough people to see what keeps them from quitting their jobs and living a life of financial independence. Read on for a few of my observations.
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Posted February 17, 2008 - 17:01 by Xin Lu
Personal Finance, Frugal Living, Deals and Coupons, Shopping, Food and Drink, Budgeting, Deals, Coupons, Freebies
Right now Safeway is having an event called Savings Rally which lasts until February 26th. The deal is that you get a dollar off coupon for buying a number of items off a list of 2000 participating items. If you buy 25 or more items you will get a coupon for $20 off the next purchase. If you buy 20 to 24 items you get a coupon for $10 off the next purchase, and if you buy 10 to 19 items you get a coupon for $5 off on the next purchase. Read on for my story of getting a carload of groceries for $13.
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Posted February 8, 2008 - 00:10 by Xin Lu
Personal Finance, Frugal Living, Shopping, Health and Beauty
Have you ever paid more than you normally would for something when you are trying to cheer yourself up? A recent study showed that a group of people who were sad offered almost four times more money for a bottle of water than a control group. Read on for more information about the "misery is not miserly" phenomenon.
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Posted February 4, 2008 - 12:12 by Xin Lu
Personal Finance, Frugal Living, General Tips
Are you paying through your nose to heat your home this winter? Is your heater broken? Read on for some practical tips to reduce your energy bill and stay warm at the same time.
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Posted January 30, 2008 - 18:00 by Kate Luther
Budgeting
Feel like you're just living payday-to-payday? Having trouble figuring out where all your money goes? Then a zero-based budget just might be for you.
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Posted January 26, 2008 - 03:53 by Philip Brewer
Personal Finance
Every book on personal finance says that you should pay yourself first--get the money out of your checking account and you won't even know it's missing. There's a lot of truth to that, but the pay-yourself-first model has some downsides, as well. I found that paying myself last actually worked better.
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