Xin Lu's blog

Six Horrible Financial Products You Should Avoid

Dealing with financial products can be very confusing and stressful, but there are some products that you should absolutely stay away from for the sake of your financial health. [more]

What is keeping you from a life of financial independence?

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 an

Do not buy something just because you can afford it

Since I got married people have been constantly asking me two questions. One is, "are you pregnant yet?", and the other is "are you going to buy a house?" One

Safeway Savings Rally - How I got 9 bags of groceries for $13

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

What Can You Do With Unwanted Gift Cards?

In my house we try to spend gift cards as soon as possible because the longer they are held the less purchasing power they have. Sometimes there are just cards you are not interest

Introducing an Amazing Suite of Web Tools for Creative People

Are you an artist at heart and love to dabble with photography and videos? Do you find that Photoshop and video editing tools are too expensive and cumbersome to use? Well, now t

Wisdom from My Favorite Frugal TV Character - Julius Rock

My favorite cheap TV character is Julius Rock from Everybody Hate Chris. Julius is a character based on Chris Rock's father and in almost every episode of the show his fruga

Cheap and Romantic Ideas for Valentine's Day (And Any Other Day of the Year)

I have always loathed Valentine's day because everywhere I went I would see gaudy pink and red balloons and roses and men who are literally suckered into buying the useless thi

Frugal Tip: Do Not Spend When You Are Sad

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 fo

An Open Invitation to PineCone Research

PineCone Research is one of the oldest and most respected online survey companies on the web. They pay very promptly for each survey you complete. I usually get my check within

Six Ways to Stay Warm and Reduce the Heating Bill

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.

Instructables for the Extreme Cheap Lifestyle

Are you a super cheapskate with an affinity for making everything yourself? Here are some Instructables that will tickle your fancy! Learn to furnish your home, gather food, and

Are Private Schools Worth the Money They Demand?

I went to public schools for my entire life and my husband had a completely private education and we had the following discussion: are private schools worth the tens of thousan

NotchUp - Get Paid to Go on Interviews

Do you want to be paid for going to interviews? A new Silicon Valley startup is doing just that! Read on for my impressions of NotchUp and details on how you can earn some cash by

8 Fun and Frugal Things to Do with Origami

Origami is a Japanese word that means "fold paper", and it is a very popular pastime around the world. I enjoy origami because it is a very cheap hobby that requires only

How Do You Take Advantage of the Federal Interest Rate Cut?

The Federal Reserve just cut the interest rate by 0.75% between two official meetings! This is the largest cut since 1982 and it was like an adrenaline shot to the sagging stock ma

Tips for Joining an Excellent Startup Company

So you want to be one of the first employees at the next Google? Read on for some tips to finding a great startup company to join and have a glance into the startup culture

Five Interview Lessons Learned from Horrible Interviews

Have you wondered why you were rejected from a job even though you felt like you had all the skills to do the job?  Do you want to improve your chances at getting the job you wa

How the Banks Were Fleeced -- A Primer to Mortgage Fraud

Have you seen homes in your neighborhood sell for unreasonable prices and quickly end up in foreclosure? If this is a common occurence then perhaps there is a ring of thieves commi

What If Everyone Suddenly Became Frugal?

What if a magical spaceship from the planet Cheapos came to earth and brainwashed everyone so that every single American stopped buying useless junk and started to live way below t