Recent comments

  • Ask the Readers: Who Taught You The Most About Personal Finance?   14 years 13 weeks ago

    I think it was watching others not have a budget and worry when the bills came that make me very frugal. I love the security of knowing that I've saved up for something in advance and now can just enjoy it! When the bills come, no worries! We have the money already set aside.

  • Ask the Readers: Who Taught You The Most About Personal Finance?   14 years 13 weeks ago

    My mom taught me the most about finances. At age 10, I was given a $10 a week allowance that was to pay for everything I wanted. I was given $100 for school clothes at the beginning of the school year, and my parents also bought me one good pair of shoes (usually less than $50). They spent $100 on me at Christmas and $50 on me for my birthday. If I needed anything else, it all came out of my allowance. I also had to tithe 10% of my allowance, too. When she did this with my brother (who is 9 1/2 years younger than me), she included that he had to save 10% of his allowance, too. Really helped me and him learn to budget money.

  • Ask the Readers: Who Taught You The Most About Personal Finance?   14 years 13 weeks ago

    Without a doubt, my husband taught me the value of saving and spending wisely. I thank him every time we have the money to pay a vet bill or some other unexpected bill.

  • Secret Lawn Tonic Recipe From Golf Course Groundskeeper   14 years 13 weeks ago

    how often should this be applied?

  • Ask the Readers: Who Taught You The Most About Personal Finance?   14 years 13 weeks ago

    The person who taught me the most about personal finance was the business manager at a non-profit company where I held my first repeat/long term position. Working in the fine arts, with non-profit companies and seasonal or production based positions meant that most financial advice didn't apply to me. I didn't get a regular paycheck, didn't have an employer 401(k), didn't have benefits, etc. The business manager, by his description - old enough to be my father and just as concerned, was willing to answer many questions for me and more importantly helped me think through finances in a way that made sense.

  • 5 Reasons Not to Delete Your Emails   14 years 13 weeks ago

    I have an iPhone and I use the free "Evernote" app to file all my emails by files or categories that I set up. They are then out of my inbox and stored outside of my phone but instantly available to me by just pressing this app. The files are organized alphabetically. It has been terrific for me as I collect a lot of important news articles and videos that I need for researching a book I'm writing and for talks I give. When I find an article or video that's important for future reference I just email it to both myself and Evernote and them go to the app and put them in the right files (or create new ones). Then after I look at them in my inbox (or not) I can erase them knowing that I can access them easily by category whenever I want. Since all of these emails do not contain the actual article or video, but only the link to them, none of these take up barely any space at all. Hope this helps someone as much as it helped me.

  • 5 Reasons Why I Don’t Clip Coupons   14 years 13 weeks ago

    Good article that reflects my feelings on couponing, but I'd like to add one thing. You can find coupons online for products you use all the time by visiting the company website, and this doesn't take much time. Stonyfield Yogurt, Olivia's Organics, and Lundberg Rice usually have coupons available. I also regularly get coupons for Finish dishwasher detergent and Biore contact lens solution through the company websites.

  • Ask the Readers: Who Taught You The Most About Personal Finance?   14 years 13 weeks ago

    I like WB on FB!

  • Ask the Readers: Who Taught You The Most About Personal Finance?   14 years 13 weeks ago

    I tweeted! https://twitter.com/#!/junethomemaker/status/182118584011587584

  • Ask the Readers: Who Taught You The Most About Personal Finance?   14 years 13 weeks ago

    No one taught me about personal finance - my mom has always struggled with credit card debt, and my dad never talked about money. I had to get into trouble and learn for myself!

  • Ask the Readers: Who Taught You The Most About Personal Finance?   14 years 13 weeks ago

    I also have wisebread liked on facebook.

  • Ask the Readers: Who Taught You The Most About Personal Finance?   14 years 13 weeks ago

    It started with my mom but that was a basic foundation of personal finance.
    Since then it has been certain friends and blogs/own research online.

  • 35 Delicious Rice and Bean Dishes   14 years 13 weeks ago

    I love black beans with cumin and fresh salsa and a side of rice, green chiles, greek yogurt and jack cheese baked in a casserole. The yogurt is almost like sour cream, but slightly sweet. Delicious.

  • 5 Reasons Why I Don’t Clip Coupons   14 years 13 weeks ago

    hmmm - good points, but I am an avid coupon clipper. I got a deal on the Sunday newspaper for 2 years for $2. No, I'm not kidding. I literally put 2, one dollar bills in the envelope and returned my invoice. It takes about 2 minutes to flip through the coupons and pull out what I need - Sure, sometimes the savings are nil, sometimes they are better.
    We buy dog food for our dog - I for one, love the coupons for $2.50 off one bag that often shows up in my weekly coupon fliers. I especially love when my coworkers bring in their coupons they aren't using and I can get extras.
    No, they don't come for everything...but saving $2.50 on a bag of dog food we were buying anyway certainly brings the total bill down and helps to offset those apples and that broccoli no?
    ;)

  • 5 Reasons Why I Don’t Clip Coupons   14 years 13 weeks ago

    I am very happy to hear that someone else feels the same way about coupons. My husband and I looked into some of the free online coupons, because we don't buy the paper either, and there was not a single coupon for something we would have bought anyway. This does not mean we have not used coupons, we shop at H-E-B and they are really great about providing coupons for just about everything, including produce! It is great to walk down the aisle to pick up something already on the list and see the yellow coupons hanging there.

    Thanks for a great article!

  • Ask the Readers: Who Taught You The Most About Personal Finance?   14 years 13 weeks ago

    Definitely my dad. He taught me the value of saving when I received my first dollar as a gift and once I was a bit older included me in on the finances. Seeing where the money went each month and experiencing the importance of emergency funds and budgeting was the best thing for him to share with me. I took these lessons to heart and have been very successful with managing my money, even when I had limited income.

  • Ask the Readers: Who Taught You The Most About Personal Finance?   14 years 13 weeks ago

    I Like you on Facebook as Selene Montgomery

  • Ask the Readers: Who Taught You The Most About Personal Finance?   14 years 13 weeks ago

    My dad taught me the value of money. Never spend what you don't have.

  • Ask the Readers: Who Taught You The Most About Personal Finance?   14 years 13 weeks ago

    I'm pretty much self taught. I've learned from mistakes and lots of reading.

  • Ask the Readers: Who Taught You The Most About Personal Finance?   14 years 13 weeks ago

    I learned a better economic/finance world view from the book Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell

  • Tips for Finding Legitimate Work-From-Home Opportunities   14 years 13 weeks ago

    I think one of the toughest aspects of working from home is finding a “Real” opportunity and not a scam. There are a ton of sites out there that claim to be unbiased but usually they are just affiliate marketers trying to make a commission. www.lucrativeminds.com is a research and education website that provides a lot of information on work from home opportunities even what social media is saying about them. It is worth a look if you are looking to work from home they can even match you.
    Good Luck

  • Why You Shouldn't Eat at Chain Restaurants   14 years 13 weeks ago

    Wonderful article! Not only am I the daughter of an organic Mango farmer, but I cooked for a Ritz-Carlton for awhile (the freakin Ritz! It's the granddaddy of luxury hotels!) and let me tell you, for most of them, the food prepared and cooked in their kitchens was unhealthy and a good portion of it was flash frozen and pre-packaged. Now imagine a Denny's for a moment
    ...
    Ugh. And it is SO much more budget conscious to cook at home. Make a simple batch of lentil, vegetable and quinoa soup and freeze it. You can eat on that for days. Plus, when it comes down to it the biggest costs are your health and your community (see: local restaurants, farms and food co-ops/grocery stores) and really, who wants to sacrifice that?

  • 21 Disposable Products You Can Reuse   14 years 13 weeks ago

    Wine corks glued to a backer board make a great message center/bulletin board in a kitchen too! Great tips.

  • In With the Old: 4 Vintage Frugal Resources   14 years 13 weeks ago

    So many great resources back in the day! Thanks for helping us remember the wisdom of our parents and grandparents.

  • How to Make Your Own Soda   14 years 13 weeks ago

    I really want to get my hands on some water kefir grains and try making soda that way.