Recent comments

  • Ask the Readers: How Often Do You Eat Fast Food?   13 years 37 weeks ago

    Maybe two or three times a month, mostly due to poor planning on my part.

  • Best Money Tips: Frugal DIY Cleaning Projects   13 years 37 weeks ago

    I checked out the tax calculator you recommended here, only to discover that it is an alarming fraud. SmartAsset has cherry-picked its data and the calculator produces significantly inaccurate conclusions.

    Here's the breakdown: http://pocketmint.net/2012/08/obama-vs-romney-tax-calculator-cherry-pick...

  • Remove Car Dents Quickly and Cheaply   13 years 37 weeks ago

    People who get mad at other people because they do not know or understand the molecular properties of CO2 are tools. You can correct people's understandable ignorance without sounding like an inconsiderate prick. I mean, besides F=mA, people generally do not need to know about physics or the ideal gas law.

  • Ask the Readers: How Often Do You Eat Fast Food?   13 years 37 weeks ago

    I never eat fast food. It makes me sick.

  • 25 Frugal Ways to "Pay It Forward"   13 years 37 weeks ago

    I believe in paying it forward. I have a family member that I help anytime they need me. Today to say thank you they brought me breakfast. It was a nice surprise that made my day. Sometimes the little things feel big when they are done just to be kind. I feel that if we can do something for someone else just to be nice then we should. This was a great article to start the weekend off with. Truly in joyed it!

  • Best Money Tips: Retirement Questions People Forget to Ask   13 years 37 weeks ago

    Thanks for mentioning out credit card rates article!

  • Back to School: Saving on College Textbooks   13 years 37 weeks ago

    Just wanted to add to the library suggestion. By and large libraries, especially college libraries, do not carry textbooks (latest editions or otherwise) in their general collections. I work at a community college library and we get asked this a few times a day when classes begin. Usually these students asked their professors who shrug and say try the library. I've been told we're actually not allowed to carry textbooks for current classes unless professors have put their own copy on reserve for student use.

    However, the library is still an excellent place to get non-textbook required reading (like that copy of Hemingway short stories or Stephen Hawking's latest book). If they don't have a copy themselves, the library can likely get one for you through interlibrary loan.

  • Best Money Tips: The Credit Edition   13 years 37 weeks ago

    Thanks for the mention!

  • Ask the Readers: How Often Do You Eat Fast Food?   13 years 37 weeks ago

    I think the last time I had fast food was a small Frosty from Wendy's about a year ago. I never eat fast "food"; I really enjoy cooking farmer's market vegetables and meat: I feel amazing and have saved incredible amounts of money. It takes me less time to steam or sautee some fresh vegetables with some fish than it ever would to go through the drive-through.

  • 30 Easy and Impressive Frozen Puff Pastry Recipes   13 years 37 weeks ago

    In college I made french onion soup "my way" & had everyone begging me when was i going to make it again. Being a poor student, i needed something simple, cheap, & fancy.
    First i made the onion soup (basic)(skipping the toast)
    I ladled the soup into mugs.
    Cut squares of puff pastry to drape over each mug.
    Sprinkled granulated garlic & shredded cheese over pastry.
    Baked in oven until golden brown.
    Eat this by breaking the cheesey pastry into the onion soup.Yummy!!!
    Any leftover pastry was cut into strips, seasoned the same way as the soup for add in crunch if wanted. (baked @ same time as soup)

  • Back to School: Saving on College Textbooks   13 years 37 weeks ago

    Great Read, Kelly. I always used to buy my books at a discount store online like amazon.com or half.com - the campus book store were a rip-off!

    I personally had great success making my money back at the end of the semester by re-sell your books on Ebay or Amazon. You may not get all of you money back, but it was well worth it for some of my more pricey books. That way I had some funds to spend on the next semester of books!

  • Back to School: Saving on College Textbooks   13 years 37 weeks ago

    I saw this ad on Craigslist where a person claimed to have paid $237.50 for a new Spanish textbook. The person ended up not taking the class after all and wants to sell the textbook for the discount price of $200.00. College textbooks are nothing but a huge criminal racket! The prices are getting so ridiculously high that some students are even opting not even to buy them. I wrote an article on this topic last month. http://extrememoneysaving.com/2012/07/23/5-great-ways-to-save-money-on-c...

  • 10 Things I Just Won’t Do to Save Money   13 years 37 weeks ago

    There is definitely more than a wisp of arrogance in the idea that because it's 'my family', your preferences for your children determine what other people should do in their own homes. My grandmother, who lived to 101, hated air conditioning, and visiting her every Sunday in the summer meant we sat in a very warm house, but it was ok. She made lemonade, set up fans, and we played cards. Can you even imagine kids doing that with grown ups now? She was a big believer in fresh air, and we all more or less respected that she must be doing something right to have reached the age she did. Funny, what I remember most about that time was how peaceful it was to play cards and hear the birds singing...which you definitely don't hear when you've got the AC going.

  • Trader Joes vs. Costco: What's a Better Place to Shop?   13 years 37 weeks ago

    Both

    It's not a choice...they serve two different purposes in my home

  • Horizon Organic Milk: Is it All Just Lies?   13 years 37 weeks ago

    I completely agree. I was very annoyed to say the least when reading this. Nothing is added to the end milk product. Organic is how it is grown or raised. Hormones are natural but not when its injected into the cows. Like and being injected with antibiotic medicines, and hormones such as steroid, and thyroid hormones and rBGH

    It is similar to Tyson saying "100% natural chicken" and "nothing added" Nothing is added to the final product but they do not say how the chickens are raised and fed, which by no means is healthy or natural

  • 25 Frugal Ways to "Pay It Forward"   13 years 37 weeks ago

    #`13 is VERY dangerous. I lost a friend 20 years ago who stopped to help a young couple with two small children who were stuck on the side of the road. It turned out the couple had abducted the children. They panicked and shot my friend in the head.

    # 23 can be a bad idea too. Many municipalities have laws against this. You can get a hefty fine for doing so. So at the very least, make sure no one sees you doing it.

  • How to Prevent Plant Theft   13 years 37 weeks ago

    I live in North Cornwall and IMHO the area seems to have a lot of drug addicts who steal in order to feed their habit. Recently I've been hit twice and over fifty pounds worth of plants, mostly Fuschias in pots have been taken. How far does one have to go to stop this scum? GPS trackers and baseball bats perhaps? I blame the council who allegedly have made fortunes from rehousing "problem people". One thing is sure, things are going to get worse until we get Sharia Law or something similar. In Plymouth all the shops have security guards. The problem is drug addicts who need to steal two to three hundred pounds-worth of goods each day to feed their habit. Pity that we don't have the Chinese Remedy over here.

  • Are You Wasting or Saving Money With a Warehouse Club Membership?   13 years 37 weeks ago

    For me, just the gasoline I buy more than pays for the membership, now, adding the savings from the many other items we buy (which we know are cheaper than in regular stores), make my savings and membership really worth it.

    Gasoline alone is about 5% cheaper than nearby Gasoline Stations, at about $2000 of gasoline/year, that means I save $100, but using the Amex gives me an extra 3% in gasoline savings, so you do the math.

  • Horizon Organic Milk: Is it All Just Lies?   13 years 37 weeks ago

    This blog is old, but I want to play...

    I bought my first organic product today, and it was Horizon milk. I've never liked white milk, even as a baby my mother said I wouldn't drink it. I do like it in cereal though. This milk is delicious. I bought it because I want to purchase cruelty-free products and they claim to treat their animals humanely. For that I am grateful (provided it is true). As for the USDA, they are a pathetic joke. As of 2011, Obama signed an executive order that pretty much makes slaughterhouses and farms to do more "self-policing" so the FSIS can "utilize their precious resources in other areas." Doing what, I don't know. Food safety and humane slaughtering laws have become simply "suggestions." No wonder our food keeps making us sicker and sicker. I'm sick just thinking about it.

  • Best Money Tips: 15 Cheap Car Security Tips   13 years 37 weeks ago

    Thanks for including us!

  • Financial Math Basics You Need to Know   13 years 37 weeks ago

    Nice. I especially relate to the time value of money concept. If people would learn at an early age to start earning interest or returns and let them compound over time, we'd all have a lot less financial problems. Of course it all starts with calculating how much of your paycheck you can put away.

  • Ask the Readers: How Often Do You Eat Fast Food?   13 years 37 weeks ago

    Maybe once or twice a month for fast food.

  • Ask the Readers: How Often Do You Eat Fast Food?   13 years 37 weeks ago
  • Ask the Readers: How Often Do You Eat Fast Food?   13 years 37 weeks ago

    I liked Wise Bread on FB.

  • Ask the Readers: How Often Do You Eat Fast Food?   13 years 37 weeks ago

    I eat fast food 2 or 3 times a month but I usually stick to something healthier like salad or baked potato from the value menu.