Money Tips Network

One of the fastest, cheapest meals I make on a regular basis is the stir-fry. As a vegetarian, it's a great way to get a big dose of vegetables and protein in one convenient pan. Meat eaters, too, can get their fill of healthy foods in just about 20 minutes. And the best part? There's little clean-up when you're done cooking. (See also: 10 Tricks To Keep Your Kitchen Clean While You Cook)

So check out these 10 fantastic stir-fries that will have you eating more and scrubbing less.

For many people, the regular work day is filled with stress, deadlines, and constant movement — whether physical or mental. Even those of us who love our jobs, or those who work in a more relaxed environment, need to find ways to relax and recharge after a long day.

How do you unwind after work? Do you prefer to socialize after work or spend a quiet night at home? Are there certain activities that always do after an especially stressful day?

Tell us how you unwind after work and we'll enter you in a drawing to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card!

Win 1 of 3 $20 Amazon Gift Cards

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My primary financial goal is what I call financial independence. Though financial independence can have a number of meanings, I define it as being a state in which I no longer have to actively work for money and my savings and investments cover all of my needs and reasonable wants for the long-term future. In other words, I live off of part of my investment income, with the rest being channeled back into investments so that the system is sustainable even with inflation.

Naturally, one key part of achieving this is to reduce my expenses as much as possible. If you spend less, then you have more to invest. The more you have to invest, the quicker you reach a point where your investment income is covering your (lower) expenses.

So, how do we do that without making life miserable?

This is a guest post from Kathleen O’Malley, who writes about finding joy in a simple, frugal life at Frugal Portland.

It happened fast. We barely talked about it, but all of a sudden, about a week after we got engaged — and before we were really ready — my fiancé and I had combined our finances.

I can pinpoint the impetus: Southwest Airlines was offering a promotion where if you got both the Plus and the Premier credit card and spent x dollars on one, y dollars on the other, you got a Companion Pass through the end of 2015. “We fly Southwest a lot anyway,” we reasoned. “And we’ll hit the minimums soon since this wedding we’re planning isn’t going to be cheap. We might as well get one of us a $5 ticket every time we fly somewhere together.”

You might think the only way to get your teeth sparkling again is by taking a very expensive, very time consuming trip to your dentist. Teeth whiteners provide the results of a cumbersome dental visit with more manageable prices and incredible convenience with minimal difficulty. However, there are many important factors to consider when deciding just which brand is right for you. We here at Wise Bread have compiled a list of the top five teeth whiteners to help you find just the one.

Welcome to Wise Bread's Best Money Tips Roundup! Today we found some fantastic articles on strategies for fixing budget problems, simple DIY frugal tips, and smart money moves for college students.

Top 5 Articles

Nine Strategies for Fixing Common Budget Problems — If your budget categories estimates are off, start your budget from scratch. [The Simple Dollar]

7 Dead Simple DIY Frugal Tips — Cooking your own meals and growing a garden can help you save money. [Bargaineering]

When I was in my early 20s, I had a lovely photograph of a solitary woman hanging in my bedroom. My mother suggested that I switch it out for a picture of a couple. According to a theory of Feng Shui that she had read, the way you decorate your home reflects your intentions — so if you have artwork depicting loneliness in your bedroom, then you're more likely to be unlucky in love.

There's a big difference between the "use-by" and "sell-by" dates on a bottle of ketchup.

Americans in particular are notorious for throwing out perfectly good eats, a habit that has recently given life to a grocery store of expired foods, that are still safe to eat. And while it's pretty easy to detect fresh milk from sour milk, it can be tricky to discern the difference when it comes to condiments and other dry goods. (See also: You're Wasting One-Third of the Food You Buy)

My husband and I recently bought our second home. Surprisingly, the process was far more involved than it was the first time around, just six short years ago. Not only did we have to sell the house we were living in, but the application for our new home loan also seemed much more complex and involved. (See also: Top 7 Mortgage Myths Debunked)

If I could go back in time, I'd be sure to keep the following points in mind before applying for our home loan. In the end, it all worked out for our family. We were approved, we found an awesome place, we moved, and we're now happily settling in. However, the more prepared you are from the start, the easier the whole thing will be — trust me!