Tag: saving money

Halloween Costumes That Don’t Cost an Arm and a Leg

Halloween is right around the corner, and chances are you’ll need a costume. This year people will spend 2.5 billion dollars on costumes alone.  You can grab something pre-made at your local costume shop, but costumes out of a bag are usually overpriced and lame.

I came to this conclusion while searching for costumes online. I was flabbergasted at the amount of “sexy” costumes made for women. The most ridiculous being a “Sexy Ghostbuster” costume. Everyone knows that you can’t carry a Proton Pack in daisy dukes. The heat generated on use would instantly scorch and destroy the back of your legs. Do these people not understand Science?

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Keeping Your Place Warm On the Cheap

Here in New England the fall is upon us, which means for the next couple of months heating bills will be through the roof. It’s also the time of year where I ask myself why I left California in the first place. From every October to March my usual $30.00 monthly gas bill rockets up to $250.00, and I’m lucky enough to have a gas furnace and not oil like many of my friends and neighbors. I have one friend who pays $300.00 a month all year round to heat his house with oil in the winter. That’s $3600.00 a year for heating their house for measly 4 months!

For those in rentals and apartments, the choice of heating system isn’t usually in your hands. You’re stuck with what’s there, and depending when it was installed or the age of the building you live in can effect the cost of heat dramatically. If you live in an place with older/non-maintained windows and doors you can practically see the money floating through those cracks whenever your heat turns on.

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Pinching Pennies When You’re a New Parent

If you’re like me, you never believed your mom or dad when they complained about how expensive kids were. I always thought they were just looking for yet another thing to complain about. As soon as I figured out I was about to have one, I hit the internet to find out how much my mini-me was going to cost. My eyes almost started bleeding when Bloomberg told me I’d be spending $234,900.00 before my kid even hit college!

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Back to School: How to Save Yourself Some Cash While At College.

My little brother Tucker is going away to college today. It’s a defining moment for our family – my mom will finally have a child free house for the first time in 32 years. This child-free luxury livin’ doesn’t come cheap though. Being a parent myself, hearing how much my mom has had to (and will continue to have to) shell out for having a kid in college made me break out in a sweat. I’ve already informed my 5 year old he better get good at writing scholarship essays sooner rather than later.

I then realized that Tucker, like many college students, will have to sustain living on his own with little to no money. In a world where 20 bucks needs to last you an entire month, there has to be some serious personal money management that has to happen… and I’m here to help!

Continue reading Back to School: How to Save Yourself Some Cash While At College.