Book Reviews

The Cheapskate Next Door – Book Review

                                             The Cheapskate Next Door: The Surprising Secrets Of Americans Living Happily Below Their Means by Jeff Yeager

As a fellow cheapskate, I have to admit I absolutely loved The Cheapskate Next Door.  I sat down and read it all in one day as it was truly humorous and captured my full attention.  A witty personal finance book is hard to come by so I wanted to highlight this book in particular, as it is both informative and entertaining simultaneously.

The author, Jeff Yeager (who is also a cheapskate) travelled around on his bicycle and visited a whole bunch of other cheapskates.  He stayed in their homes and got a chance to learn some of their money saving tricks.  He also compiled data from a huge survey that he had self-professing cheapskates fill out.  I want to share just a few of these tidbits with you to whet your appetite so that you will want to read this book, too.

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December 26, 2011
Money Saving Tips

Money Saving Alternatives To Buying College Textbooks

Think off campus when finding cheap alternatives to the campus bookstore

If you’re a college student you already know that textbooks cost a small fortune. Textbooks can cost almost as much as tuition, according to a study from the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, which shows students paying an average of $1000 or higher per year for books. However, that’s only for suckers who decide to buy their assigned reading from the campus bookstore. There are other ways to find cheap textbooks, for instance, you can buy used textbooks, photocopy textbooks or even rent your textbooks. Just let that creative student brain think outside the box—or rather outside of the campus box—and look for the following money saving alternatives to buying textbooks for college on campus…

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December 23, 2011
Household

How To Save Money On House Insurance

Home insurance is a necessity for home owners across the US and Canada. You cannot risk having an accident or burglary and not having the means to cover it. Repairs are expensive and the cost of replacing damaged or stolen goods may run into the thousands of dollars. Heirlooms may be irreplaceable. It is far easier to avoid that stress and insure your home. In these tough times, saving money on your essentials is something you should not be afraid of doing, even on things like insurance, which a lot of people just don’t bother touching. We will look at different ways of saving money on your home insurance in this article.

 Examine Your Deductible

This is one of the simplest ways to save money. A deductible is how much you have to pay towards damage, theft, etc. to your home. Your insurer will cover the rest. Say you have an accident which causes $10,000 worth of damage and you have a deductible of $3,000. You will pay the $3,000 and your insurer will pay the remaining $7,000. Increasing your deductible will reduce your monthly premiums. Remember to only increase it to something you can afford. Don’t put your finances under pressure.

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December 21, 2011
Family

A Great Way To Spend Time With Your Kids This Christmas – Make Dough Ornaments

 

 

 

With Christmas just around the corner, it’s time to get your creative juices flowing.   Your kids are going to want to do something cool this Christmas with you, so why not create some great memories by making your own Christmas ornaments this year?  There’s a really simple dough recipe below that you can use to make all sorts and varieties of ornaments

Dough Ornament Recipe

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup salt

1 ½ cups warm water

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December 19, 2011
Money Saving Tips

How To Survive The Holidays Without Breaking Your Budget

If the approach of the holiday season causes you more financial stress than joy, getting (and keeping) control of your spending may help. When you know how much you have to spend, keep track of your purchases and plan ahead, you can focus more on finding the right gift for each person on your list – and hopefully cut out some stress at the same time. Consider these ideas for surviving – and enjoying—this gift-giving season:

1. Actually have a budget: If you don’t know how much you have to spend, you could get a nasty surprise when you start perusing your shopping list. Take a look at your monthly budget and decide how much money you have to spend for holiday gifts. Include any money you plan on withdrawing from a holiday club bank account, or that you have earned and earmarked for gifts. Once you know how much cash you have over all to spend, you’ll be able to plan out your purchases, without the risk of running way over your budget.

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December 16, 2011