|
| |
| |
| |
|
|
|
| Our Fourpence Worth |
| Suggestions for frugal living and personal finance, including money saving tips for everyday and household expenses, home decor, fast and frugal recipes, pet care and more. |
| Language: English |
| RSS Feeds for this Blog |
|
Statistics |
| Unique Visitors: 1 |
| Total Unique Visitors: 764 |
| Visitors Out: 654 |
| Total Visitors Out: 654 |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
| Is “Simple Living” Just Another Term for “Giving Up?” |
| 2008-07-21 08:00:52 |
While browsing the WiseBread Forums today, I came across an interesting thread in which a member asks: Is “Simple Living” Just Another Term for “Giving Up”?
Several members responded with various opinions:
There is a difference between simple living and forced poverty.
Not everyone enjoys the rat race.
It’s a choice.
It’s a form of retirement.
Some live the frugal [...]...
|
| |
|
|
| Introducing Sophie: The Mutual Benefits of Her Adoption |
| 2008-07-17 09:30:44 |
Some people—especially those related to us—will surely ask us why we chose to adopt this little orphan when we already had two dogs to care for and our income has suffered noticeably in the current economy. We had actually discussed frequently over the past three years the possibility of adopting a small dog as a [...]...
|
| |
|
| Our Family Financial History |
| 2008-07-16 14:03:46 |
This first writing project deals with the circumstances, people and events in our past which have led to our present financial habits. I proposed this topic as the first of our group writing project as I had been planning to write something about our background and why we live the way we do.
We are one [...]...
|
| |
|
| ‘Tis Not a Crime to Pinch a Penny |
| 2008-07-13 09:00:33 |
To celebrate our new Money Tree blog theme (if you’re reading this post in a reader, come and check it out!), I thought I would post a facetious poem that Madoline wrote a while back. The quote in our new header comes from the first line of this poem titled ‘Tis Not a Crime to [...]...
|
| |
|
| California Fires: Should We Have to Pay for the Choices of Others? |
| 2008-07-10 14:23:32 |
As most of you must know, the California wildfires have been getting worse with each passing year. According to Peter Sanders of the Wall Street Journal, fire season has barely begun, but in the past 3 weeks, the fires have consumed 631,000 acres of and $112 million in State funds. In the past 12 months, [...]...
|
| |
|
| Welcome MSN Money Central Smart Spending Readers! |
| 2008-07-10 14:20:35 |
We would like to thank Karen Datko of MSN Money Central’s Smart Spending for the mention on our recent post: Economical Pet and Child Safe Ways to Repel and Kill Ants, Spiders and Other Insects.
If this is your first time here, please have a look around and consider subscribing to our RSS feed, which can [...]...
|
| |
|
| July 2008 Finance and Frugality Blog Carnivals |
| 2008-07-10 14:18:56 |
We would like to thank the following Blog Carnivals for featuring our posts.
(This list will be updated to include future inclusions for the month of July 2008.)
Descending chronologically by inclusion date
July 10, 2008
Finance Fiesta: No Debt Plan Edition
Article: Monopoly Game Expansion #4: Personal Credit Card Account
July 7, 2008
Festival of Frugality: Bare Necessities Edition
Article: Economical Pet [...]...
|
| |
|
| Booking Flights Early Could End Up Costing More |
| 2008-07-07 08:30:29 |
For years, savvy travelers have been booking flights as many as 6 months ahead of time to take advantage of early booking discounts. This year, however, what used to be a smart move could end up costing travelers more money as airlines begin to cut back and cancel flights this fall. According to Airline Cuts [...]...
|
| |
|
| Car Trouble: Watch Out for Those Pesky Wabbits |
| 2008-07-05 10:45:07 |
When we moved into our house, we were thrilled to find wild rabbits frequently visiting our yard. We’re animal lovers, so while many people consider them pests, we don’t mind too much that they come and eat our sprouting grass and leave giant rabbit pellets all over our yard; we figure it’s good fertilizer. We [...]...
|
| |
|
| Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #5 |
| 2008-07-05 10:43:20 |
Happy 5th of July, everyone! I hope you had a nice 4th. We just relaxed at home and ate yummy food (pizza with garlic, olives & feta cheese and Taiwanese style fried chicken, the recipe of which I plan to post here some time soon) and watched the Lost Episodes of the Lucy Show on [...]...
|
| |
|
|
| Monopoly Game Expansion #4: Personal Credit Card Account |
| 2008-06-30 08:00:22 |
Expansion Difficulty/Complexity: Medium-Hard
This is a credit card add-on for the game of Monopoly wherein players have both cash and credit and may opt to “charge” certain expenses in lieu of paying cash in order to keep the cash flow for investing in property and buildings. For being such a careful money saver in real life, [...]...
|
| |
|
| Resisting the Urge to Splurge |
| 2008-06-27 08:00:38 |
I received the following comment today from a reader about my earlier post Simple Solutions to Staying Out of Debt:
“All good advice - sadly, it is harder than it sounds. But then again, the more you make the more you can spend, so figuring out how to live within your means is a lesson we [...]...
|
| |
|
| Monopoly Game Expansion #3: Certificate of Deposit |
| 2008-06-25 08:00:16 |
Expansion Difficulty/Complexity: Medium-Easy
This Certificate of Deposit was the second expansion we created for the game (invented by Madoline) of Monopoly. After the Lottopoly (coming soon), I find this to be the most fun. The interest rates are rather high compared to real-life CD’s, but they help to illustrate the point that investing pays off, [...]...
|
| |
|
| Economical Pet and Child Safe Ways to Repel and Kill Ants, Spiders and Other Insects |
| 2008-06-23 07:05:39 |
With the charms of summer also come not-so-charming and unwelcome visitors. With consistent 100+ degree weather in the desert we call home, 6- and 8-legged visitors (or really more like trespassers) are almost a regular part of life. But we have discovered a few safe and relative effective ways to keep the trespasser traffic under [...]...
|
| |
|
| June 2008 Finance and Frugality Blog Carnivals |
| 2008-06-23 07:00:35 |
We would like to thank the following Blog Carnivals for featuring our posts.
(This list will be updated to include future inclusions for the month of June 2008.)
Descending chronologically by inclusion date
June 23, 2008
Carnival of Personal Finance #158 : Vampire Slaying Edition
Article: Monopoly Game Expansion #1: Personal Savings Account (Editor’s Pick - double thanks!)
June 16, 2008
Carnival [...]...
|
| |
|
| Monopoly Game Expansion #2: Personal Checking Account |
| 2008-06-20 08:30:05 |
Expansions Difficulty/Complexity: Easy
This is a cash-free version of the game wherein all transactions are handled through personal Account">checking accounts and recorded in individual check registers. Each player is responsible for his own account and must record all transactions – payment and receipt of rent, taxes, bribes, etc. in his check register.
Objective
To teach children (and some [...]...
|
| |
|
| Finance Fiesta No. 3: The Spanish Money Proverbs Edition |
| 2008-06-19 08:00:27 |
If this is your first time here, please consider subscribing to our RSS Feed to receive tips on frugal living, personal finance and saving money in everyday life. (We have just begun publishing a new series of Monopoly Financial Education Game Expansions for teaching players about personal finance, money management and investing principles and will [...]...
|
| |
|
| Monopoly Game Expansion #1: Personal Savings Account |
| 2008-06-18 10:00:18 |
Expansion difficulty/complexity level: Easy
This is a basic savings account add-on for the Monopoly game to teach the principles of personal savings. The rules are few, with easy to calculate interest rates and a simple form to keep track of each player’s individual savings. While the interest rates are higher (for easy calculation) than they would [...]...
|
| |
|
| Hosting the 3rd Edition of the Finance Fiesta Blog Carnival |
| 2008-06-17 08:00:30 |
Our Fourpence Worth has the privilege of hosting the 3rd Edition of the Finance Fiesta this Thursday June 19, 2008. The Finance Fiesta is a new personal finance blog carnival which features articles covering a broad range of topics including but not limited to the following:
Budgeting Techniques
Career Development
Responsible Use of Credit
Economics
Money Management
Debt Repayment
Saving Methods
If you [...]...
|
| |
|
|
| Help Defend the Rights of California Pet Owners |
| 2008-06-15 08:43:08 |
Please sign the petition to oppose mandatory spay and neuter of all California pets
Senate hearing June 18, 2008
I apologize for this off-topic post. I don’t usually get my family, friends or acquaintances involved in politics or issues, however this is something that is very important to Madoline and me, and therefore we would like to [...]...
|
| |
|
| Early to Bed and Early to Rise Makes a Man [or Woman] Healthy, Wealthy and Wise |
| 2008-06-15 08:33:18 |
- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanack
Whenever I used to hear this quote, my reaction would be something like “Yeah, okay.” I’d think to myself that it’s probably true, but never really gave it much thought, and it pretty much went in one ear and out the other. But now that I’m getting a little on [...]...
|
| |
|
| Under the Weather - Recommended Reading |
| 2008-06-12 07:48:09 |
Apologies for not posting anything of substance yesterday or today, but due to feeling a little under the weather these few days, I thought I would post a summary of recommended reading for those of you who are new to this blog, and a few news items from the personal finance blogosphere.
From Our Fourpence Worth
Father’s [...]...
|
| |
|
| Frugal, Fun and Productive Summer Activities |
| 2008-06-09 07:28:43 |
For the lucky few who have extra leisure time this summer, I thought I’d put together some suggestions for productive and fun activities that will help enhance your personal, academic and/or professional life. Some of these suggestions are addressed as if to young people (students, adolescents, etc.) but can also apply to grown-ups.
My suggestions are [...]...
|
| |
|
| Simple Solutions to Staying Out of Debt |
| 2008-06-07 07:00:04 |
Madoline and I live in fear of debt; that is one of the reasons we are so vigilant about saving money. We have witnessed firsthand the consequences of extravagant spending and debt (perhaps we will share these stories at a later time), and that is why we live the way we do. So how do [...]...
|
| |
|
| Lottery Tickets: Worthy Investment or Waste of Money? |
| 2008-06-05 08:00:25 |
Our cousin, aunt and uncle are a loyal patrons of the Taiwan lottery. (Or at least my cousin was until a recent tarot reading convinced her to cut back on the lottery purchases.) But when she first arrived in April, she purchased 2 or 3 California Mega Millions lottery tickets and convinced me to do [...]...
|
| |
|
| Frugality to the Extreme: Would You Eat Out of the Dumpster? |
| 2008-06-03 16:04:33 |
When I got online today, one of the first things that caught my eye (after “Pringles can designer buried in his work”) on MSN.com was this headline: “Frugalists find bargains in trash,” and of course I couldn’t help but click on it. I thought at first it was just about people digging up some still [...]...
|
| |
|
| Interest Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #4 |
| 2008-06-03 14:14:25 |
Hey everyone, sorry for the recent inconsistent posting. The past month as been really busy for me what with having a house guest (a cousin visiting us from Taiwan for 3 months), a trip to Disneyland (with 2 feisty dogs) the week before last and a trip to Las Vegas last week (with one feisty [...]...
|
| |
|
| Guide to Safe and Smart Traveling with Pets |
| 2008-06-02 14:29:17 |
There is nothing like a vacation with the whole family. Four-legged family members add a lot of fun to the trip, but they also add a lot of work and responsibility. (I’m thinking maybe each two legs is the equivalent of one two-legged person’s worth of energy.) Here are some suggestions for successful traveling with [...]...
|
| |
|
| Frugal Travel Begins Before the Trip: Vacation Preparation Checklist |
| 2008-06-01 05:13:53 |
Merriam-Webster defines the word “vacation” as “a respite or a time of respite from something”. Well, if that “something” from which one is taking a respite is “peace and quiet” then I would have to agree with the definer. Otherwise, gathering from my 2 recent “vacations” (one to Disneyland, one [working] vacation to Las Vegas [...]...
|
| |
|
| Five Ways to Make Some Extra Income on the Side |
| 2008-05-28 15:38:54 |
The following is a guest post by Jonathan at Master Your Card from the PF Bloggers Personal Finance Blog Network. If you like this post, be sure to check out his blog for other great reads!
Five Ways to Make Some Extra Income on the Side
Who couldn’t use a little extra money? Plenty of people are [...]...
|
| |
|
| My Favorite Money and Time Saving Websites |
| 2008-05-26 14:33:47 |
Next to the TV, DVD, flushing toilet, hot shower, computer and properly working automatic garage door, the internet is one of the best inventions ever. In fact, living in the desert as I do, I couldn’t get along without the internet. Even with the rising cost of internet service, the number of things it allows [...]...
|
| |
|
| Pay Bills Online and Save (Re-Post) |
| 2008-05-24 08:00:57 |
Note: We are taking a short break from blogging this week and will be re-posting a few of our earlier articles that may not have been read by many of our current readers. If you have already read this article (and those few to come), we apologize for the repetition and assure you that we [...]...
|
| |
|
| Language Lesson ~ Frugality is a Virtue (Re-Post) |
| 2008-05-22 08:00:30 |
Note: We are taking a short break from blogging this week and will be re-posting a few of our earlier articles that may not have been read by many of our current readers. If you have already read this article (and those few to come), we apologize for the repetition and assure you that we [...]...
|
| |
|
| Credits Cards Really Aren’t So Bad (Re-Post) |
| 2008-05-20 07:36:13 |
Note: We are taking a short break from blogging this week and will be re-posting a few of our earlier articles that may not have been read by many of our current readers. If you have already read this article (and those few to come), we apologize for the repetition and assure you that we [...]...
|
| |
|
| May 2008 Finance and Frugality Blog Carnivals |
| 2008-05-20 06:03:56 |
We would like to thank the following Blog Carnivals for featuring our posts.
(This list will be updated to include future inclusions for the month of May 2008.)
Descending chronologically by inclusion date
May 20, 2008
#126 Festival Of Frugality – If I Had A Car Edition
Article: Sharing Accounts to Maximize Cash Back and Interest Earnings
May 19, 2008
Carnival of [...]...
|
| |
|
| Some of the Many Uses for Vinegar Around the House |
| 2008-05-18 19:47:29 |
Vinegar is the frugally-, environmentally- and health-minded person’s best friend. Vinegar derives its potency from acetic acid, CH3COOH. The acidic nature of vinegar gives it the ability to kill bacteria, dissolve unwanted substances, and kill and deter insects and pests. Keep in mind that vinegar will corrode certain metals if not wiped away promptly. Because [...]...
|
| |
|
|
| |
 |
