This post is in response to Free From Broke’s tipping point contest. For those that don’t know a The Tipping Point is a book and term coined by Malcom Gladwell in 2002. It refers to “the level at which the momentum for change becomes unstoppable.“[1] The term was an attempt to quantify and understand what makes certain phenomenon and ideas take off. Why does an unknown book vault into the best seller list or a website like I Can Has CheezBurger go viral. Click Here for the link to the book on Amazon and here for the book preview from [...]
Read MoreJune 2008
Yesterday, I replaced all four tires on my 1994 Nissan Sentra at my local Costco to the tune of $245. First I had to decide if I wanted to put that much money into a care that isn’t worth much more that $500, but that is a post in and of itself. Ultimately tires aren’t something you want to skimp and cut corners on because they are integral to your cars safety. *Update(1/09) – I have also had a bad experience with buying from Costco and was quite happy with TireRack.com. Now, why Costco you ask? Best price around. I [...]
Read MoreI talk often about the benefits of paying cash and the credit card premium, but just recently The Rockette received a first hand lesson about how paying cash can save you money. The Rock Garden had to hire a new babysitter a few weeks back who wanted to get paid in cash rather than by check. The Rockette works 18 hours a week as a Registered Dietitian Consultant and would now be handing over the cash on Friday afternoons instead of me writing a check with the bills. The second week she had to hand over $212 in cash to [...]
Read MoreThe winner was announced over the RSS feed. SmartyPig gave my a $50 gift card a while back in order to help promote their site and I wanted to pass this great gift onto one of my readers. If you are not familiar with their service here is the description from their website. SmartyPig is a simple, smart, fun way to save for a specific goal. Using groundbreaking technology and the latest in security standards, SmartyPig allows you to invite family and friends to contribute to your account, gives you additional incentive boosts from top retailers who sell exactly what [...]
Read MoreAfter posting about The Happy Rock’s need for another writer, I began thinking why someone would be interested in becoming a personal finance blogger. That ultimately lead me to think about the benefits of PF blogging I have received after a year plus of running a blog. Here are my top five reasons to start/write a personal finance blog. Accountability – If you are someone who is looking to get out of debt, achieve your goals, and you want support, motivation, and accountability, blogging is quite convenient. If you can’t find people in your physical proximity that share similar goals [...]
Read MoreFor those of us lucky enough to have multiple grocery stores around, we usually end up with a favorite store. The frustrating part is that your favorite store doesn’t carry the exact item that you can get at other stores. I used to make quick trips to the other store for the one or two essentials that we couldn’t get at our main grocery store. I constantly wished that my main grocery store would realize how popular the item would be if they just carried. The thing is, stores would love more product feedback to help their buying decisions along, [...]
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