I’ve never really been a coupon guy. I don’t know if this is because it seems like I never find coupons for the stuff I actually buy, or if I just don’t want to take the time to cut them out and organize them. Besides, I buy store brands to save money on my groceries so I never felt to the need to go through all the hassle that coupons entail. But when I saw this video on consumerist.com, I thought maybe I should give it a try. My two worlds (store brands & coupons) collided earlier this month when [...]
Read MoreJuly 2009
You’ll get 5 bonus points if you remember that one of the first posts that I wrote for The Happy Rock was about daycare. Back then daycare was costing us about $950 a month. So its no wonder why I wrote about it, it was our biggest monthly expense. Long time readers will also note that I soon lost my job, went back to school and cut the kids down to 20 hours a week at daycare. That change brought our bill down to the $650/month range. The months went by. The kids learned their ABC’s, they had the cutest [...]
Read MoreLong story short, Keen will replace any pair of bungee shoe laces for free. Just follow this link to the Keen FAQ and click the customer service link in the replace your laces question. First, if you aren’t familiar with Keen sandals(Newport), take a look at the picture. They get my vote, especially for my boys. They are much better than the wide many variety of cheap open toed sandals that I see kids running around in. These are solid, comfy, and protective. The Newport sandals come with bungee laces and a simple clamp slider which make them easy for [...]
Read MoreFor some reason I love it when the mail is delivered. I can’t really explain it. Maybe I’m hoping for a message from a secret admirer, the Victoria Secret catalog, or a random check. Who knows? So imagine my disappointment when on the same day I got not one, but TWO notices that my monthly expenses would be going up. I felt like Tom Cruise in “A Few Good Men” after Demi Moore told him she was coming with him to Cuba. The first one told us that our mortgage needed to be adjusted due to the escrow account being too [...]
Read MoreThis is a guest post by PF blogger The Weakonomist @ Weakonomics.com. He is a twenty something who works for a major bank and unlike most PF blogger has stayed debt free. For those who aren’t familiar with his blog, click through and say hello. I’ve never written for Happy Rock before so you probably don’t know much about me. Normally I wouldn’t care to tell you and you wouldn’t care to know, but it adds context to my post. I’m a young buck and getting married this fall. Me and The Sheconomist don’t own much stuff, so we are [...]
Read MoreI can’t believe the year is half over. Summer is flying by! For any new readers just joining us, I track my family’s monthly expenses. Below is the tally for June 2009: $1038.54 – Mortgage $664.10 – Health Insurance $618.00 – Daycare $311.25 – Groceries $215.00 – Student Loan $173.34 -Hair Care $107.77 – Medical $83.97 – Electric $81.69 – Tennis $81.06 – Dinning Out $69.62 – Phone/Internet $65.79 – Household Misc $56.94 – Cosmetics $54.77 – Dog $53.32 – Utilities $52.02 – Kid’s Care $46.34 – Kid’s Fun $39.29 – Gas $37.54 – Books $30.74 – 4th of [...]
Read MoreAnother great week of personal finance posts have come and gone, now it is time to crown the best of the best. If you aren’t familiar with the Carnival of Top PF Posts, I think MLR @ My Life ROI covered it very succinctly: Well, the average carnival has 40+ submissions. Who has the time to read through all of them?! With the Carnival of Top PF Posts, I do all the leg work for you. I read through all of the submissions, choose the 6 that I think are the best, and then let you, the readers, vote on [...]
Read MoreI know this may not be the inspirational pie in the sky post you want to hear, but it is reality. If you are already a part time entrepreneur, solo entrepreneur, or blogger you can probably empathize with this list. Better yet it might help you gain some insight into your own circumstances. For those that are considering embarking on such a journey, this is fair warning. This article isn’t an attempt to discourage you at all, but rather an attempt to prepare you for what lies ahead. It may discourage you, and if it does then you probably aren’t [...]
Read MoreHave you noticed how expensive it is to get old? No, I’m talking about supplemental Medicare insurance either. I’m talking about birthdays! I turned 34 not to long ago. And to mark such a momentous occasion my wife decided that we should throw a party. And what started out as a small backyard BBQ, turned into a shindig where we invited everyone we knew. OK, maybe it wasn’t quiet that bad, but it felt like it. I think it got out of hand because we don’t host many get-togethers. We threw one other “big” party before. It was on my 29th [...]
Read MoreA while ago I wrote about how I blew my grocery budget on a $11 hunk of cheese, I ended that post by asking for some budget friendly recipes. Only Kristy from Master Your Card took me up, and I’m ever glad she did. Her chicken dish was fantastic! Here it is again for those of you who missed out the first time: 4 boneless chicken breasts 1 can cream of chicken (reg size is fine) 1 tablespoon of Season-All Spaghetti noodles butter garlic salt First, you boil the chicken with salt and pepper until they’re just about done. This [...]
Read More
