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Posted
Aug 19 2008, 04:36 PM
by
Ryan MacClanathan
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Student loans, fast food, credit card debt, the "freshmen 15," all-night binge drinking/study sessions -- plenty of financial and dietary perils
await today's incoming college freshmen.
For many young adults the first years of college are a time
to make mistakes and, hopefully, learn from those mistakes. Unfortunately, some
of those errors in judgment can take years to fix. Plenty of adults in their
30s and 40s are struggling to beat down debt accrued in their wilder days. And, of course,
there's the old adage: A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips.
Fortunately, Kris at Cheap Healthy Good has sound,
nonjudgmental advice for young student on how to eat
healthy and live frugally, both of which go hand in hand.
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Posted
Jan 09 2008, 09:22 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Americans spend almost half their food dollars on meals and snacks away from home, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Division. Sociologists have many theories about why this is so: single parents, two-career couples, after-school activities, the demise of cooking in America. My own theory? When you get home at 6:45 p.m. with a cranky toddler, the last thing you want to do is start peeling potatoes.
Be proactive, the frugal types say. Buy a slow cooker, or prepare and freeze meals on weekends. You might even do these things, at least some of the time. But sometimes you don't. Sometimes life throws a monkey wrench (or a flat tire, or a sick kid) into your plans. And yeah, sometimes you forget to plug in the slow cooker on your way out the door.
Stephanie, a mom of four who writes the Stop the Ride! personal-finance blog, has an ultra-simple solution.
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Posted
Dec 13 2007, 08:20 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Myscha Theriault at partner blog Wise Bread. While I've been developing this article for a while now, Philip Brewer's recent article on bulk-purchase investment returns really kicked things into high gear. Most of us have known for some time that purchasing in bulk provides decent financial returns. Now, with Philip's excellent analysis of the potential percentage rates, you may be more motivated than ever to get started with large-quantity purchasing. The problem? Bulk buying sounds way simpler than it actually is. Where do you store it? When does it make sense to buy in bulk versus small quantities? It's enough to make your eyes cross and your brain start to feel pickled, particularly if you've never shopped this way before. What's more, it's far from the sexiest financial subject matter out there, which can make it very difficult to analyze and apply to your personal situation. Here's a nuts-and-bolts article covering what I see as the five major areas of consideration.
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Posted
Nov 02 2007, 09:12 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Americans not only need to be reminded to eat with their families, they have to be told how to do it. At least that’s the impression I got from radio spots touting “Family Dinner Night” as a way to, among other things, keep our kids off drugs . Then there's the print ad for a brand of frozen entrees: mom, dad and two kids enjoying lasagna from what looks like a glass dish, not a microwave tub. “Real dinner and great conversation any night of the week,” the ad copy exults. It goes on to say, “Get your family talking!” – and provides a Web site to help the conversation along. Let’s see: We don’t seem to know that families are supposed to eat together. Once at the table, we need cue cards to help us talk. Oh, and a frozen dinner is helpful, too. Yes, I know we’re all busy, busy people and that nuking a lasagna floe may seem like the only way to get food into our mouths. But let me throw out two reasons to find time to cook. • You’ll save a lot of money on food up-front. • Over time, you’ll
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Posted
Oct 26 2007, 06:38 AM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Trent Hamm at partner blog The Simple Dollar . Halloween is one of my favorite times of year. Where I live, children trick-or-treat by the dozens, dressed up in all types of costumes. My family enjoys Halloween as a harvest celebration as well. The best part? Halloween offers all sorts of opportunities for frugality. The holiday can create several weekends of fun for the whole family on a modest budget. Here are our family’s plans for a frugal Halloween: Buying and carving pumpkins. This eats up a couple of hours, because we go out in the country, pick up several pumpkins of various sizes, and head home. Then we have fun carving the pumpkins. My son picks out a face design or two. I empty out the pumpkins' innards and carve the faces. The best touch: LED pumpkin lights that use almost no energy and give a wonderful glow to the jack-o'-lanterns. Cost: $15. Making homemade pumpkin pie. It’s easier than you’ve heard. Remove the pulp, then slice the pumpkin’s outer shell
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Posted
Oct 08 2007, 07:51 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
The female half of a two-income family issued a call for money-saving tips that won't eat into her very crowded schedule, and lots of working mothers responded at The Dollar Stretcher . Here are some samples: Use online banking. Buy a freezer and fill it with in-season vegetables and super-sized meals cooked on weekends. Learn about square-foot gardening . Plan in advance what each family member is wearing the next day. Find out which restaurants have special discounts and "kids eat free" nights. Brown bag it to work; don't be like the co-worker who blows $4 on a single serving of cut-up melon. Have a rule: The spouse who gets home first cooks (heats up) dinner. Don't do everything by yourself. "We are a family and we all contribute," Allison writes. "One person cannot and should not have to do it all."
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Posted
Sep 26 2007, 09:57 AM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
You'll eat out less often, if at all, when you add a fussy newborn to the family. And you can reuse toys, clothes and other items no longer age-appropriate for your first child. The father of a newborn explains these and other savings.
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