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Posted
Jun 27 2008, 05:57 AM
by
Karen Datko
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This post comes from Trent Hamm at partner blog The Simple Dollar. Alan wrote in with an interesting situation: My problem is that I can't say no to people. I am a sucker for Girl Scouts selling cookies. I am a sucker for salesmen at stores. I am a sucker for my church when they need money for something. I am a sucker for friends and family who need to borrow money. I am a sucker for the Green Party or Green Peace when they call and ask for money all the time. I have heard it called "the disease to please" before, and I just wanted you to know how much it affects me not only with a lot of stress and anxiety, but also financially. I don't think I am alone either. ... I am trying to empower myself by saying no to at least one person a day. It is not easy though. I always fear hurting people's feelings or making them angry. Your article today about the left and right brain was fascinating. It got me thinking about other parts of a person's psychological makeup that could potentially affect their spending habits. For me, if I could grow a backbone and say no to people, I would probably save $100 or $200 a month. Sometimes more.
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Posted
Jun 23 2008, 08:55 AM
by
Donna Freedman
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As yard sale experiences go, Saturday was just about perfect. The weather was beautiful and I not only found exactly what I was looking for, I scored a killer deal on it. While the low prices I saw all day were thrilling, they were also an object lesson as to why yard sales can be as dangerous as dollar stores: Things are so cheap that it's easy to overbuy.
Prime example: the foot-tall statue of a bull terrier, priced at a quarter, that reminded me of the classic "His master's voice" ads for RCA-Victor. There was something very appealing about the pup, yet I had no real need for such a thing and also no place to put it. Why in the world would I consider buying it? Because it was only 25 cents.
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Posted
Jun 19 2008, 11:14 AM
by
Karen Datko
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Mike at Clever Dude has come up with a creative solution to a problem we've all probably encountered. His father-in-law made two trips from Pennsylvania to Mike's D.C.-area home to work on Mike and Stacie's floors and refuses any compensation. We have the same problem with a wonderful neighbor/friend who takes care of our dogs when we're gone, so we read Mike's post -- "Why we're donating our tax stimulus check" -- with great interest. Mike calls his method "guerilla gift-giving." We'll call it "stealth compensation."
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Posted
Jun 11 2008, 05:20 AM
by
Karen Datko
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This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller. Recently, I took my son, Gavin, to the Coinstar machine to turn the random coins he's been getting into paper money. Added to the last two years of birthday money, his total was right around $150. As he stared at that money (and lamented the fact that now all he had was paper instead of a huge jar of coins), I realized that it was time to start teaching Gavin about money.
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Posted
Jun 10 2008, 03:50 PM
by
Karen Datko
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The worst commotion we've ever heard in a retail setting (other than the toddler who got his foot caught in a shopping cart) was a kid who started screaming "apple" in the produce section, and then continued for 10 minutes and was readily audible from every area of the store. (It was so bad, we almost bought the little man an apple.) Parental units, don't give in, says Ashley of Wide Open Wallet in a post called "Saying no to your kids." She has overindulged her little boy, and now she's trying to correct the problem.
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Posted
Jun 05 2008, 10:41 AM
by
Karen Datko
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"That One Caveman" has been driven to an extreme approach to deal with his mother-in-law's chronic overspending, particularly when it comes to the caveman's child. Given, her behavior is distressing. She's a shopaholic who is threatening her own financial future. For instance, her daughter's old bedroom is packed with stuff she's purchased but never even taken out of the shopping bags. Now, despite being asked not to, she is showering trinkets, clothes and potentially unsafe toys on her granddaughter, and even tried to foist a $20 bill into the 17-month-old cavegirl's hand.
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Posted
Jun 04 2008, 05:30 AM
by
Karen Datko
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This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller. With Father's Day fast approaching, finding a memorable gift that doesn't break the bank can be a chore. To make things easy for you, what follows is a list of Father's Day gifts that range in cost from zero to about $25. And for those fathers reading this article, you'll be happy to know that a Father's Day tie is not on the list. Homemade greeting card. Kids love crafts, and making a card for Dad on Father's Day is a memorable time. I've kept every card my children have ever made for me, and they are worth far more than anything they could have bought for me. Here's a site with some great card ideas.
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Posted
May 30 2008, 04:07 PM
by
Karen Datko
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Shannon Christman isn't poor, but she is frugal, and sometimes other people confuse the two. On occasion, salespeople have snubbed her -- and missed out on making a sale. Sometimes generous people offer help when it's not needed. Her thought-provoking post at Saving Advice should raise questions in any thinking person's mind about how quickly we make judgments about others. She also says, "The assumptions others make about my frugality -- usually that I have much less money than I actually do -- can be a benefit to me."
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Posted
May 16 2008, 05:32 AM
by
Karen Datko
This post comes from Trent Hamm at partner blog The Simple Dollar. When I was fresh out of college with my first high-paying job, I would insist on paying for everything -- meals out with friends, lattes at the coffee shop, even sometimes shopping purchases. I felt this deep need to step in, bust out my plastic and say, "I'll take care of it." The burning desire to always save the day led me down a path to a lot of debt.
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Posted
Apr 22 2008, 11:32 AM
by
Karen Datko
Britt Bravo of Have Fun Do Good began the 29-Day Giving Challenge by donating to a health clinic at a refugee camp in Darfur. Stuck in a motorhome in a southern Alberta campground during a weekend blizzard, Ian Wilson gave his camping buddy big breakfasts and beer. "And I also gave myself a pretty good gift ... the gift of spare time," he said. As one participant noted, studies have indeed confirmed what we already knew: Money can buy happiness if you spend it on somebody else. So Cami Walker's 29-Day Giving Challenge should raise the joy level in the world more than a little.
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