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Posted
Sep 30 2008, 05:20 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
"Paidtwice" resents that school districts are "trying to turn our kids into little salespeople" by holding so many fundraisers. She made that remark after her preschooler came home with a fundraising packet, which she promptly tossed in the trash. Her husband gave a neighbor's kid $15 for popcorn she could have bought at a store for much less. She's not upset about the purchase, but "I hate feeling obligated to buy stuff I don't want to be neighborly or nice or just to make the kid not feel bad," she wrote in a post at I've Paid For This Twice Already. We know what she means. Schools seem so strapped for funds that students must peddle goods door-to-door to pay for basic things. But has it gotten out of hand? And is there an alternative?
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Posted
Sep 23 2008, 11:03 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Be a careful shopper and you'll save money on gifts. Be a considerate shopper and you'll save your recipient some money as well.
We can see lots of people pursuing this new goal in gifting as the holiday season speeds our way. (Did you notice how early Halloween stuff started to appear in stores? At this rate, we'll be inundated with Christmas promotions long before the last leaf has fallen from the tree. But we digress.)
Jennifer Derrick, one of our favorite PF writers, gives 28 examples of gifts that will enhance the giftee's frugality in a post at Personal Finance Advice. "Who can argue with a gift that saves them money," she says.
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Posted
Sep 12 2008, 05:09 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
You probably don't know Grey at Frugal Fu, and neither do we. But the birthday gift this single mother of three children requested for her 29th birthday is so unselfish that we're going to chip in. You might consider doing the same. She wants you to pay it forward. "I request that you take time in the next 30 days to 'pay forward' the kindness you feel you have received in your own life, to whomever you feel needs it the most," she writes.
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Posted
Aug 14 2008, 09:01 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
If you notice someone lingering in store aisles to see if people put certain items into their carts, it could be "Steward," the blogger at My Family's Money. Steward wants to hand you a coupon. He has lots that he isn't going to use, so why not share? Isn't this a lovely idea? He explains it in a post called "A frugal shopping tip that leaves everyone smiling." We hope this catches on.
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Posted
Jul 17 2008, 06:05 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
When Amanda of Value For Your Life was 12 year old, she begged and begged until her parents finally got her a dog. Enter Jasper. Eventually Shadow joined the clan. What Amanda didn't know was that when each dog moved in, her mother began automatically depositing $25 a month per dog into a do-it-yourself pet insurance fund. That money -- growing in a high-interest savings account -- came in handy over the years, and without the limitations often attached to pet insurance policies. It was there to help Shadow as he developed back problems and, eventually, terminal cancer. (Read her remarkable account of Shadow's passing. Amanda, a veterinarian, euthanized her beloved dog at home. Warning: You may shed tears. We did.)
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Posted
Jul 15 2008, 04:57 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
You know what happens when you ask Grandma and Grandpa what they want for their birthday or Christmas. They say, "I have everything I need." "Chances are that's exactly what you heard, probably followed by 'so don't buy me anything.' And they mean it," Blunt Money reminds us in a wise and lovely post called "Everything you need (and want)." She adds that we can learn from their example: "The thing is, many of us probably do have everything we need, right now, without even realizing it."
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Posted
Jun 19 2008, 11:14 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
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 10 2008, 03:50 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
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 09 2008, 12:09 PM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Cash is great, but consider other gifts to start the new graduate on a path to financial health that aren't so easy come, easy go. So says Money Smart Life. "The problem, as I remember it, is that cash is a hard thing to hold on to once you're out of school and thrust into the job hunt or working world," he writes in a post called "Gift ideas for college grads for a financial head start." We particularly liked his suggestion to set up an investment matching program.
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Posted
Jun 05 2008, 10:41 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
"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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