This Is Why We CAN Have Nice Things

Last weekend, my wife took some clothes out of our dryer and put a new load in. She pushed the button to start it and .... nothing happened. About 30 seconds later, it beeped and showed an error code: Uh-oh. A little Googling told me this particular code means the main controller board is bad and needs to be replaced. The part typically costs $250 and that doesn't include the labor to install it. The total cost ended up being $398. Luckily,...

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Biweekly Mortgage Payments: Why Pay A Company When You Can DIY For Free?

If you have ever taken out a mortgage or refinanced a mortgage, you've likely noticed that right after that process has been completed, you start getting letters in the mail offering you mortgage insurance and other such questionable products. Many of the letters try to fool you into believing they come from your bank by using generic sounding company names like "Loan Payment Administration." They may even reference your loan amount and interest...

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Don't Leave Money On The Table: Groceries and Gas

This is one in a series of short articles about claiming all the benefits you are entitled to – be that discounts, freebies, or whatnot. I’m not going to go to the length of, say, extreme couponing, but I have found there are often discounts or bonuses you can easily take advantage of that can save you money without making major changes in your spending patterns or behaviors. For this installment of DLMOTT, I'm going to talk about something...

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Goal Update: End Of December 2014

At the end of each month, I post an update of my goals, including a brief discussion of any notable events that might have occurred during the month. The latest month's figures can always be found under the Featured menu in the menu bar at the top of the blog. Last updated: End of December, 2014 Current value: $10,805 Change from last month: +1,153 Percent of Goal:  9.94% Note that the funds in this account are invested in stock,...

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