How To Save Money Equipping Your Kitchen

I think just about everyone knows that eating out is more expensive than making meals yourself. When people try to save money, one of the first things they cut back on is eating out at restaurants. When you go out, you’ll pay $2 to $4 for a soft drink that you can buy for yourself at the store for about a quarter. The actual food has a similar, if not quite so high, markup. It’s easy to justify eating out due to lack of time or lack of cooking...

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Credit Card Showdown: Costco Visa vs. Chase Freedom

I love my Chase Freedom Visa credit card. I earn 1% cash back on every purchase and 5% cash back from select merchants that change each quarter. There is no annual fee. And now that Costco takes Visa, I can use it there as well. But the last time I was at Costco, I noticed a sign advertising a Costco branded credit card. These are the details: Hmm.. That looks intriguing. I spend a fair amount of money at Costco and my Chase Freedom card only...

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Tax Day!

Last week was tax day in our house. Not April 15, when taxes are due to be filed, but the day I set aside to gather all my tax-related paperwork and ship it off to my CPA. Like always, I sat on the floor of the room we use for our home office and starting stacking papers in piles all around me. All W2s go in this pile by my left knee. All 1099 forms go the pile by my right knee. That pile over there is for receipts for charity donations. The...

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Goal Update: End of February 2018

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 February, 2018 Current value: $38,086 Change from last Month: -$2,186 Percent of Goal:  35.02% Note that the funds in this account...

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