May 2008 Archives

According to the Wall Street Journal, we should all be stockpiling foods to ensure that we won’t run out when store shelves become empty.  They claim that stockpiling food is a smart economical move in the event of lean times ahead. 

Food prices are already rising here much faster than the returns you are likely to get from keeping your money in a bank or money-market fund. And there are very good reasons to believe prices on the shelves are about to start rising a lot faster. Source

But for those who are accustomed to only buying what you need when you need it, how do you know what kinds of foods to stockpile? And exactly how much should you purchase?

Numerous reports are stating that there will likely be very few job opportunities for teenagers this summer.  This is unfortunate. However, there are some fun alternatives that you might not have thought of.

Since the "traditional" summer jobs may be fewer in number this summer, teens just need to be a little more creative to come up with their own job opportunities.

Here are some ideas...

Who would have imagined 2 years ago that we would be paying $4 or more for a tank of gas?  Well, believe it or not, it's a reality.  We appear to be in the midst of a gasoline crisis. 

While the New York Times debates the validity of there being an actual crisis, our pocketbooks say otherwise.  And, CNBC points out that gas prices are, in fact, at full-blown crisis level. 

I think the best way we can survive this hike in gas prices is to lower our need for gas.

Here are some simple things you can do to lower gas consumption and lessen the damage that gasoline prices are putting on your pocketbook:

Due to today's economy, many Americans are tempted to cancel vacations this year in lieu of saving money (or paying down credit cards and other debt). 

It probably is a good idea to use vacation money to pay bills, especially if you are in debt.  But being financially responsible doesn't necessarily mean that you need to deprive yourself or your family of a relaxing vacation. 
 
If you find yourself in need of a vacation without the money to finance it, before you cancel your vacation plans altogether, here are 5 simple things you can do to keep your vacation plans on track.

According to the Jumpstart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, the average high school graduate lacks the basic skills needed to manage his or her own personal finances. In fact, young people tend to fail miserably in managing their first credit card, and they learn to manage finances through trial and error. 
 
Most children tend to learn all of their parents' bad financial habits and none of the good.

I live within walking distance of a factory outlet mall.  It was built the year after we built our home and the entire time it was being constructed, I waited in excitement for the day that it would open. 

For several years, the factory outlet mall and I were great friends.  I would go there to “relax” and I would always leave at least $100 poorer and loaded down with all kinds of great buys.  Fortunately, the novelty wore off. 

If you're in the midst of planning your wedding and your wedding budget is falling short, you basically have 2 choices:

Cut back on some of your wedding plans

Do some last-minute saving for your wedding 

Here are some fun and unique things you can do to find more money for your wedding...