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When I graduated high school and went to college, I was hit with an army of people across campus yielding all kinds of credit card offers.   Like most college students, I figured I needed to build credit anyways and I could use some extra cash as well.

Well that was my first mistake because my 20’s were then filled with a constant search of bills and working to try to keep up.   As I will speak about often, I ended up racking up $75,000 in debt in my 20’s and as you can imagine, that was a painful experience.

None the less, I learned a ton of tips and tricks to save money from this period of my life because I didn’t really have a choice.

Get free stuff off of Craigslist

You may not know this, but there is a free section on Craigslist where people just want stuff out of their house and they want it out now.   Maybe the item doesn’t have enough value for them to bother with trying to sell or they just want that sofa gone now because they have another one coming in a few hours.[Read More…]

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Ever since we got married, we would declare January as an entire month of No Spend.   It was right after the holidays after we just got done with putting a bruising on our personal finances, we would shut down all spending for the entire month and at the same time slow down life.

During this time, we would spend getting our life back in order, organizing our life, pay off any bills that we could and honestly just relax.  It was during this time that we would come up with some pretty creative ideas to occupy the time but without spending money.

At the end of January, we would have things back in order and prepared for what’s next.   For you, it doesn’t have to be a month worth of time.  Maybe just a weekend to get started.   So for this weekend you make a pack that your not going to spend a dime and truly make it a No Spend weekend.   You will come out of it relaxed, with a few extra dollars in your pocket and ready to face the world again.

Here is my list of NO SPEND weekend ideas:

Family Movie Night

I can’t tell you how many of these we have had.   Pop in a DVD or turn on the TV and see what’s on, pop some microwavable popcorn from the cupboard and curl up on the couch next to those that you love.[Read More…]

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I love freebies no matter how big or small they may be.    It’s that moment in time where you prove to all those people that told you that nothing in this world is free.

As a matter of fact,  I was just in Starbucks today and they were giving away free Christmas chocolates.   There was a big box of them that said take 1 or 3.   I’m a sucker for chocolate, so I chose the second option and grabbed three of them.

Anyways, let’s get back to your freebies!  A lot of these freebies are related to celebrating your birthday.   There are plenty of companies that are willing to step up and truly honor your birth into this world in style.   Whether that be a free coffee or a free piece of cake, these companies will deliver if they know it’s your birthday.

In order to be on the birthday freebie list, you will need to be prepared to be on their mailing list, but I look at that as a small sacrifice to be showered with all these freebies.[Read More…]

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It’s took me building a big life with a big house and a big family to realize what’s important in life.   I’m here to tell you that bigger is not better and more doesn’t make you happier.    As they say, money is not everything.   However, you will not hear me say that money is not important.

Money provides food on the table and it puts clothes on your back and a roof over your head.  Money is incredibly important so don’t confuse priorities when you hear people say that money is not everything.  What I hope people mean when they say this is that you shouldn’t prioritize making an extra buck over spending some quality time with an old friend.   Money can’t buy a quality friendship.

I write this article today while I sit in a 3000+ square foot home so mind you we haven’t converted fully to a minimalist lifestyle, but what we continue to do is head in that direction.   It took moving into this house to realize the power you can get in moving toward a minimal lifestyle.   I found that having more and having lots of stuff is stressful.[Read More…]

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I LOVE to travel.   One of my top 5 things to do is travel and see new places.   I think it’s built into my DNA and my curiosity to see the world gets the best of me.   We have been all over the United States as far south as South America and as far north as Canada.   I have even been to India in my travels.   Nonetheless, there is still many many places that I still want to visit on my bucket list.   If you are looking to travel on a budget, don’t be fooled into thinking that you have to spend thousands to travel.

Here are some great ways to score some high value experiences even on a low budget.

Couch Surfing is Free

So over the last number of years, there have been an increase of sites on line like CouchSurfing.com, where you can search an area of the world for people willing to host you for a night in their home.   They get to meet someone new and you get a warm place to sleep.  Sign up and create a profile.  They will ask you to verify your email, phone and postal address to make sure you are legit and not a crazy person.   At that point, just point in a direction and see who in that area is willing to host.   Connect up with them and agree on a date that you will be stopping by.  Don’t forget my 5 simple rules for couch surfing.  Simple as that.[Read More…]