I recently had my SUV in the shop for some warranty work and they gave me a small sport sedan as a ‘loaner’ car for the morning. My SUV isn’t huge – and we use it as our family hauler – but I wondered out loud how much better a smaller vehicle might be for gas mileage. The technician added, “for the environment, too”. Here’s … Continue reading The Added Everyday Costs Of Driving An SUV
One of the many ‘rules’ most financial experts advise is saving for your own retirement before saving for your kids’ post-secondary education. The idea is like when you are on a plane – you should put on your own oxygen mask before helping your little ones with theirs. The curiously paradoxical thing about this financial advice is that no one I have ever met seems … Continue reading Save For Retirement Before College?
We went from sunny and 68-degrees on Tuesday this week to an 8 inch snowstorm in just 24 hours this week. That’s life in Minnesota. As I was shoveling snow off the front porch this morning, I found a lawn service flyer on the handle of my door. I have always mowed my own lawn – sometimes with help from my wife & son. We … Continue reading Lawn Mowing Savings = 1 Year Of Work!
A few years ago, returning from a trip to Scotland, we found that we paid a substantial premium on some Scotch we bought there. Instead of getting a bargain for buying it at the distillery and bringing it all the way back to the US, we paid about 40% more the experience. So, on our recent cruise in the Caribbean, we decided we would to … Continue reading Booze Cruise Bargains?
We’re Sam’s Club members and just before Thanksgiving, I stopped in to quickly return something. I was glad I hadn’t bought anything that day, because the line to get OUT of the store was an incredible sixteen carts long. Both Sam’s and Costco require customers exiting to have their receipts checked by store employees by the door. I always felt that this practice was ineffective … Continue reading Warehouse Club Time Wasters & Lies
Are you saving enough? It’s the most basic of questions. Yet, I’m always so disappointed when I see an article showing how low the US savings rate is. A recent study by Fidelity showed that the average American is saving about 8.5% of their after-tax income – including the value of any employer matches. Even though 8.5% savings is far less than is typically suggested … Continue reading Savings Rates & Reaching FIRE
It’s been almost a year since I published this POST about shopping for our next SUV and our “7 rules” to maximize our purchase. Just today, I am finally signing the papers on our next set of wheels. After a few stops & starts, I finally got serious about finding our next SUV last month when we had a $2.8K breakdown. I had kept putting … Continue reading Car Shopping – Patience Pays
