Complete list of Saving articles

Rate per person-hour
Sometimes an old trick can come in handy. I was pleased at a recent incident where we used rate per person hour. Is my cleaning service too expensive? A few of us were discussing how much we paid for cleaning services. The numbers were something like the following. One person was paying ...

How many categories should you have for your budget or expense spreadsheet?
My friend is getting serious about his finances, and at my suggestion he has agreed to work through a couple months of my free budget and expense tracker spreadsheet. The first thing that struck him was the list of budget categories. Many mainstream budget worksheets have about 20-30 categories. Even Bundle, ...

Money lessons from art class
I didn't learn how to draw, or paint, or mold clay. I slightly improved artistically, if at all. But I still feel I learned a lot from my eighth grade art class. It all started with the first assignment. We were to create an art portfolio case from construction paper. The ...

Amazon Subscribe and Save is great
One day I was planning to buy some personal care items. On a whim, I checked if they were available at Amazon.com. To my surprise, many of the items were listed. And to my delight, they were cheaper at Amazon. The good news turned out to be even better. Some of ...

Free budget spreadsheet and expense tracker
(To download, go to the "free budget spreadsheet and expense tracker" file in Financial Tools page) Last year a lot of people took a fresh look at their finances. And that meant starting with the basics of comparing income to expenses. I have long been recommending such expense tracking. For four years ...

How much does your girlfriend cost?
If women didn't exist, all the money in the world would have no meaning--Aristotle Onassis Friday night was ending, and we asked our friend what we owed. He replied, “Don't worry about it guys—it's so little that it's on me. This is nothing compared to a normal Friday night when I ...

5 extra uses for shot glasses
I appreciate shot glasses. They are classy and inexpensive souvenirs. And they are ultimately practical for weekend parties when making drinks. I have amassed a decent collection of shot glasses. One day it bugged me that the shot glasses primarily got used on weekends. They simply occupied cabinet space on weekdays. In ...

Gifts for economists, 2009
What gift would you give an economist? It's the time of year when I discuss a few ideas. This is not easy to answer because economists are highly individualist. But there are a few guidelines I go by. All else equal, I feel economists prefer three things. First, they prefer practical ...

Kraft offers “free” food in many SuperValu stores-Why?
I came across an interesting promotion from Kraft foods-it's almost like free food. If you purchase $25 in qualifying items, you will get a $5 your next purchase and $20 via mail in rebate. The offer is valid from 8/7/09 through 8/23/09 in selected SuperValu stores such as Albertsons, Jewel-Osco, ...

Can a budget help your marriage?
There are three rings involved with marriage. The engagement ring, the wedding ring, and the suffering --Unknown The sum which two married people owe to one another defies calculation. It is an infinite debt, which can only be discharged through eternity --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe The bonds of matrimony are like any other ...

Why cooking at home is smart
During this time off from the blog, I have had much time to reflect on some of my favorite articles. Here is one from the July 2008 email newsletter that I found relevant--hope it finds you well! (sign up for the free Mind Your Decisions email newsletter at phplist) image by ...

The simple expense tracker–over 1,000 downloads
Not long ago I introduced a free spreadsheet called "The Simple Expense Tracker" to help people record their expenses. The spreadsheet tabulates expenses and income, and it automatically calculates monthly and yearly savings and spending by category. It's not as fancy as the software on websites like mint.com or wesabe.com. ...

3 ways to cut costs at happy hour
photo by pink sherbet Do you enjoy happy hour? I sure do. It's a fun way to get to know your co-workers and end a long day of work. That's why I wanted to make happy hour more affordable and I came up with these ideas. Before I get started, a word ...

The Automatic Millionaire: book review and criticism
Can you become a millionaire...without making a lot of money or having willpower? You can, promises money writer David Bach in The Automatic Millionaire. Bach is one of the most popular money advisers and his explanations can be very catchy (he's the one who coined the term "the latte factor"). Does ...

How much money do you need to be happy?
source: Joe Shlabotnik via flickr At Stanford, I heard someone say they needed to make at least $150,000 annually to be happy. I was surprised for many reasons, but most of all, I was surprised at how serious the person took the question. I was raised with values like "health is ...

The strategy of writing a complaint letter or email
source: aturkus via flickr I remember the first time I complained to a company. I hastily made an angry call and was flatly rejected. I composed myself and five minutes later I made another call. This time I used a calm tone and I read from a complaint script I found ...

A big reason why you should track your expenses–money flows are complex
Most of the people I discuss money with track their expenses or agree it is a good idea. But not everyone is convinced. Here is a comment I received earlier this week: Presh, I sort of see your point about tracking expenses, but isn't it overkill? I seem to do just ...

A free spreadsheet to track your expenses
(To download the file, see the "free budget spreadsheet and expense tracker" file in Financial Tools page) Tracking your money is perhaps the most powerful step for saving money. But what is the best way to do it? Programs like Microsoft Money and Intuit's Quicken are great but I think they are ...

Die Broke: A Radical Four-Part Financial Plan
Conventional money wisdom focuses on saving. If you earn more, limit expenses, and plan properly, you'll be able to save enough for retirement and still have something to pass along to the kids. This is the philosophy on which most advisers operate. But there is just one problem-the conventional wisdom ...

4 tips for making the most of the recession
The recession has been painful. Some of my friends have lost their jobs. Others are finding it harder to stay afloat. But this is no time to look down--rather, one must make the most of a bad situation. There are opportunities during bad times. But to see them, one has to ...

3 important lessons from the financial crisis
It's hard to know what to think these days. I find myself overwhelmed sorting through all the data and predictions. It's time for reflection, so here are three of my lessons during this downturn: 1. Saving for emergencies: time to revive age old wisdom Ancient societies understood the need to save for ...

Figuring out how much your time is worth—does it make sense?
Question: What's the best way to value your time? I am trying to make a decision about whether to hire help for my house. My answer: There are many ways to figure out how much your time is worth. You can get a quick estimate of your hourly rate by taking your salary ...

Why do people make stupid money decisions?
Reader question: Presh, random question for you: why do people make stupid money decisions? Any thoughts would be appreciated. My answer: This is an interesting question. The other day I saw someone pay more for food because he ordered ala carte instead of getting the combo. I certainly scratched my head after that ...

Is your car loan more expensive than you think? The difference between APR and the total interest you have to pay
Question from a reader (slightly edited): I have 60-month loan for an $18500 car with a 5.69 percent APR. When I do the calculation using simple interest it comes to $1052.65. On my contract from the dealer it says $2726.20. Why is their number closer to 15 percent? Am I missing ...

Are You Eating Your Retirement Savings?
Some of my acquaintances think it’s impossible to save nowadays. They say there is nothing left after taxes, housing, and basic social expenses. One person even said it’s getting to the point that $50,000 is not enough to live in Chicago. This seemed curious to me, so I started a discussion ...

Try New Foods to Deal with Rising Costs
All the things I love to eat are getting more expensive. Simple pleasures like bread, rice, and corn have almost doubled in price. What’s one to do? Try new food, naturally. There are two reasons to do this. The first is an economic reason. Food prices are the result of supply ...

How do you deal with overdraft fees?
“Bob” emails me his frustrations with managing his checking account: I just got hit with an overdraft fee and I’m really annoyed. I regularly check my account online but this time a check cleared unexpectedly. It was a check I wrote a couple months ago and forgotten about. How do you deal ...

Improve Savings by Planning for Failure?
My friend was thrilled to find a multimedia section at her library. It had movies, even new ones, for a one-week loan. And the best part was DVD rentals were free. She quickly cancelled Netflix and rejoiced in saving hundreds of dollars a year. All was going well until she got ...

How My Friend Outsmarted a Car Salesman
photo credit: daveynin My friend always gets great deals on cars. Like most of us, he shops around and collects price information. What sets him apart is his ability to close the deal. He gets the best deal because he uses the three following techniques: He avoids price traps (he thinks in dollars, ...

10 Things about the Working World I Wish I Knew in College
Let’s face it—each new stage in life brings dramatic changes that are difficult to anticipate. No matter how smart you can be in college, you will still get surprised by the working world. I faced these surprises myself. I thought the working world would be hard since it lacked the freedom ...

Should I Get a Dental Sealant to Prevent Cavities (and Save Money)?
Image source: yomi955 via flickr I’m an adult now, but for the first time in my life, my dentist found cavities. I didn’t understand it, as I religiously follow all of the American Dental Association's guidelines for oral hygiene (brush twice, floss, eat balanced meals, visit dentist regularly). Why did I get ...

Make Saving Enjoyable, or How You Can Have Your Cake and Eat It Too
Image via evan at flickr When I talk to college graduates, they tell me they save to pay off loans, to buy a house, and to invest for retirement. These responses are good, but perhaps they confuse the goals of saving with the reasons for saving. For example, saving for a birthday ...

Guest Writer: The Basics of Islamic Finance
Religion and money are joined in many ways. Discussing these issues can educate and improve understanding among followers and non-followers alike. Today is a discussion of Islamic finance from guest writer Asad. Guest writers discussing other religions to follow in upcoming weeks. Religion is a sensitive issue--please be sensible when writing ...

Why We’re Not Designed to Follow Budgets–There’s More to Life
image source: Rubyran via flickr In many ways, following a budget is like adhering to a portion controlled diet. In both cases, you create elaborate plans to limit unhealthy consumption. If you mess up, as you are likely to do, you can compensate the next day or week by working ...

Fast and Frugal Late Night Snacks
The consulting grind encouraged my night owl tendencies. When I retired to my quarters, I found myself snacking on delicious and fattening restaurant leftovers. I was new to the job, but I quickly understood the saying “fat consultant.” While I still work late at night, I’ve drastically improved my ...

The Basics of Managing Inflation Risk
What is inflation? Inflation refers to an increase in the average price level in the economy. One way economists measure inflation is by tracking the price of an “average basket” of goods in the economy. The most common inflation index is the Consumer Price Index. It’s important to remember that ...

Thinking about the 401(k) Account: Should I Have One? How Much Should I Contribute? What are the Risks? Trying to Interpret the Experts
Planning for retirement raises a number of difficult questions. I'll admit that I often get confused coming up with answers. And I'm an economics graduate who started investing in high school and enjoys reading financial articles. I have sympathy for anyone that feels overwhelmed or confused by the ...

Line Etiquette Pays: How I Accidentally Saved Money at the Grocery Store
image source: Jimmy_Joe's via flickr Recently, the supermarket gods have rewarded me twice with free food. I would like to say I planned this, but it really came about by accident. It happened because I was practicing good etiquette, and I like to think that no good deed goes unrewarded. What are ...

I Don’t Budget—Here’s Why
If you like budgets, you don’t need to read more. If you have never tried a budget, then give one a try because experience is the best teacher. This article is meant for people who have tried budgets, realize they have faults, and are confused why financial people keep yelling at ...

How would being filthy rich change your weekend?
For me, it would not change much. I have a key observation to back this up. I have friends from many income levels. This ranges from indebted students with limited budgets to millionaire entrepreneurs who can do whatever they want. What’s different when I hang out with the students and the millionaires? ...

Save More or Earn More?
Should you save more or earn more? This is a frequent money question. It’s also a misguided one. When I hear this question, I say I want both. I need to earn more so that I can enjoy higher quality products. But for a given income level, I need to save more ...

The Calculating Guru Questions Pricing Tricks
Those late night TV infomercials make me laugh. "It's all yours for under $20! Just pick up the phone and order our product (for $19.99)." Yes, the product is "under $20." But not by a meaningful amount. Does $19.99 really sound better than $20? Is anyone fooled by the pricing trick? Apparently ...

Food Fridays: Savings are Overrated
I’m tired of savings. I try not to think about them any more. And it’s made me a better customer when considering food, clothes, cars, and even housing. I’ll explain why through a hypothetical example. Here’s a question for you: would you rather save $4 or $2 on the same ...

One Reason to Buy Less Stuff
I'll use the decision to buy an iPhone as an example. Most people would ask, does the iPhone do enough to be worthy of its cost? Is it worth, say $400, to buy this device? One way to think is that the iPhone has more features than a $199 iPod and ...

A Small Update to Expense Tracking Spreadsheet
Based on a reader suggestion, I made a small change the 2008 Simple Expense Tracker so it is easier to understand. My apologies for the prior confusion. For those of you that downloaded it, please replace your file with this new one: (The File: See Financial Tools). Here's what I changed: for ...

Track Your Money: Saving Advice From Rockefeller
The Advice “Now let me leave this little word of counsel for you. Keep a little ledger, as I did. Write down in it what you receive, and do not be ashamed to write down what you pay away. See that you pay it away in such a manner that your ...

Separating Equilibrium: Why Expensive Gifts Aren’t Always Proportionally Better
If you want to give a great gift, you do not need to spend tons of money. In fact, I’d say that many times the more you spend on a gift, the less value you will get. This is not just frugality advice. It is based on a game theory result. ...

Money Makes You Numb
If you want to be rich, should you save more or earn more? So far, I've written primarily about saving more by recommending you drink from the tap, curb your subscription costs, and cut back on other regular expenses. Earning a high salary gives you the potential to save more. It is ...

Financial Tools
In response to a reader request, I have created a separate page dedicated to the financial tools and spreadsheets that I develop. So far, I have put up the popular "The Simple Expense Tracker" and the "APR and APY Converter." Stay tuned as more tools are upcoming, like how to track investment ...

How I Saved my Friend 25 Percent in 5 minutes
My friend has a home surveillance service that costs him several hundred dollars a year. He has it even though his neighborhood has virtually no crime and someone is almost always inside his house. And the worst part: he rarely turns the alarm on when the house is actually empty. ...

On Making Comparisons with Your Money
Recently, I learned that there are men who wax their backs and other delicate areas. I guess they do it to be clean-cut, but it seems extreme to me. I commented to my female friend that it sounds painful. She replied, “Yeah, but men can’t complain since women wax their legs ...

The game theory of buying clothes, and why money tips are often short-lived
I discovered a money tip before I moved to college. I was living in Illinois and it was a chilly September. But I actually needed more summer clothes because I was moving to warmer California weather at Stanford. Since I was shopping out of season, most what I wanted was ...

The 3 biggest obstacles to getting rich
Why am I not happy with my finances? I hear this question from many people. Some people blame not enough education, and schools are responding by increasing financial education classes. But will more information help? I used to think so, but here is a story that really got me thinking. My friend ...

4 reasons to drink water from the tap
Not all chemicals are bad. Without chemicals such as hydrogen and oxygen, for example, there would be no way to make water, a vital ingredient in beer–Dave Barry I hate when people complain about high gas prices while they joyously drink bottled water. Here's a quick fact: bottled water can be more ...

Why saving is smart: understanding the law of diminishing marginal utility
Chicago-style pizza is one of my guilty pleasures. I know it’s not healthy food, but every once in a while, I cannot resist indulging. I am further tempted because a place near me offers an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet. Going there is one of my favorite dining experiences. Though a recent meal ...

When comparison shopping, trust the math, not your eyes
Recently, my grocery store began stocking a new, “family-size” package for a cereal that I enjoy. It caught my attention because the family-size box is a lot larger than the regular one. In fact, the family-size box looked almost double the size: In a rush, I chose the family-size box and ...

Is there a right way to track expenses?
I introduced a free spreadsheet to track your expenses (for the file, see the financial tools page) about a week ago, and I'm thrilled that people are finding it easy to use and helpful to their finances. Thank you for the support, and please feel free to contact me with ...

Free spreadsheet to track your expenses
The File: See Financial Tools In last Fridays' article, I discussed some of the various ways you can track your expenses. I've tried to keep things simple so you can get started. Here are a few notes about the file: The spreadsheet is designed for one full year of data. The spreadsheet calculates ...

Why you should track your spending, and 3 slick ways to do it
A fool and his money are soon parted. When people ask me how they can improve their spending habits, I start by asking them some questions. How much did you spend on gifts last year? What percentage of your income do you spend on gas? Most people give some answers, but ...

5 ways your library could help you spend less
People tell me they don’t like the library because it doesn’t have the latest books. And I completely agree. If you strongly prefer new books, then buying them is the only solution. Plus, you get to read the book when it’s in the news and people are talking about it. ...

Credit cards, debit cards, and cash–which way of paying is best?
At a bar, I once saw three people at a table receive separate checks, and amazingly, each of them paid in a different method. The first person threw down cash, the second a debit card, and the third a credit card. It got me thinking about why people pay in ...

Understanding sunk costs
A sunk cost is an expense that you cannot recover. Accordingly, economic theory says a sunk cost should not affect your decision making. Psychologically, it is hard to ignore sunk costs. Here are a few examples where sunk costs come into play. Example 1: Attending an NFL game with already purchased ...

What is the difference between APY and APR? How is interest actually computed in my savings account or on my loan?
Whether you are financing a loan or getting a savings account, you need to know about interest rates. Banks talk about interest rates using the acronyms APR and APY, but what exactly do they mean? I'll explain why banks conveniently quote one figure or the other. But first, I will ...