I often hear people say that budgets don’t work, just as diets don’t work. But, speaking as a middle-aged white lady, everything we have been told about diets is a lie. With a budget, you don’t have your metabolism working against you. Because my income is highly variable, I need a system to make sure… [Read More]
Blog
Money Smart Week: Earth Day and saving money
Today is Earth Day. That’s an important day for cheapskates, because saving money is almost always good for the environment – and vice-versa. It’s easy to forget that, in a world of overpriced food, toiletries, and cleaning products passing themselves off as better for the environment. Whole Paycheck, I’m looking at you. If you eat… [Read More]
Money Smart Week: Miscellaneous thoughts on my food budget
One of the things that I love about The Complete Tightwad Gazette is how Amy Dacyczyn walks readers through her tightwad life. So let me walk you through a recent round of cooking. On a recent Thursday, I was a little too brain-dead to do actual cooking. I try to avoid ordering out, so I… [Read More]
Money Smart Week starts tomorrow
Tomorrow is the official start of Money Smart Week, a program started by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago in 2002. This year, it runs from April 20 to 27 and includes events throughout the Chicago area at libraries, schools, and businesses. The goal is to teach people how to manage their money. We here… [Read More]
Some thoughts on advertising and the future of publishing
Back in the olden days, I covered health care services at an investment bank that was quickly developing a specialty in the Internet. The talk then was that the Internet would revolutionize advertising because of the tight targeting and tracking capabilities. Advertisers would read their ideal customers, who would click on an ad to buy… [Read More]