Posts Tagged ‘ entertainment ’

Simple Ways to Save Money Every Day


Guest Post by Philip Reed

Whether you’re feeling affected by recent economic troubles, or you’re just looking for a few ways to lessen the pinch on your pocketbook, here are some simple ways how to save money every day.

Transportation

Commuting can be a major expense! Not only do you have to pay for fuel, but there is also additional maintenance and even tolls in some areas. Depending on where you live, parking fees can add up quickly. Just owning a car is a major expense in itself, but a long, daily commute can multiple all of the expenses related to it.

If public transportation is an option, consider whether this would be a productive alternative to getting you where you need to go while trimming a few expenses related to driving an automobile. Still another option is carpooling. In some cites, such as Atlanta, High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes are dedicated to cars with multiple occupants and usually provide quicker routes that are less taxing on your vehicle.
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Happy New Year – It’s Time for a Financial Luggage Check!

By Kevin M


Okay, the holidays are over—and the free spending with it! It’s time to clean up the mess before it becomes an even bigger one!

Despite everyone’s best intentions, overspending at the holidays is pretty standard. It isn’t until January when the bills come in that the extent of the damage is fully realized. There’s always an extra gift or two (or three or more) that we forget about, a holiday dinner out with friends or co-workers, some extra heavy travel expenses not budgeted for—it all adds up, but heck, we’re human. But not to worry, we have an entire year to get things back in order before…the next holiday crush.

And maybe we can even make some permanent changes for the better along the way.

Try a few of these in the next few months and see if they help…

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Entertainment For Less

By Kevin M

There’s a “stealth expense” that chews through budgets and often leaves us with an empty bank account or even a little deeper in debt each month; its called entertainment expense, and at least part of the problem may lay in the fact that we’re usually reluctant to even view it as an “expense”.

Maybe this is the case because entertainment has a way of defining us—it’s often who we are, which has to be something more significant than just an ordinary expense, doesn’t it?

We can be meticulous about budgeting for housing, groceries, utilities and a host of other expenses, but entertainment is often—to borrow a political phrase—“off budget”.

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How to Save Money At The Movies

By Kevin M

Last Saturday night, we decided to go see Avatar, a highly acclaimed movie that lived up to its billing. It was the first time we’d been to the movies this year, and I’m almost embarrassed to admit that the reason we decided to go at all was that our daughter was at a weekend sleepover, which meant that only my wife, my son and myself would go, saving us money on the fare (OK, she wasn’t really excited about seeing the movie anyway).

Now we live in the Atlanta area, which is a region nearly famous for having a very reasonable cost of living. Despite this, here’s the run down of what it costs to take in a movie in these parts:

Movie ticket: $10.50 per person (seems to go up a dollar every year)
Medium popcorn: $7
Medium soft drink: $5
Box of candy: $5

I can only imagine what it costs to go to the movies in “high cost” areas.

If each person in the family goes for the “full package”—movie, popcorn, drink and candy, the cost is an astonishing $27.50 per person, or $110 for a family of four (a 12 year old is an “adult” at the ticket window)! And we haven’t even added dinner!

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Wasting (Money) Away Again in Margaritaville

The Local Watering Hole as a Financial Bottomless Pit

Kevin M

At the risk of personal safety I’m going to take aim today at an “expense” that may be sacrosanct for some, but that’s exactly why it needs to be discussed.

Jimmy Buffet’s 1977 sentimental favorite Margaritaville tells a tale of a carefree life lived on a warm beach in a perpetual state of inebriation. As appealing as that can be at times, when it’s romanticized into a regular activity at a local bar, the costs can be steep, and we aren’t just talking about money.

For the purpose of full disclosure, I’m a light drinker. I’ll indulge in an occasional beer or glass of wine (or two or three), most frequently with dinner guests, but consumption of alcohol has never been a priority in my life. I can go for months without drinking or sit in a bar for three or four hours nursing soft drinks, surrounded by people drinking the hard stuff. I don’t know if that status disqualifies me or gives me the vantage point of an objective outsider, or if it even matters.

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