There’s a common excuse I hear from my 20-something friends and family members: “I can’t save for retirement. Between student loans and bills, I don’t have enough money to save. I’m young and I have plenty of time to save for retirement.” I understand it, I’ve been there, living paycheck to paycheck, just struggling to
I recently upgraded to a smartphone after years of sticking with a “dumb phone” so I could have a lower cell phone bill. Now that I’ve upgraded and the weather is turning colder, I’m stuck with the problem of needing to use my iPhone outside in the cold, but not wanting to take my gloves
When looking for ways to reduce your budget and save money, the first things to cut are the luxury items like entertainment and other non-necessities. There are also ways to save money on the “must haves” in your budget. Good hygiene is a definite must have, not only for social reasons but also for general
Summer is coming to a close, and that means heading back to school for many 20-somethings. Whether that fills you with excitement or dread, there’s plenty of things to do to gear up for the new semester, including buying textbooks. I’ve always felt like there is no bigger rip off than buying textbooks from the
I haven’t written too much about my personal finances on this blog in the past year, and that’s mostly because I’ve spent the majority of the year unemployed, so it’s been very tough. One of the biggest strains on my finances is the immense amount of student loan debt I amassed before I graduated from
I hate packing. It’s tough trying to fit everything in my suitcase and I’m always left wondering if I’m forgetting something vitally important. Now since most airlines have checked baggage fees, that adds a little more challenge to it since I have to try to fit everything I need for a week in one carry-on
One of the simplest money saving tips is to buy the generic or store brand version. From prescriptions to toilet paper or food, the generic version tends to be cheaper and can save you money in the long run. Yet, there’s two schools of though on generic brands. The first is that these generics are
Summer hit yesterday with full force (it was 89F out when I took these pictures) and the plants are officially living outdoors full time. Last week I was pretty excited about that possibility since I was sick of lugging the pots in and out each day. Hopefully they’ll survive the heat (it’s about 20 degrees
Last week we started transplanting, with the beans and a few tomato plants. This week we did the bulk of the transplanting, moving the seedlings into their final containers. Just to be safe, we’re moving an extra seedling or 2 just in case one dies off. Later we’ll thin out the weaker plants. We have
We’re done with the fourth week of our container gardening adventure. The temperature in Chicago decided to drop again this week, so while we were in the 70s for awhile, we’ve dropped into the 40s & 50s, so the plants have mostly been indoors for the past week, just because it’s warmer. Unfortunately this week
