South Florida on the Cheap » household

Advice to new college grads

Teresa — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 22:43:42 +0000

If you’re a 2010 college graduate, we’re sure you have received all kinds of uplifting and inspiring advice. We’re going to give you some mundane, down-to-earth advice: Start managing your money right now.

We agree with everyone who has advised you to get a job, buy health insurance, avoid credit card debt, draw up a budget, [...]

Clipping coupons may not pay

Teresa — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 21:51:12 +0000

As a personal finance columnist, I am supposed to advise you to clip coupons to save money. The truth is, it may not be worth your time.

Whether clipping grocery coupons will save you enough to compensate you for the time it takes to organize them depends upon your shopping habits and, even more, on what [...]

It’s OK to buy bagged salad

Teresa — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 21:50:18 +0000

I could be drummed out of the frugalista corps if this secret got around: I buy my salad ingredients already cut up.

Yes, I could save money if I bought heads of lettuce, washed, dried and cut them up myself. But I don’t save a thing if they sit in the refrigerator until they rot because [...]

Pinching pennies can cost dollars

Teresa — Sat, 29 May 2010 14:59:11 +0000

This winter, I spent a few months living and working in my hometown in the Midwest.

I spend all day working at a computer, but I decided that, rather than spend money on an adjustable office chair, I’d just use a kitchen chair at an old table.

You can guess how that “frugal” decision turned out.

After my [...]

Does it pay to turn off the a/c?

Teresa — Sun, 23 May 2010 18:55:32 +0000

Spring is a beautiful time in South Florida, and after the long winter (for us, anyway), it’s great to be able to open windows and let the breeze blow through the house. But in the past week, summer has started to sneak in. If you haven’t turned on your air conditioning yet, you know you [...]

Take a ‘snow day’ to organize your life

Teresa — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 17:02:39 +0000

A few weeks ago I found time to make a special trip to CVS to get a tube of toothpaste for 24 cents using Extra Bucks and a coupon, but somehow I didn’t find time to call my insurance agent and find out why I hadn’t received the $501 refund I was due for an [...]

Save at CVS with the Drugstore Game

Teresa — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 23:10:09 +0000

There’s a lot of strategic shopping going on these days. But perhaps no shoppers are as strategic as those who play the Drugstore Game.

You may, like me, belong to CVS’ ExtraCare program or Walgreens’ Register Rewards, through which you sometimes receive coupons on your receipts. Occasionally, you may even use one.

But Drugstore Game players are [...]

Sell your unwanted stuff for cash

Teresa — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 00:56:25 +0000

As you worked your way through your home, ruthlessly identifying the items you plan to boot out of your house, you probably found a few things you suspected you could sell. Selling secondhand goods is big business, whether it’s on eBay, in yard sales or at a consignment shop.

Here are some places to sell items:

Craigslist: [...]

Be tough and get rid of clutter

Teresa — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 07:34:51 +0000

Did you take my advice last week and embark on Step 1 of the Great January Decluttering Extravaganza? If you did, you have put all your like things together. If you didn’t, you still have time to catch up.

You may discover in the process that you just don’t have enough storage space for some categories. [...]

Time for the Decluttering Extravaganza

Teresa — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 01:03:06 +0000

As you look at your Christmas gifts — the ones you wanted and the ones that made you wonder, “What was she thinking?” — there is probably one thought on your mind: Where am I going to put this stuff? (If you celebrate Hanukkah, you are a few weeks ahead in this process.)

You are going [...]