blogs

Can you talk to your friends about debt?

Can you talk to your friends about your debt? Can you talk to your friends about their debt?

Get Those Omega-3s Without Paying Mega Prices

Omega-3-fortified foods are pricey -- but there are other, cheaper ways to get those very important fatty acids.

The many reasons--besides frugality--to do for yourself

Doing for yourself--cooking your own meals, making your own clothes, growing your own vegetables, playing your own music, baking your own bread--is sometimes justified on the groun

Save $100 on Your Next Spa Visit by Buying Cold Medicine

We’ve been hearing a lot about how you can save money by shopping at Walgreens lately. Walgreens is again offering a unique and potentially ver

Why is bread so expensive?

Having given us some good tips on dealing with the rising cost of bread, Myscha asked me to provide a bit of analysis on why bread has become so expensive. Oddly, the reasons behi

The Quiet Millionaire: Part 3 - Money for Now, Money for Later

You've figured out how to have positive cash flow (aka spend less than you earn) for now; but will you have enough money for later? Funding for future requirements, such as

Best asset allocation for your portfolio

This is the first Wise Bread post that I've been afraid to write. I've thought about it many times, but haven't even gotten as far as making notes until today, when I

My groceries are killing me: easier ways to shop

I don't know about you, but I hate grocery shopping. I hate it even when I get to shop at fun places, like Trader Joe's or Whole Foods. It takes so much time, and I never k

Get Cash Back by Caring for Others

I recently discovered a website that offers cash refunds on an assortment of items that I use every day. The nation&#

Nonfat dry milk--no longer a frugal alternative

For more than thirty years, nonfat dry milk was a frugal staple. For things like baking and making yogurt, it was as good as fresh milk. Not many people wanted to drink the stuff

A Google employee perk we can all get free

I recently found an amazing (and I don't use that word lightly) resource from Google that I think is completely under-used and seriously under-marketed. This resource is cal

Manage your charitable giving

Are you one of the people who responds to begging letters from national charitable organizations by occasionally sending money? I used to do that. In my case, it was mostly envir

Go Ahead -- Take Candy From a Baby

One frugal mom recycles that Halloween loot for the Christmas stockings. Even if you don't go that far, now is the time to start thinking about stocking-stuffer sweets.

When to drop collision coverage on your car

A few years back, I got a tidy little lesson in exactly what collision coverage is. We'd had a car damaged in an accident, damaged pretty badly. So, it wasn't a surprise

The case for caloric labeling

As a conscientious consumer, you have a right to know what you're buying, eating, or wearing. New York City is enforcing a law that requires chain restaurants to provide nutrit

Super-Cheap Building Supplies and a Way to Help Your Community!

I’ll admit that my family is the “cobbling” kind of people. Our depression-era farm house was slapped together in a sturdy, but irregular fashi

Why Spending a Little More on a Brand Name can Pay Off

I have always been a fan of buying the less expensive generic version of whatever it is I am in the market for. Running shoes, clothing, electronics, pres

When you stretch and stretch and the ends don't meet

Sometimes wanting something and trying for it aren't enough. The honest truth is that, no matter how frugal you are, no matter how extensive your emergency fund, no matter how

These Choos were made for walkin': an interview with a modern urban nomad

Ever feel stuck? In a rut? Running in place, but not getting much exercise? There's another way to live, you know; a way that bypasses, or at least delays, the mortgage, the co

Finally, Frugal Rules

You can come out of the shadows, my fellow cheapos, skinflints and non-pathological hoarders. Thanks to the rise of eco-hip, frugal is becoming cool. Sorta.