Pecuniarities

This first writing project deals with the circumstances, people and events in our past which have led to our present financial habits. I proposed this topic as the first of our group writing project as I had been planning to write something about our background and why we live the way we do.
We are one [...]

For the lucky few who have extra leisure time this summer, I thought I’d put together some suggestions for productive and fun activities that will help enhance your personal, academic and/or professional life. Some of these suggestions are addressed as if to young people (students, adolescents, etc.) but can also apply to grown-ups.
My suggestions are [...]

An easy, time- and money-saving way to prepare personal-sized cakes as a snack for yourself, with a friend or everyone at your dinner table.

The Holidays are fun, or they’re supposed to be, but sometimes it gets hard to remember that when you have people coming over and a hundred things to get done on time. A good way to take some pressure off when hosting a large Holiday dinner party is to have a Party-Preparation Party the day [...]

Food safety practices should actually apply all year round, but in summer and any time of warm weather, regular precautions might not be enough. For example, you might be able to leave food unrefrigerated for several hours in February without seeing any major effects, but the same practice may not work for you in [...]

While generic brand items, especially groceries, seem to have improved in recent years, there are still many things that you need to watch out for that may seem to save you money at the time of purchase but may end up costing you more in the long run.  With the advent of the Dollar Store, [...]

Madoline and I lived in Los Angeles (in the San Fernando Valley) for a year and a half, during which time we went through a shopaholic phase followed by a phase of extreme frugality (described in Our Family Financial History). When we decided to be frugal, I learned a lot about free and low cost [...]