From the category archives:

Smart Shopping

Post image for First steps for first-time homebuyers

First steps for first-time homebuyers

by Karen on April 4, 2011

After the dust had settled from our move to southern Indiana in January, I dramatically said I was never moving again. “My grandchildren will visit me in this apartment!” I said. The truth is, I was just sick of packing up and moving after doing it 3 times in 9 months. Now that we’ve had [...]

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Counting my blessings through bleary eyes

by Karen on March 30, 2011

I mentioned last week that we’ve begun working with Judah on his sleep schedule. Now that he’s four months old, I think he’s ready for a routine. Because he’s still so young, I want to be gentle in its implementation. Unfortunately, gentle for the baby is still pretty brutal for his parents. He’s responding incredibly [...]

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I remember when I first started shopping for baby things, I was so overwhelmed. There are so many baby products on the market, and sadly, so much of it is totally and completely useless. Almost every expecting mother finds herself asking the question, “What do I really need?” Aside from the obvious essentials like diapers, [...]

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Ever since I started living frugally, one of the areas of my budget that continually leaves me feeling guilty is groceries. My husband is the cook, and he has extremely expensive tastes when it comes to cooking. I gave up trying to convince him to live on a beans and rice diet to save money [...]

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From one car to two

by Karen on February 24, 2011

When we discovered I was pregnant almost a year ago (has it really been a year?), one of the big changes we discussed was our car situation. Since we moved to North Carolina four years ago, we have shared one car. We lived in an apartment close to the campus where Tony worked and took [...]

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Buyer beware if it’s too good to be true

by Karen on February 4, 2011

So you know those Kindle gadgets? Tony’s been talking about getting one for a while. He’s an English professor, so he’s usually got a stack of about 10 books on his bedside table that he’s actively reading. Many of the books he reads are classics that have now entered public domain, which means they’re available [...]

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How much is laziness costing you?

by Karen on January 26, 2011

I’ve mentioned before that Tony and I use a credit card to purchase all of our gas. We pay the bill off every month before it accrues any interest, and we get 5% cash back on all fuel purchases. Since we’re not paying interest, the 5% cash back is basically free money, and keeping an [...]

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$20 Amazon gift card for $10

by Karen on January 19, 2011

You’ve probably already seen this, but I just wanted to pass it along just in case. Right now, you can get a $20 Amazon gift card for just $10 on the deal site Living Social. It’s available in all markets, and if three of you use my referral link, mine is free. :) Don’t forget [...]

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How much do disposable diapers and formula cost?

by Karen on December 20, 2010

Oh, hey. It’s a post about money! This weekend, Judah turned three weeks old. For the first two weeks of life with a newborn, I tried to keep things as simple as possible. I was still recovering from the birth and getting used to taking care of a baby, so I was okay with using [...]

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Are you familiar with your car’s warranty?

by Karen on November 8, 2010

A little over three years ago when Tony and I moved from Indiana to North Carolina, we had to make a tough decision about our cars. At the time, we were both driving old cars with 100,000+ miles on them. Both cars had recently had some issues. My car needed about $600 in work that [...]

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