The Sun’s Financial Diary

Apparently, I don’t get out much. This weekend, Hubby and I decided to go out with another couple for dinner and a movie. 4 hours and $70 later I was in the car on the way home with a stunned expression on my face trying to figure out where it all went wrong.
You know, I [...]

The parallel between habits when it comes to food and money are significant. Many people reach for a cookie when they’re depressed, others for their credit card. Some celebrate with cake and sweets, still others by purchasing themselves tangible treats. If you’re an emotional spender, best for you – and your budget – to fess [...]

I was once a big fan of stocking up on things when they were on sale. I used to think this was a great way to be frugal — buying things on sale before I needed them in anticipation of the time when I would. After a few years I accumulated so many unused items [...]

When you live in a fun state to visit, like I do, you are frequently barraged with incoming guests. It starts with a simple phone call, “Hey, we’re on vacation in March and we are coming down to visit you . Mind if we bunk in the guest room?” Not wishing to ruin anyone’s great [...]

Sometimes in our quest to save money we make… well… bad decisions. We try to save money by doing repairs ourselves or we contract inexperienced workers to do work around our home for us. These decisions may seem smart when you see a full wallet after your repair or other service is done, but they [...]

This winter season is barely one month old, but we already had 3 snows, including a huge snow store, so far in this southern state of Virginia. It definitely fells colder this year than before when we lived in the northern state of New Jersey. As the weather gets colder, we want to stay warm [...]

There is no more frugal activity than getting something for nothing. Nothing, in case you didn’t know, is less than anything and the more stuff you get for nothing … well … the less money you spend.
Of course, finding something for nothing that is actually worth having can be difficult and, I am not going [...]

In this last installment of our Frugal Holidays series, we’d like to talk about frugal gift buying (Part 1 Frugal Holiday Entertaining, Part 2 Frugal Holiday Food). Gift buying can be fun but during years when savings accounts are not as plush as we’d like, 401k balances are still struggling to make a comeback and [...]

Home is where the heart is, so why not let more gifts come from your heart than your pocketbook? If you’re looking for some homespun inspiration and how-to’s, look no further.
Inspire (and supply) an art attack. An old fishing tackle box or even an ordinary shoe box can be quickly transformed into an art kit [...]

Home is where the heart is, so why not let more gifts come from your heart than your pocketbook? If you’re looking for some homespun inspiration and how-to’s, look no further.
Say “Season’s Greetings” with homemade sweets and treats. Nearly everyone enjoys a homemade dessert, but not everyone has the time or the ability to do [...]