Search Results for: blog spending too much

Lunch and a Movie and a Dinner, Too

On Saturday, we got to experience something my kids had been looking forward to for weeks: the second Despicable Me movie. My youngest choose it as his birthday outing. Normally, we let them choose between going out to eat or going to a movie. Nine times out of ten, they choose the movie. We had planned, as we usually do, to take in the movie at the local movie theater for the matinée showing, which is the least expensive way to do it. Instead, though a misunderstanding with some friends, we wound up driving 45 minutes away to a movie … Continue reading →

Why Credit Card Spending Doesn’t Feel Real

It is true. Spending cash is painful to us, while using a credit card doesn’t quite feel real. Oh sure, logically we know that we are spending the money on that new television, iPad or boots, but there is a well-documented disconnect in our brains that makes it much easier to spend when we do it with a credit card. Think I might be wrong? The average household credit card debt through the end of 2012 was $15,422. The average cash debt? That is $0, of course. With cash, you don’t want spend what you don’t have. So why does … Continue reading →

Are You Spending More to Save?

I am THAT mom. The one that’ll drive an extra five miles out of her way to save five bucks on her daughter’s Halloween costume, even though gas is just shy of $4 per gallon. Though, if I drive an extra 10 miles I can save six cents per gallon. I am THAT mom. The one that’ll spend five hours trying to calculate how much she really saved by utilizing the $5 off costume coupon. Even though the trip included sitting in a gnarly traffic jam which robbed her of 20 minutes of precious time. Make that priceless time. Walking … Continue reading →

Spending Less on Kids Shoes

Is it me, or are the prices for shoes and athletic shoes rising? It is not uncommon for me to come across kids with everyday shoes that cost $100-$500. With three growing kids, I can’t imagine spending that much on a single pair. Still, it doesn’t make sense to purchase the cheapest shoes either. Not only will this probably not be acceptable to your child, but cheap shoes wear out too quickly. I have first hand knowledge of this. One year I bought inexpensive sneakers for my kids at one of those box stores. In a few months, the shoes … Continue reading →

Health Care Spending in California Below National Average

The state of California spends less per person on health care than do the majority of the other states. This may sound like a good thing, but really isn’t. California isn’t especially efficient with utilizing the money it spends on health care. Instead, the state has around 7 million uninsured people. The discovery that a state spends less on health care, per person, than most of the other states spend doesn’t necessarily mean that the state has become amazingly efficient with budgeting, or with making sure that people get the care that they need. California, for example, is among the … Continue reading →

Health Care Spending Includes A Lot of Waste

The way that America spends money on health care includes a huge amount of waste. Former head of Medicare and Medicaid, Dr. Donald M. Berwick, said that a large portion of the spending is not benefiting patients. Other countries do not include as much waste in what they spend on health care. Dr. Donald M. Berwick was the former administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. He was recently replaced by Marilyn Tavenner. Dr. Berwick was appointed to that position by President Obama, but was never confirmed by the Senate. Instead, he was given a “recess appointment” that … Continue reading →

Prepping for Seasonal Spending

Here’s some food for thought as we countdown to the holiday season: According to Consumer Reports, 13.6 million Americans are still repaying bills they racked up from last Christmas. Not exactly the type of red you want to be sporting as the gift-giving season approaches. Money is a huge concern for cash-strapped consumers throughout the year, but during the months of November and December, coming up with ways to fund a festive holiday is a worry that seems to grow as fast as the mercury dips. With less than two weeks until Thanksgiving and just over a month until Christmas, … Continue reading →

Spending Time With My Sister Part VIII

While we were all sleeping, my family arrived early in the morning after driving through the night. I awoke a little earlier than usual so that I could make my son and I breakfast before the families came over to visit. My sister’s in-laws come over first to squeeze in some solitary baby time before my mom, sisters, and brother took over the baby holding (my dad waited patiently for “his turn” as did my sister’s father-in-law). My sister and I left the merriment for a few minutes to figure out what she would wear to the baptism with her … Continue reading →

Spending Time With My Sister Part IV

It is amazing how time gets away from us. We made a really quick stop at the grocery store; both my sister and I have very quick gaits and we were moving through the store to get the items that we needed. Upon our return, we realized that we really did not have very much time to make the frosting and eat dinner. As soon as we walked in the apartment I got to work making the cream cheese frosting and my sister nursed the baby. After the muffins were iced, we rushed to eat as much of our dinner … Continue reading →

Too Many Books!

For those that know me personally or have followed my blogs for a while, it might surprise you to know that over the last ten years, I’ve decluttered tons and tons of books. It is very rare for me to meet a book that I didn’t like, from old, dusty books from the turn of the century (1800s to 1900s, not 1900s to 2000s, although I’ll take those too), to shiny new children’s books for my kids. Books are definitely my weakness, although I have been better through the years, as our home has filled up with children and their … Continue reading →