Financial Reflections

I recently wrote that I’m trying four fairly obvious, but time tested ways to save money this week. I started that experiment on Monday and I wanted to give you some updates on the results. It turns out that I’ve found multiple benefits to saving money:

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Have you ever had the feeling that someone’s cut a hole in your pocket and your money is slowly falling out? I’ve experienced that over the past couple of weeks, and here’s how I plan on sewing the hole shut. I’ve come up with four ways I can save money, starting right now and I plan on doing it all week. Here’s the list:

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How much does your car cost? It’s not as simple of a question as one might think. As I wrote previously, my car was in for repairs and it gave me a chance to reflect on the costs of car ownership. It all started when I contemplated trading in my beautiful 1994 Volvo 850 wagon for a new car. How much would that new car cost me?

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I was driving along a few days back when my air conditioning suddenly died in my car. That’s part of the territory as I opted to keep an older car to save money on payments. But when my car breaks, how do I keep from going broke repairing it?

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My youngest child gave me a wonderful surprise this weekend. I took her with me to the driving range to hit some golf balls. It’s one of those discount ranges with the machines that feed the balls into a plastic bucket and sturdy mats covered with plastic grass for a hitting surface.

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As the summer winds down, I thought it might be prudent to post the things I’ve learned about taking a vacation. I’ve battled with the decision to take one at all, as I am taking what I can to eliminate credit card debt. I worked with my wife to come up with a plan that will let us get away - without putting us further in the hole.

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HDTVs look so amazing in the store - especially the large plasma or LCD ones.  They radiate a billboard sized picture with details so perfect you swear you could reach inside and touch the action.  But I didn’t buy one and I’m pretty darn happy about it.  Here’s why…

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I’ve had a bit of a revelation lately: I’m not as frugal as I imagined myself to be. Keeping track of my finances has helped me learn that lesson. Now I’m moving on to find better ways to control my spending, so I can grow financially.

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