Articles by Amanda


How to Break Free from Your Escrow Account

Posted by Amanda on January 12, 2010

When my fiancé, Paul, and I bought our first home last September, a co-worker of mine asked if we were going to use an escrow account or not. After shelling out tens of thousands of dollars, the thought of owing large tax bills in just a few months in the New Year made an escrow […]

Continue reading…





The time has come where many (including myself) will be making New Year’s Resolutions. But how many people actually attain the goals they set out to complete each year? According to Stephen Shapiro, author of Goal-Free Living, one in four people who make New Year’s Resolutions never succeed. Perhaps this is because people are lacking […]

Continue reading…





Holiday Hangover Cures

Posted by Amanda on December 28, 2009

I had such a wonderful holiday with my family in Pennsylvania. There were airports, bows and wrapping paper, smiles, music, toasts to good fortune and days past, special holiday movies and shows, candy canes, and everything in between. Now that the holidays are officially over, I must admit that I feel a little void where […]

Continue reading…





Plan Now to Make the Most of Post Holiday Sales

Posted by Amanda on December 22, 2009

I think there should be a song titled “The 12 days After Christmas”. What a fantastic time to purchase gifts for others or yourself, seasonal items for next year, and other great items at 50-75% off of the price these same products were just two weeks earlier! Retailers are very interested in getting you into […]

Continue reading…





Make Your Charitable Contributions Before Year End

Posted by Amanda on December 16, 2009

Both 2008 and 2009 have been hard years for charities, at the same time that more and more individuals are seeking charitable help for the first time. Let’s face it; even those of us with jobs have found ourselves scrimping more, perhaps running out of money at the end of the month, or cutting back […]

Continue reading…





5 Alternative and Creative Gift Giving Ideas

Posted by Amanda on December 9, 2009

It is tradition in my family to purchase a gift for everyone. This includes grandparents, parents, siblings and their children, significant others, friends, etc. I love to purchase gifts throughout the year that fit each of the people on my list, and also to get great deals as sales come up seasonally. But year after […]

Continue reading…





3 Do It Yourself Tasks to Save $170 Per Year

Posted by Amanda on December 2, 2009

Do-it-Yourself (DIY) has become a new and exciting movement in the United States. Of course, for us frugal people, it’s been a core in our lives since we first made the realization that paying someone else usually comes with a premium. Below are three things that you can do for yourself at home in order […]

Continue reading…





How to Score Big on Cyber Monday

Posted by Amanda on November 24, 2009

I had one of the most fun and memorable holiday experiences several years ago. After a great Thanksgiving feast at my grandmother’s, my mother and I decided that we would bite the bullet and go together the next morning to shop on Black Friday. Neither of us had done so before, and we felt that […]

Continue reading…





Frugal Ways to Celebrate the Holidays

Posted by Amanda on November 18, 2009

What a fantastic time of year coming up; the weather has chilled from crisp to cold, the night comes upon us earlier so we feel more snuggly and more like hibernating at home, and generally we all have extra time off from work which means we can spend more time with the people whom we […]

Continue reading…





Taxes—An Untapped Resource

Posted by Amanda on November 11, 2009

You know the drill: once or twice a month you get paid for the time that you have worked, minus a series of taxes that have been conveniently deducted out of your paycheck before you even receive it. Because you never get to deposit that money into your bank account, paying taxes may seem like […]

Continue reading…