Articles by Amanda


It’s that time of year! Time for our annual holiday gift guide series! This week we are highlighting inexpensive gift ideas for teachers, coworkers and more! There are many people in our lives who provide invaluable services: teachers, employees, hired help, babysitters, etc. Let’s face it, our lives would not run so seamlessly without their […]

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Watch Out for These 3 Scams

Posted by Amanda on August 26, 2015

Online scams are everywhere. I probably get one or two each month, and to be quite honest, I like to play along with the scammers so that I can understand the scam and write about it to warn others. As long as playing along doesn’t entail me giving away pertinent information that could hurt me, […]

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9 Tips to Stretch the Life of Common Household Items

Posted by Amanda on July 6, 2015

Look around the house and you’ll find many items that are wearing out faster than you want. Ever wish you could make them last longer? With a little bit of care, you can stretch out the life of many household items. How to Make Household Items Last Longer Printer Ink Cartridges: Start by using an […]

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How to Get a Natural High for $5 or Less

Posted by Amanda on July 2, 2015

Everyone likes to feel a thrill from time to time. That sudden, sharp feeling of excitement or exhilaration leaves us with a natural high. And feeling a natural high is so much better than a synthetic one as it is legal, inexpensive, and will not leave you dependent upon anything or anyone else. Chances are […]

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5 Quick Tips for Moving Out on Your Own

Posted by Amanda on June 16, 2015

I remember well the first year when I was out of college, and out on my own. Scoring a job as an international sales and marketing specialist in the town where I went to college, the transition into becoming a townie was actually not that difficult. But there was a lot of learning I did […]

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How to Make Sense of Interest Rates, APYs and APRs

Posted by Amanda on April 29, 2015

Have you noticed that interest is not interest is not interest? There are so many different types of interest rates for finances that it gets a bit confusing (even for me). Honestly, before writing this article I didn’t know what each type of interest rate meant. For example, what is the difference between an APR […]

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Do you give your children an allowance, or plan to do so in the future? I remember one of the coolest times in my childhood: when we began to get an allowance. It was $5 a week, and boy did we earn it. Then again, who doesn’t “earn it” on a dairy farm? Most days […]

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7 Ways to Save Money on DIY Home Renovations

Posted by Amanda on April 20, 2015

My husband and I purchased our home in 2009. It was built in 1975, and still had the original vanities, carpet in the bathroom (yuck!), non-working intercom system in most of the rooms, and some other fun relics. Even though we were determined to do most of the work ourselves, we had several companies come […]

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There is a possibility that you may be suffering from double taxation. I know, we all suffer from double taxation, like when we pay sales tax when we purchase items with money that has been taxed by the federal government. Or when I used to work for the state government, and when I used my […]

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How to File Taxes While in Prison

Posted by Amanda on February 24, 2015

Prisoners who have been in the system for longer than a year typically do not make much income. In fact, they may not even make enough to be required to file taxes. If you’ve thought about filing a tax return in order to take advantage of your low prison wages and the Earned Income Tax […]

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