Tag: Frugal living

All the financial papers are talking about the next recession. When will it get here? No one knows. After nine years since the last one

Corporate Discounts Can Save You Money

Corporate discounts are sometimes available to those frugal living folks who ask. So if you work for a big name company go ahead and ask

Save Big on Housing

If you rent you can try to reduce your housing costs as follows. Get roommates to share the rent. A friend of mine had the

Unhiding Interest Rates In Monthly Payments

Let’s get back to our example of Gullible Greta from the vendor financing post and change the numbers a bit. Recall she is in the

Calculating Monthly Payments Easily

August 30, 2019 Mr. Cash Hoarder

Here I am going to show you how to use a financial calculator to do time value of money calculations you would need to calculate

Trailer Trouble

We often hear about unfortunate events happening at trailer parks such as say tornadoes. These potential places of disaster are also places of financial disaster.

Product Shrinkage is a Price Increase

August 30, 2019 Mr. Cash Hoarder

As the cost of inputs rise companies are looking to pass those costs onto you in the form of price increases. This is a form

Make Money on Housing

If you have a property and own it you can put it to work by renting it out. You can’t rent out your rental apartment

Trading and Brokers

If you want to trade stocks you can do that through brokers. These come in full service and discount. Most people use discount online brokers

Excellent ETFs and boring bonds

Excellent ETFs: ETF are exchange traded funds sold on the market. They may be portfolios of stocks in a certain sector such as energy, technology,

More Investment fund types

Real Estate Funds: These funds invest in REITS and public real estate stocks. REIT= real estate investment trust. Usually they can be broad market, sectors

Marvelous Mutual Funds

Mutual funds are great for beginners. Why do I think this? They allow one to get in on the action of stocks, bonds and real

Extreme Frugal Living

There are groups of people out there who are into extreme frugality. These people may grow their own food, make their own clothes, raise chickens,

Learning More about Investing

Now that you know a little about saving and investing it’s time to dig in a bit deeper. Here are some resources for newbies to

Wonderful Warehouse Clubs?

If you use a lot of something buy it in bulk at a warehouse club. That 64 oz / 2 Liter bottle of ketchup will

Boozing on the cheap

Speaking of wines, I don’t think it’s wise to spend more than $10-$15 per bottle for most people. The reason I say that is they

Time Shares,Vacation homes, RVs

Time shares: No, don’t take the tour and sign up! While this might seem like a good idea they are hard to sell once you

Be your own handyman, lawn boy and maid

Do your own work around the house You should not be paying someone to mow your lawn, shovel your driveway, clean your house etc. No.

The Can Man recycles money into the pocket

Many states have a bottle deposit on soda cans, water bottles, sports drinks, beer bottles and the like. The deposit is normally $0.10 or $0.05/

Monthly Payment Trouble

Beware of high financing costs baked into the payments. Always know the cost of the item and the cost of the financing. Most of the

Clipping Coupons?

I have mixed feelings about coupons. I don’t like to clip them. I feel couponing leads to more consumption. It’s better not to buy at

Don’t Be a Miserable Miser!

Mantra: Frugality is our rake to bring in more money so we can invest it and make more money! One does not need to be

You Need Emergency Funds!

Rule #1: Set up an emergency fund in liquid savings with 6 months of living expenses. You will need money if you get laid off

Only little people pay taxes

“Only little people pay taxes!” That is a famous quote from Leona Helmsley. A rich hotel owner from NYC in the 1980s. She was known

Introduction to investments

There is a subtle difference between investments and savings that many people don’t understand fully. The purpose of saving is to not spend and accumulate

Rewards Cards are Great… Sometimes?

Reward cards in my view deserve special mention. I don’t encourage their use as they are a form of debt unless you plan to pay

Side Jobs for Extra Cash

Let’s say you are working hard to pay off your debts and you want to earn some extra cash on evenings or weekends. You can

Traditional IRAs

Traditional IRAs are also good also but somewhat limited in nature Contributions are made on a pre-tax basis like 401Ks One pays the taxes upon

Picking up payments

Pickup trucks for the weekend warrior. They sure are popular in today’s economic climate. As I go to the office I see more and more

Avoid Expensive Toys (boats, RVs, ATVs…)

Toys, toys, toys for all the good boys. No! There is no Santa and you are adults with jobs and responsibilities. Big boy toys are

Debt in retirement is a big no no

Never take debt into retirement or accumulate debt in retirement. You may have to go back to work full time! Not cool and they may

Retirement Totals Needed to be Comfy

How much money will I need to retire? A lot most likely. It all depends on when you plan to retire, how long you plan

Pension Problems, They May Not Be Guaranteed

Pensions are great…. for the lucky few that have them If you are going to get a pension that is great but increasingly rare. Consider

Rocking Roths

Roth IRAs are a supplements to 401Ks A Roth IRA is a retirement account that is funded with post tax dollars instead of pre-tax dollars.

Ramen Retirement 401K & IRAs

Ramen noodles for life! Doesn’t that sound great? All the flavors in the world! Chicken, Beef, Shrimp, Jalapeno and Spicy Chicken. While these may be

Car Loan Trap

I don’t like car loans. The reason for this is you are making payments on a depreciating asset with interest. People often also end up

Credit Card Bill Payoff

Credit cards are the worst kind of debt. You are paying high interest on stuff you probably didn’t need to buy in the first place.

Paying off student loans

Ah student loans, seemingly so innocent when signing the promissory note but in reality deadly serious. Why do I say that? Federally backed student loans

Transportation Savings

If you take public transportation in a big city Buy a monthly pass with using a Wageworks account and pre-tax dollars if available given your

Fitness is Fabulous and Saves Money

Some people say cancel the gym to save money. I say not so fast. Perhaps you can find a more reasonably priced option. Physical fitness

Saving on groceries

The simplest way to save money is to not buy anything but you need to eat so let’s see how we can spend a little

Frugal Living Mantras

The philosophy of how to live frugally and be happy. Frugal living is our rake to bring in more money so we can invest it

Making Lemonade from Lemons

So let’s say you splurge and end up buying things you don’t need or regret buying later. It happens to everyone including cheapos like me.

Cut the Cable TV umbilical cord?

Cutting the cord is quite popular now. Whether it is the right choice for you depends on a few things. Cable tv is most certainly

Save on Your Utilities Now

You can’t avoid utilities bills but try to minimize them Electric bills: You have to pay to power up Install LED light bulbs in all

Cut those subscriptions

The cost of subscriptions can add up fast per month if not properly managed. Each one alone seems innocent enough by themselves but together they

Save on dining out

Dining out tends to be expensive however it is good and necessary to go out once in a while to socialize with friends and relax.

Welcome to Mr. Cash Hoarder Blog

The easiest way to make money is to save money! The purpose of this site is to educate on how to use frugal living to

Save $200 per month on lunches and dining

I used to think my boss was crazy for bringing his lunch every day to the office. However he has a second house in the

Save $150 per month on coffee