2million's Personal Finance Blog

My Journey to Financial Freedom

September 19, 2005

Reducing Dining Expenses

I spend a fair amount every month on dining out expenses. I go out to eat lunch everyday with a group at work and my girlfriend and I usually go out 1-3 nights a week and I typically pick up...
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October 5, 2005

Money Saving Tip: Ask them to keep your valve stems when you get new tires

After discussing my recent tire purchase with some coworkers I was enlightened of another way I could reduce the expense of getting new tires in the future. Apparently the new tire valve stems aren't really needed! I just assumed they...
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October 22, 2005

Inside Wire Maintenance Service Plan

What a rip off. I spotted this on my girlfriends latest phone bill from Bellsouth. She had a line item Inside Wire Maintenance Service Plan for $5.95/mo. I laughed when I saw this.While I guess this could make sense for...
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November 9, 2005

Just shaved 23% off my girlfriend's wireless bill

This actually has been on my todo list for awhile, but I had been putting it off since my girlfriends Cingular account is not technically mine so I wasn't sure if I could even get her a discount.However, yesterday I...
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December 5, 2005

Money Saving Tip: Buy Parts Yourself and have Mechanic Install Them

About 1 month ago (ironically just after I finished paying my car loan off), I started having trouble starting my Nissan Sentra. I am not even close to being a mechanic; about the limit of my car knowledge is that...
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March 26, 2006

Money Saving Tip: Free Valvoline Maxlife Oil

Change your own oil? Get 5 Quarts of Valvoline Maxlife Oil free after rebate.5 Quarts Valvoline Maxlife Oil RebateI typically change my own oil, but thats only because I have a stockpile of oil I have gotten for free after...
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March 27, 2006

Free IAMS Dog Tartar Treats

Sorry, I am on a freebie kick today. If you have a dog (my girlfriend has one so I am a proud parent too), sign up for these free samples of IAMS Tartar Treats.Free IAMS Tartar Dog Treats...
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March 28, 2006

Maximizing the Blockbuster Free Trial Offer

As you probably know, Netflix and Blockbuster both offer these great 30-day trials of their monthly rental subscriptions. I recently completed my free trial at Blockbuster and wanted to share my experience.1) Sign up - (see below for details), No...
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April 12, 2006

Earn Airline Travel Vouchers

This week I am on a business trip for work and have already earned a $250 AA travel voucher and a $10 meal voucher from American Airlines. All I had to do was volunteer to get "bumped" off the flight...
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June 2, 2006

Buying New Shoes

Maybe Im getting old, but I have one pair of good shoes that I wear day in and day out. After a year, they are pretty much worn out and I need to replace them.Since I buy the same shoes...
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June 9, 2006

Cheap Low Hassle Checks

I hate checks. Checks are expensive, I usually have to use a stamp to give someone a check, and they are a hassle to use. If I need to pay someone I always try to pay with a credit card...
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July 17, 2006

Airfare Shopping Tips

While I have traveled a fair amount for my employer, I will now be flying home to NC on my own dime on a regular basis.This calls for a different routine to purchase flights as I want to keep the...
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August 23, 2006

Free Schick Quattro Titanium Razor

Got to love useful free stuff. Fill out the form to get a free Schick Quattro Titanium Razor. You can never have too many free razors because everyone has to shave (well at least they should).Credit goes to Slickdeals....
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August 28, 2006

Managing Vacation Expenses

After a couple of weekend excursions earlier this year, I was really nervous about our week long engagement trip in the beginning of August. I tend to treat vacations as a get away, and don't worry about money management during...
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September 6, 2006

Saving Money the MacGyver Way

Last week, during a downpour, I had a fender bender. As I was slowing down, my car hydroplaned and I ended up hitting the guard rail. Luckily, no one else was involved and the car was drivable after the accident....
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October 31, 2006

Investing in Candy after Halloween

If your like me, you like to indulge with a little candy every once and awhile (if not, candy is also a good tool to use in the workplace, but more on that another time). Regardless, this next week...
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November 22, 2006

Car Repairs On The Cheap

Back in September I reported that I had a minor accident. My years of faithful MacGyver watching paid off and with every handy man’s tool (duct tape) I was able to return my busted headlight to a working position until...
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December 18, 2006

Airport Lounge One-Day Passes

Looking for ways to travel in luxury without paying a small fortune? While I am all about keeping costs to a minimum when I travel, my fiancee isn't the budget travel warrior I am. The challenge for me is to...
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January 10, 2007

Save Money With HDTV

It sounds crazy, but you can actually save money by trading in your old television for a big, new HD TV. I just bought a new 32" LCD HDTV for $463 but expect to get that money back and save...
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February 23, 2007

Bargain Shopping on the Internet

For the most part I rely on 3 deal posting web sites to do my bargain hunting: Slickdeals.net Fat Wallet Ben's Bargains My strategy is to have a running list of things I plan to eventually buy (without an immediate...
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March 22, 2007

Directory of Free Online Classes

Stumbled across this over the weekend. Its a directory of free classes online. Doesn't appear to be comprehensive, but has a pretty good list of links. I am in the middle of a Intro to Chinese speaking course at work...
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March 26, 2007

Home Improvement on the Cheap: Landscaping

When I bought my current home, one of the 2 biggest issues with the house was the landscaping (or lack thereof). I am working to convert the house into ship-shape so I can rent it out while I am...
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March 28, 2007

Home Improvement on the Cheap:Remodeling

On my 1st house (now a rental property) I converted the house from 1.5 bathrooms to 2 full bathrooms. It was a fairly major project that involved gutting both bathrroms and relaying out the space to squeeze an extra bathtub...
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October 15, 2007

Suspending Home Phone Service to Save Money

Bellsouth offers a suspend/vacation service for your telephone line. If you aren't going to use your home phone for more than 30 days you can request that they suspend your service and they will even put in a forwarding number...
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