As the old saying goes: Familiarity breeds contempt (of people).  There is, however, a lesser known variation of this famous phrase (lesser known because I just made it up, feel free to spread it around):  Familiarity breeds boredom (of stuff).   

Boredom can have many negative side effects: dizziness, weight gain, whining, grumpiness, and, perhaps most disturbingly, unnecessary spending! 

Don’t get me wrong, change is good, I’m a huge fan of change.  Why, I change my underpants almost daily (joke, just a joke people).  Sometimes, however, boredom can lead to discontentment which can lead to the urge/desire/need to change EVERYTHING.   

Most likely, everything does not need to be changed (unless there is shag carpet involved).  Often times, something “new” doesn’t even need to be purchased.  When you can’t get no satisfaction, looking around and working with what you already have may actually turn out to be more rewarding and fulfilling than going on a shopping spree. 

What if instead you:

Rearranged – your desk, your living room, your bookshelves.

Purged – I’m always amazed by how different a room looks when stuff is taken out of it. 

Cleansed – just as your car drives smoother after the car wash, your house will run more efficiently when it’s clean.

Or Changed Something…

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Article publié pour la première fois le 14/09/2010

 
The locals call this Quartz “Mountain.”  We Coloradans call it “a hill.” Either way, a fun little adventure.

Article publié pour la première fois le 08/06/2010

I am a lousy tipper.  Husband is an excellent tipper.  Can you imagine a more outrageous couple?

 

You may have gotten the cutesy email that explains that the word ‘tips’ is actually an acronym, short for the phrase “to insure prompt service.”  Well, stop spreading that rumor, because according to Snopes, it’s not true; and it really doesn’t make any sense if you think about it.   Truth be told, I will generally, begrudgingly, tip at least 15%.  Buy why?  Today I wanted to find out where that magical 15% comes from, but as far as I could find, the waitress union pushed the initiative through a top secret campaign.  15% actually does seem like a reasonable amount for good service, but what about just OK or bad service?

 

Reasons Why We Might Over-Tip:

We Don’t Know It 

Many people just glance at their receipt, which is normal, because they have lives to get to.  But if you’re not careful, you may miss the automatic gratuity that can be added to parties as few as 6 in some restaurants.  Doing some quick math can ensure the proper compensation and prevent double tipping.

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Article publié pour la première fois le 02/08/2010

Building and contents insurance isn’t compulsory, (although some mortgage lenders will require it) yet it is an important step in protecting your home. This way you know you’re covered financially should disaster ever strike? Of course, it’s worth knowing a little more about these two policies, and what they each cover.

Building insurance covers you for the cost of repairs to your home, or even rebuilding it, if it is damaged. Common causes of building damage include flooding, fire, vandalism, or weather damage. Building insurance will provide you with the money to cover the costs of repairing or rebuilding your home should it be damaged or destroyed. This can also extend to garages, garden sheds and other additions to your property, but it’s worth knowing each policy is slightly different, so be sure you get one which is right for your home.

If you don’t own your home then generally the building insurance will be taken care of by the landlord. However, you will still want to consider contents insurance in order to protect the things that belong to you.
Contents insurance ensures you are covered for the cost of your belongings within the home, in case of theft or damage. (Generally building and contents insurance will each offer cover for the same causes.)

When arranging contents insurance, make sure you are covering the correct costs of what you own. Consider every item in each room of your home, and how much each of them would cost to replace. It will likely be more than you think! Of course, not all your belongings will be covered; particularly valuable or high-cost items will often need separate cover, so make sure you keep this in mind as well.

Your policy can either cover the costs of replacing or repairing damaged and destroyed items of property; or you can pay less for a policy which will take wear and tear of your items into account when calculating their value.

You can also reduce the cost of your insurance policies by ensuring your home is well protected from the risks in the first place. Doing things like installing a theft alarm and a smoke alarm can make a big difference. Once you have the right insurance policy for your needs, you’ll know that if the unexpected ever happened, you will be able to afford the costs. And having that peace of mind is priceless.

Article publié pour la première fois le 01/11/2011

Mad props to the carnivals who featured my articles this week, mad props.

Festival of Frugality @ Generation X Finance – 3 Reasons Why We Keep & Buy Crap

Carnival of Money Stories @ Money Obedience – The Non-Sale Sale

 

I was also featured in a little publication called MSN Smart Spending, perhaps you've heard of it?  Thanks Karen!

 

And some excellent blogs from the Yakezie Network this week:

Make it 70 by 2050 @ Thousandaire

Stores That Offer Layaway @ Out of Debt Again

The Kardashian Sisters Launch Their Own Prepaid Credit Card @ Money Funk

Article publié pour la première fois le 12/11/2010