Five Ways to Avoid Holiday Overspending

As much as you do not want to admit it, the Christmas music has hit the airwaves, stores are packing decorations, and the holiday sale commercials are running back to back. Holiday shopping is upon is, and so are the massive expenses that come with. In fact, according to the National Retail Federation, the average holiday spending last year was $800 per person, and since holiday spending has increased every year since 2009, one can expect another increase this year, so every dollar that you … [Read more...]

Frugal Ways To Get Ready For Winter

By Justin Weinger Leave a Comment

When you live in northern Minnesota, you know that winter is inevitable. With winter comes extra expenses. Heating bills, new winter clothing and the holiday season all battle for our hard-earned cash. You'll save money and start the season more relaxed when you follow these frugal ways to get ready for winter. … [Read more...]

5 Personal Finance Tips For College Students

By Justin Weinger 5 Comments

The following is a guest post by Andrew Rombach of ScholarshipFly. As you prepare yourself for college, one of the most difficult things to manage will be money. The broke college kid stereotype is around for a reason, and it is never more relevant any other time than during college. In college, there are two types of expenses: the cost of attendance and the cost of fun. College is characterized by these two expenses. Tuition has been skyrocketing, textbooks have been following suit, … [Read more...]

DIY Healthy Patriotic Smoothies

By Justin Weinger 12 Comments

I have this thing about making red, white and blue crafts, treats, decorations, and food for our patriotic holidays. My kids think it is neat to see what I come up with and certainly enjoy consuming anything I make. I try not to go way overboard, but I like to keep in mind using red, white and blue food items because it can really help decorate the table and make it seem more festive without having to spend money on decorations. … [Read more...]

How to Do a Mid-Year Financial Tune-Up

By Justin Weinger Leave a Comment

Summer marks the half-way point of the year. It’s that time of year when we dream of road trips and summer vacations. For some of us, it’s a time to plan for the big move to college or a time to land that first job after graduation. If you’re finding that your New Year’s resolutions haven’t stuck well, or finding the cash for all that summer fun is a challenge, it could be time for a mid-year financial tune-up. … [Read more...]

Easy Home Remedies For Itchy Insect Bites

By Justin Weinger 2 Comments

When you live in the woods of northern Minnesota, you're definitely no stranger to itchy insect bites. In fact, we even joke that the mosquito is Minnesota's state bird. There are plenty of projects out there that claim to help relieve the itch from these summer pests, but sometimes it's those easy home remedies for itchy insect bites that work the best. … [Read more...]

DIY Patriotic Wreath

By Justin Weinger 8 Comments

I am a wreath person. I admit it. There is no shame in it. I change out my wreaths seasonally and often I change them out for holidays as well. I even have wreaths for indoors. I didn't realize I had such a "wreath thing" going on until I starting writing this post and was looking for links of other wreath posts I have done, which I will share at the end. My seasonal wreaths might last just one season or the same season for a couple of years depending, but the holiday one might only be up for … [Read more...]

Northern Cheapskate

Frugal. By Nature.