by Nicole Ouellette | Nov 8, 2009 | Personal Finance Tips
One of my favorite things of being a money blogger is getting great books to review. I always manage to learn something and having to review the book forces me to read about financial stuff, which honestly I find boring a good part of the time.
I read Phil Villarreal’s book in stolen moments these last few weeks, out of pleasure and not out of obligation (this review is already a couple months late). It was a busy time and the one to three page chapters were perfect for a quick fix.
Phil reminds me of John who I consider one of my very best friends. Like Phil, John used to work in newspapers and has this snarky sense of humor that comes from intelligence and self deprication (rather than stupidity and making fun of others). Phil is the exact kind of guy you want to be friends with, and also the kind of guy you can learn a thing or two from.
A few of my favorites:
by Nicole Ouellette | Oct 26, 2009 | Personal Finance Tips
It’s really interesting to shop for unique things like apartments or cars. Each is so different it’s hard to compare, you can’t exactly hop online and find the best deal like you would for, say, a certain model of digital camera. The whole thing is a bit more nuanced than that.
Clearly costs are an issue to me and, in looking at larger spaces, my rent is going to cost more. But there are some additional features that a larger apartment can accomodate that might make this move actually less expensive than where I live now.
I’ve attempting to assign some monetary values to some of this stuff, if only so I can fairly compare apartments. What do you think? Have I forgotten anything?
Washer and Dryer access- $25/month
by Nicole Ouellette | Sep 18, 2009 | Personal Finance Tips
Nothing like figuring travel logistics over email to drive connected people to save a few bucks.
My friends Lydia and Travis are getting married this weekend. About a month ago, ten of us who went to college with Lydia tried to figure out group hotel rooms through a series of emails over the course of about a week.
I had first seen my friend Bailey use Priceline to get us a cheap rental car in Vegas. I was impressed with her internet savyness and her ability to save us about 25% on the rental. When Bailey suggested we use the site for the hotel room, a few of us jumped on it.
Four of us formed a Priceline bidding team, each taking a turn to bid on a two star hotel in Ellsworth Maine (hint: there’s one on Priceline so we knew it was the hotel the others were staying at). If you bid on something and Priceline doesn’t accept it, you are locked out of bidding for a certain amount of time so having another person or two can be critical.
by Nicole Ouellette | Aug 21, 2009 | Personal Finance Tips
The good and cheap wedding series was a hit based on feedback I’ve gotten (though I hope more people will eventually leave it on the blog and not just tell me but hey, I’ll get feedback wherever I can get it!). I learned a few new ideas from every couple, even people I thought I knew really well already.
Here were a few of the common themes:
1. Churches and town halls will hook you up.
They aren’t looking to make a quick buck; they just want their folding tables back. I had no idea that for $0-$100, one could reserve a room as long as it gets cleaned up afterwards. Nice!
by Nicole Ouellette | Aug 15, 2009 | Personal Finance Tips
I’ve always wanted to do a series about inexpensive but great weddings and since it’s a busy end of the week, I thought you’d appreciate getting to know a few more cool people. The following three days will feature three couples and how they had the day of their dreams without sticker shock.
A special thank you to my friend Ally for putting me in touch with this couple. They seem like fantastic people who know how to throw a wedding!
Name of Happy Couple: Paul and Tobyn
Location of Wedding: Ceremony-Old, out of use UU church in Westbrook Maine, Reception-The backyard of our apartment in Westbrook Maine
Date: July 9th, 2009
Total Cost of Wedding: Including rings our total cost was around $5,000, without the rings it was around $3,300
What are some of the ways you saved money?
We saved money in almost every thing we did just by planning the type of wedding that we did. With this said, I have gone through our wedding step by step below. I have found the easiest way to portray what we did is by breaking it up into its various components to give a small taste of what the wedding itself was like as well as the planning.
I’ve always wanted to do a series about inexpensive but great weddings and since it’s a busy end of the week, I thought you’d appreciate getting to know a few more cool people. The following three days will feature three couples and how they had the day of their dreams without sticker shock.