While it’s still cold outside, I thought I would present one of my favorite cheap yet fun activities. A few years back, my roommates and I created our very own hot air balloon. It was a lot of fun despite some small problems that I’ll warn you about in a minute.
Monthly Archives: February 2010
When to Buy a Warranty
Often times when making a purchase we are offered a warranty. Similar to insurance, a warranty often provides a worry free agreement that if your product breaks you will get a free replacement. Continue reading When to Buy a Warranty
How to Live Beyond Time and Money
This past week I took a short break from blogging to reflect on everything else in life. As wonderful of a hobby as blogging has been for me, I always like to take some time to reflect on my life and make sure I’m heading in a good direction. Although I enjoy looking at great ways to save time and money, the past week of reflection have helped me remember the important things in life. So if you’re ever stuck in a time when money or time or some other personal worry is overwhelming you, I hope you come back and think about these ideas on living beyond money.
Time is Limited and Money is only a Tool
I always like focusing on finding time and saving money because they are two things that are very useful.
- Time is our greatest commodity and most limited resource. We all have the same amount per day and will make some decision on how we use it.
- Money is the great medium of exchange. It allows people to serve others indirectly in a way that has helped millions.
But while useful, optimizing your time and money can be a distraction.
- If you spend too much time worrying about your time, then you won’t have any time left to worry about.
- It’s not worth it to save up millions while giving up great opportunities. Money is a tool that should be used wisely.
Take a Break and Serve Others
If you find yourself in a phase where all you worry about is time and money, then take a break to serve others. Sometimes thinking about money and time gets me so caught up on myself that I need a way to look outward. Here are some ways to impact others.
- Buy some friends dinner. This helps build relationships and reminds you that treating your friends is a lot more fun than treating yourself.
- Support a cause with Time. It’s easy to write a check to help someone, but take the next step and spend a day building a Habitat house, working at a homeless shelter, or aiding someone with a handicap. This will greatly impact your heart and remind you that you are blessed to have as much time as you have.
- Reflect on your priorities. Taking time to step back and think about what your priorities are versus what you are actually doing should help figure out what’s out of line.
Don’t Be Mastered by Time or Money
In the end, time and money shouldn’t control you. They are two things that if used well can make your life great or destroy it if used poorly. Whenever you realize that your life is being run by a constant need for more time or money, just step back and think about what you are really living for.
Thanks for your time. What are your thoughts about living beyond time and money? Leave a comment or send this to a friend.
Learning What to Spend and Where to Save – Part 2
Last week, in Learn What to Spend and Where to Save – Part 1, I wrote about buckets to consider when setting up your budget. Although it’s different for everyone, it’s important to understand the types of saving you need for different goals in your life and how much you should constrain yourself on spending. This week I’ll offer some great places to put your money based on my research and own experience. If you have any suggestions you want to offer, feel free to help the readers by adding your recommendations to the comments below.
Continue reading Learning What to Spend and Where to Save – Part 2
Find the Perfect Job by Starting a Hobby
I started this blog a few months ago after critically thinking about how I could best tie what I enjoy doing in life with how to best provide value to those I come into contact with everyday. By day, I’m a Business Analyst helping my company run more efficiently, offer better value to our customers, and make more money, but by night (and weekend), I enjoy over-analyzing how I spend my time, what I’m getting out of my money, and whether I’ve forgotten to have fun with all my great friends along the way (hence the tagline Find Time. Save Money. Have Fun.).
After thinking about the things that truly entice me, I decided a great hobby would be writing about all the things I over-analyze and using it to help people. Looking back now, it has all made me think about the difference between this hobby I work on at night and the job I go to every day.
Continue reading Find the Perfect Job by Starting a Hobby
Save Valentine’s Day and Your Budget
Alright men, next Sunday is when restaurants, card makers, jewelers, flower growers, etc. expect you to save them from a struggling economy and spend your past month’s worth of income on your girlfriend/spouse/date… This may sound like an overwhelming task, but you may be able to earn a few brownie points from the lady with some creative yet low cost ideas. Here are some ideas provided by women I asked about surviving Valentine’s Day without breaking the bank. Feel free to share your own creative ideas in the comments below.
Continue reading Save Valentine’s Day and Your Budget
Ways to Have Fun on a Budget: Dining Table Ping-Pong
Do you love the game of ping-pong, but you are too cheap or don’t have room for a table? Do all your friends play beer-pong but you don’t like cleaning up afterwards or spreading swine flu? The next best game to hit the market since Pro Thumb Wrestling is Dining Table Ping-Pong and it’s the latest cheap activity in our Activity CLUB
What Exactly is Dining Table Ping-Pong
Dining Table Ping-Pong (DTPP) is what every bachelor pad owner, apartment dweller, and dorm room needs. Just like the world famous Table Tennis, DTPP offers a competitive activity that is playable for all skill levels. All you do is whip out the adjustable net and tie it to some chairs, put on the hard core sweatbands, and start pinging and ponging until you crash on a nearby couch.
Continue reading Ways to Have Fun on a Budget: Dining Table Ping-Pong
Save Five Grand in Five Hours with Tax Deductions
Taxes aren’t easy. We can all agree on that, but given that we have to do them let’s make the most of it. If I told you that I would pay you $5,000 for 5 hours of your time would you take it? You might ask, “What’s the catch?” The catch is, you have to actually think about your taxes for a few hours, calculate your deductions, and enter it into your tax software. If you do, your tax refund may increase by $5,000 or more.
Continue reading Save Five Grand in Five Hours with Tax Deductions
The Best Free Antivirus Software
In a world of obsessive spammers and underage hackers, one must defend himself/herself with valor. In order to do this, you need to find an army (free antivirus software) you can trust to do the job. I’ve taken my time to find everything you need to make sure the worst doesn’t happen on your computer.
Continue reading The Best Free Antivirus Software
Learning What to Spend and Where to Save – Part 1
When you first get a job, change your income, or just start thinking about where to put your money it’s easy to get lost. It’s easy to spend, but if you’re reading this you probably know it’s wise to save. Where should I put my money? How much can I spend? Do I put more in Long term or Short Term savings? All are great questions.
Continue reading Learning What to Spend and Where to Save – Part 1
