Valentine’s Day!

It's interesting how caught up we get in holiday spending. Valentine's Day is a prime example. It's a purely arbitrary date, but a huge percentage of the population has been caught up in the idea that if you don't get your significant other something nice for Valentine's Day, you are just a jerk. Worse yet, it absolutely must be presented on February 14th, and it can't be anything practical, or you can end up in the doghouse, as depicted in this old (but still hilarious) JCPenny commerial. If Read more [...]

January is the Time to Buy…

...almost anything at Amazon. Yeah, there are always lots of Amazon ads. And there are sales and rumors of sales. So how is January different for Amazon? Here's how: On February 15th, FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon) sellers will be billed for something called "long-term storage." The FBA sellers will get the warning email in mid-January -- and a lot of them will panic. Some FBA sellers with very large inventories will see long-term storage fees, which are based on volume, in the thousands of dollars. Read more [...]

August – The Time (not) to Buy…

In August, there are usually lots of sales on things like school supplies, and it doesn't take much shopping around to find good deals in that area. Also, in some states (like here in Texas), there are sometimes "tax holidays" for school supplies, which sometimes extends to other items such as children's clothing. Depending on the sales tax rate, this can be a substantial incentive to buy these items. However, there are several things that are typically a better bargain in September or October, Read more [...]

When a Bargain is NOT a Bargain

Sometimes, spending a bit more money on something you use on a regular basis can be better than trying to get the absolute lowest price. For instance, if I had just bought a middle-of-the-line professional camera to start off with, instead of getting a really cheap compact point and shoot that I threw away, then a low-end compact point-and-shoot (which was a little shy on resolution, although it worked ok for my purposes at the time as long as I did not have to use flash), a slightly higher resolution Read more [...]

Eating crow – not so tasty!

Well, Mr. BFTROU certainly handed me a wake-up call this morning.  You see, I never, ever ask his permission to post anything, nor would he expect me to.  I don't send a post to him for editing in advance either.  But after I've posted, he generally gets around to reading what I've written and commenting on it. So, this morning I was somewhat surprised when he greeted me with "that post needs to be entirely rewritten from beginning to end."  HUH?  So much for being the most supportive Read more [...]
Choosing Your Entity Type

Choosing Your Entity Type

Self-Employment can be complicated! One of the best things you can do for yourself, if you have any sort of side gigs, blogging for money - any type of self-employment income, is to formalize the relationship of your work, by choosing your entity type. As an individual, you can easily file a Schedule C, using your regular 1099 income, deducting the direct expenses, and being done with it. If, however, you want a better tax environment, you might want to create a more formal business structure Read more [...]
Joining the unemployed

Joining the Unemployed – On Purpose!

I took that big step, and now I'm joining the unemployed. Not that that's a bad thing, but I am not entirely sure whether it's a great thing yet. I don't think we'll starve. First of all, neither of us is underweight. Secondly, we have quite a bit of reserve in the bank - else I'd never have taken this step. Still, it's scary. REALLY scary. Because, despite the fact I've not used my health insurance in so long I didn't even know what pharmacy was covered under my plan - you never know, do Read more [...]

Paying credit card bills? When is the best time for that?

When is the best time for paying credit card bills? If you're anything like me, you have a credit card or two that you use mainly to amass "reward" points. One of mine gives me points to use anywhere (I normally just have the "points" translated to dollars sent back to my bank account, and the other gives me points to use on Amazon. (I LOVE Amazon, but that's another story.) I know there are other, fancier credit cards that give you wonderful points that can be redeemed for frequent flier miles Read more [...]

Your Mortgage – Does the Mere Thought of the Word Scare You?

It's Here! Our very first book - and one we are so excited about, too. Written by my friend,  Y. Patrick Mazor, (and edited by me), this book will open your eyes about what you never knew about mortgages - especially the one that counts - YOUR Mortgage - You Can Save Thousands by Realizing It's YOUR Money! The book is available on Amazon.com,  (affiliate), and we are proud to announce that this is only the first in what we hope to be a series of helpful and informative ebooks hosted by HowToHackAnything.com.  Read more [...]

Do You Have Shiny Object Syndrome?

Many of my friends, I have noticed, (and “maybe” I myself am just a little bit guilty of this), is that they — and I- have what my husband calls “shiny object syndrome.” So, what is shiny object syndrome? Not that anyone’s been noticing, but I haven’t updated this blog in quite a while. Well, there’s a reason for that - a new shiny object has come by. Here’s my history of internet entrepreneurship: I started a blog a couple of years ago on the topic of survival. Then, a new Read more [...]
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