Dependent Care FSA: Save on Daycare, Preschool, Summer Camps, After-School, and Elder Care

One of the newer work perks that we took advantage of this year was the Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DCFSA). This is separate from the Health Care Flexible Spending Account (HCFSA) and the Health Savings Account (HSA). However, they … [Read the rest]

Best Interest Rates on Cash – December 2018

Here's my monthly roundup of the best interest rates on cash for December 2018, roughly sorted from shortest to longest maturities. Check out my Ultimate Rate-Chaser Calculator to get an idea of how much extra interest you'd earn if you are moving … [Read the rest]

Shel Silverstein “The Voice” and Financial Freedom

I remember being both amused and confused by Shel Silverstein's poems as a kid. When I read them again today to my own kids, my reaction is mostly the same, except some of them are even darker than I remember! I ran across a Fatherly roundup … [Read the rest]

Frugal Holiday Greeting Cards: Custom Etsy Design + Costco Printing

If you like to send out holiday greeting cards, I thought I'd throw out a quick tip that Mrs. MMB uses each year to save a bit of money. First, you can buy a custom digital design off of Etsy. Search for some combination of "photo Christmas … [Read the rest]

IHG Rewards Club Instagram / Twitter Promo: 5,000 IHG Points For Sharing

IHG Rewards Club is giving away 5,000 IHG points if you do the following: Tweet or Instagram a picture of yourself at home or at any IHG® property using the hashtags #HomeWithIHG #ad and #Rewardsoffer and including the handle … [Read the rest]

Financial Freedom Is About Resilience to Outside Shocks

I found myself thinking a lot today about General Motors announcing layoffs for over 14,000 employees - 6,000 hourly and 8,000 salaried workers. This affected the factory workers making the cars, engineers designing the cars, managers, and … [Read the rest]

Giving Tuesday 2018: Double Your Impact

Tuesday, November 27th is Giving Tuesday 2018. This time of year is huge for charities, with 40% of donations occurring in the last six weeks of the year. Here are some ways you can "double your impact" with a matching donation. Facebook … [Read the rest]

Amazon Cyber Monday Week 2018: 20% Off Anything, $15 off $60, More New Deals

Updated with new deals. It is now "Cyber Week", and you can view all Amazon Cyber Week Deals here. Here are the Amazon Device deals. Remember there is free shipping with no minimums for the holidays. Some of the highlights: See if you are … [Read the rest]

Vanguard Lowers Minimum for Index Fund Admiral Shares

Vanguard has announced that it is lowered the minimum required investment on the Admiral Shares of its index funds to $3,000, down from $10,000. Basically, if you owned the Investor Shares of one of their 38 index funds, you will own the cheaper … [Read the rest]

IKEA In-Store Coupon Thanksgiving 2018: $25 off $100

IKEA has a new printable $25 off $100 coupon [pdf] that is valid November 22–26, 2018. The coupon states that you can also show it on your phone at checkout. Valid in US stores only. The fine print: Offer valid November 22–26, 2018 (online only … [Read the rest]

WSJ Miles Activity Promo: Buy $1 Subscription, Get 1,200 American Miles

Various airline miles shopping portals are offering extra bonus miles for a $1 trial subscription to the Wall Street Journal (2 months). This is a handy deal because the miles are worth more than $1, you skip the WSJ paywall for a while, and you … [Read the rest]

The Best Baby Gear Guide: This Stuff Survived 3 Kids in 6 Years

Some close friends of ours are having their first baby at the same time that our third (and last!) kid is turning 2. That means we'll be passing along a bunch of stuff and also recommendations. Sometimes I read these buying guides and wonder if … [Read the rest]