Five things to do if you get laid off

These tips are courtesy of my friend who was laid off by Oracle in September.
1. Take two days off before you start the job hunt. Gather your thoughts, cool off, and give your resume a thorough cleaning. If you rush, you could end up sending out a resume that’s not quite ready.
2. Think strategically about [...]

A $3,000 stimulus check? Yes we can!

Several months ago, I wrote that a $3,000 stimulus check might have been more effective than a $1,200 check, which is what we received. Remember the good old days, back in April and May? Taxpayers all got a check in the mail, which, theoretically, they were supposed to spend, in order to stimulate the economy. But many [...]

In need of healthy, cheap, low-carb recipes

I’ve recently made a pretty big change to the way I eat: I’ve stopped eating sweets during the work day, and I have cut down on simple carbs as well.
For the last year, I’ve been trying to figure out why I feel so tired all the time. Around 4 in the afternoon (if not earlier), [...]

Our new budgeting system

We’ve recently taken a new approach to budgeting which, I think, brings us a major step forward toward combining our finances completely. Jon has been pushing this for a while, and I’ve resisted, but in the last few weeks we’ve just fallen into it. In the past, when I received my paycheck, I would put [...]

Going out to eat: how much should we spend?

Note: this was originally posted as a guest blog on Make Love Not Debt.
Over the summer, Jon and I let a relative stay in our apartment for a week, while we were away on vacation. As a thank-you gift, she gave us a $150 gift certificate to a nice restaurant. And this presents us with [...]