May 14, 2008 | Big Picture

Allow me to take a brief break from low, low prices to do a brief plug for a product with a cause, will you?

I’d like you to meet my dear friend Jen. Jen is an immensely talented artist but mostly Jen is just one of those awesome people who is there whenever you need her.

Jen’s friend Odette needs her right now, and to that end both women have been tirelessly raising funds for Jen to take a trip to Rwanda to visit Odette’s daughters and many other Rwandan children and refugees who could really use a message of hope right about now. I can’t think of anyone better to bear such a message than Jen, frankly.

Odette and Jen have just completed the first Girl Power Africe ‘zine, which Jen will be taking to Rwanda for free distribution, and it’s available for sale to the rest of us here on Etsy for $10. All profits will go towards this trip and medical care for Odette’s daughter Grace (who is still in Rwanda and in the hospital with tuberculosis).

I know Jen’s artwork and I know Jen’s heart, and I’m sure this zine is simply gorgeous, which a message of pure empowerment. Please consider buying one for a special young lady in your life. It’s a bargain for good karma.

Update: Some of you have asked how you can donate directly. See this page for information on doing that; donations can be made until May 16th, 2008. Jen leaves this weekend!

February 26, 2008 | Big Picture, Mindful Money

Hey, remember when you were young and carefree and life insurance was for old people? No? That’s because now you’re old and senile. Ha!

Everything I want to tell you today can be summed up in this one sentence: You need to have life insurance. The end.

But if you want to get picky—and more specific—about it, read on.

If you have kids, you need life insurance. If you have a spouse, you need life insurance. If you are a single person old enough to not be on your parents’ health insurance anymore, you need life insurance. Have I covered everyone here, yet? You, in the back! You need life insurance! (The only exception here is children. Children do not need life insurance, no matter how many daytime television commercials tell you otherwise.)

The reasons vary, the amounts vary, how you handle it may vary, but you need it and you need it now. Yes. Repeat after me: I need life insurance. (more…)

January 29, 2008 | Big Picture, Mindful Money

This is a subject near and dear to my heart, and I’ve talked about it before, but I think it bears repeating.

I have a tremendous amount of respect for financial advisors like Dave Ramsey who have practical advice for people in dire financial straits. Truly, my admiration for them is vast and this is not about me saying “he’s wrong” or anything like that.

Nevertheless, I submit to you that any “cash only” plan for living is not only limiting, it potentially decreases how much money you have. (more…)

January 16, 2008 | Questions Answered, Big Picture

Selena wrote in with such a great email that I can’t wait to hear the discussion on this one. She is extra pretty for coming up with such good questions!

Dear Pretty One,

I’ve been enjoying your site for about two years now and have learned so much about deal-finding. I love the thrill of a deal, and the idea of having nice things for less money makes me swoon. I’ve had several deal quandaries lately, though, and I’m hoping you can share your thoughts on them. I want to score deals with both your help and a clear conscience!

I’m totally up for this one, because I love a debate. (more…)

January 2, 2008 | Big Picture

At long last we are headed back home. It’s not that we haven’t enjoyed the holiday travels, you understand, but there is something to be said for being in your own house, with your own bed. It’s time to get back to normal. Things will be quiet here today as we make our way back down the coast and home to Georgia.

Anyway. For the last couple of months, Want Not has focused heavily on sales and deals, particularly those on toys and electronics and other hot holiday gifts. That’s fine; I think together we found some great deals an made some holidays brighter, which is awesome.

On the other hand, I’ve always intended for Want Not to be about more than shopping. And while it’s natural that around Christmas it becomes primarily about finding good deals on gifts, now I’d like to get back to the original intention, here, which was/is managing money in a healthier way.

So I’d like you to tell me what you’re hoping to see here in the coming months. Are you just here for the deals? Do you enjoy the advice entries? (I do, by the way, but I haven’t gotten nearly as many questions lately.) Are there issues you want to see tackled here, various areas of interest I’ve not covered? This is your chance to tell me what to do. And I might even do it!

(I’ll be home tonight, and am looking forward to reading your responses. Play nice while I’m gone, please.)

June 7, 2007 | Questions Answered, Big Picture

When was the last time I did an advice post? I can’t even remember. Hopefully this means everyone is so smart and pretty they have no unanswered questions! But it might mean I’m losing track of even more things than usual, and you’re asking, and I’m forgetting to answer. Whoops. Let’s assume the former.

Anyway! Pretty Amy writes:

Hello pretty Mir,

I have a question (or two or twelve) for you regarding increasing my credit score. See, I’ve not always been good about paying stuff on time and then we had some financial issues and so the slippery slope goes. I’ve recently been laid off (permanently) and received a handsome severance package as well as qualifying for unemployment. The nitty gritty is that I’m hoping to use the severance to pay down/off a boat load of credit cards and get my finances manageable once and for all.

My goal is two-fold — lower my debt AND increase my crappy credit score. I’m planning on closing all but 2 (Visa and Discover) cards once they are paid off (we’re talking about 5 or so department store cards). Is the trick in bettering the score by paying them off in a lump sum or over a few months?

(more…)

May 16, 2007 | Big Picture

Hello! How is everyone doing? I am feeling somewhat remiss; between the general busyness of my life and getting married and all of that, I feel like Want Not has fallen by the wayside a little. I’m still posting deals, but it’s been a while since I answered questions (because it’s been a while since anyone asked any) and I’ve been really lousy about general topics aside from “Oh! On sale! Shiny!” of late.

So, I thought I’d open up the floor here as I try to get back on track. What are you missing? What do you want to see that hasn’t been here, either because it’s something I used to do but stopped or is just something you’d like to see? What sorts of deals do you like best, what sorts of deals make you roll your eyes? What should we be talking about—in any area of shopping or money management—that we aren’t?

I’m interested in any feedback you care to share. The goal has always been to have a site that’s useful for my readers, and I want to make sure that’s what’s happening here. So talk to me, pretty people. Let’s get this place rocking again.

March 15, 2007 | Questions Answered, Big Picture

If you go out onto the web and starting Googling “FICO” you’ll find a lot of time and energy devoted to explaining how FICO scores are determined. You’d think that with all of this information available, it would be straightforward to determine the effect of various actions on your score. But you would be wrong.

Yesterday I advocated signing up for a new credit card and it reminded me that I recently received this:

Pretty Mir,

I have a question about credit cards. I have 3 credit cards. 1 Discover, and 2 Visas, and I don’t really need both Visas. I’ve heard you (and others) say that opening new credit card accounts can lower your credit score, but can it help improve my credit score if I close extraneous accounts?

Thanks,
Sheryl

The answer is: Ummm, maybe. (more…)

January 23, 2007 | Everyday Wisdom, Big Picture

I’m pretty sure I’ve talked about this before, but it’s a pet topic of mine and bears repeating, even if I have. (Besides, I can’t find it, if I did. Feel free to tell me I’m getting old and senile; I’ll forget all about it in a few days.)

More and more I’m seeing financial planning and couponing and general save-money-now sites advocating a lifestyle completely free of credit. “Pay cash for everything!” they shout. “Cancel all your credit cards except for one, and only use that one in a dire emergency!”

I especially like the people who advocate taking that one credit card and freezing it inside a gigantic block of ice in your freezer, so that you’ll have to wait for it to melt to use it (thereby supposedly avoiding impulse purchases). Those people have clearly never 1) shopped online, 2) memorized anything, 3) seen an ice pick.

The fact of the matter is this: Used responsibly, credit not only makes life simpler, it saves you money. (more…)

October 17, 2006 | Everyday Wisdom, Big Picture

I stopped at my local dollar store yesterday to pick up sandwich bags (yes, that’s about the only reason I go in there, and yes, I always end up buying more than that) and just beyond the garish Halloween displays right at the front there were… there were…

I can hardly say it, it’s so awful.

There were Christmas decorations. Stop it. STOP IT. It’s not even November yet!

Is it my imagination, or is the “Christmas season” sneaking ever-further backward? By the time my kids are grown, the season will be starting right after Memorial Day.

Anyway, it reminded me that I wanted to talk a little bit about the upcoming Season O’ Frenzy. (more…)