Let's not forget that the best way to pay off your mortgage early is to not buy a house beyond your means.  Buying a lower priced home frees up a lot of cash that can be applied to the mortgage or used elsewhere. Better yet, avoid the mortgage altogether.  I paid cash for my current home in 1997.  Imagine what it's ...more

One of the things that really surprises me is that it's becoming more and more difficult to find a restaurant where there's not a television in view from the table.  We used to sit and talk while eating a meal.  Now half the time we sit and watch TV while eating out without talking half as much as we used to.  And most...more

The problem is that the value proposition keeps going down.  The higher that cable and dish prices go, the lower the quality of programming seems to become.  Not to mention the increased frequency and duration of really bad commercials. We stopped television programming in 1997.  I had withdrawals at first, because ...more

I like McDonalds.

Maybe they could change the name to Long John Lobster?

After working in the automotive industry, it became obvious that the major OEMs (GM, Ford, etc.) often dictate profitability to their tier 1 suppliers, and ask for cost reductions of several percent for each year a component is in production.  OEMs ask for this reduction based on "productivity cost savings", as it's ex...more

All 5 points are spot on, and explained simply.  Nice job. There really is no magic here, just common sense.  Of course to be able to save, you must be able to not spend.  It's a learned discipline.  Far too many people think they should be able to save after spending, when in fact the opposite is true.

$58,000 for 5 years of transportation is considered cheap?  B.S.! I believe cheaper alternatives are: 1. A clean low mileage used car or pickup. 2. A motorcycle. 3. A bicycle. 4. Public transportation. 5. Walking.

If you don't like the price of gasoline, don't buy it.  Find a cheaper alternative. Can't find a cheaper alternative?  Then gasoline must still be pretty cheap.