The Freedom Factory

In a sluggish economy, bartering is becoming an increasingly popular alternative to cash for businesses and individuals. Indeed, the practice of our pre-currency forefathers is coming back with such a vengeance that there are several websites dedicated to facilitating the practice. [Just like the kind great-great-great grandma used]. Continue Reading

Since I, along with most people, am feeling thrifty, I searched high and low for thrifty tips. Here are some of my favorite  websites dedicated to saving a few more pennies. Continue Reading

The best advice ever…only 1 page long and FREE:

—–SPECIAL OFFER—–

The Federal Reserve is creating tens of trillions of new dollars, debasing our currency, and silently taxing us all through inflation. With tens of trillions in federal budget deficits on the horizon there is nowhere for the US dollar to go, but down.

Refuse to be a victim of this flawed financial system, buy gold and silver NOW!

I have recently received my monthly bill for my wireless phone and I have always wondered what the surcharges and Government fees were.  Most people never take the time to look into these ambiguous costs, but when added they are startling!

Here is a break down of the surcharge and Government fees: Continue Reading

When people first graduate from college/high school, they make a humble salary and find a way to make ends meet.  Maybe they don’t save very much, but they do alright.  Along the way their salary likely doubles, triples, or quadruples.  With their salary increasing by such a huge amount, there ought to be some money left over to be put into savings.  Sadly, that is rarely the case.  Most people spend as much as they can. Continue Reading

Cars are expensive. They are probably the largest depreciating asset people spend money on in their lives. If you spend $500 on car payments every month from the time you are 20 till when you are 70, you spend a total of $300,000 on car payments alone (not to include, gas, insurance, repairs). That is a lot of years worth of work (unless you’re making $300,000 a yr).

As of 2006, the average life of a car is between 6.8 yrs and 9.2 yrs. If you take care of your car, you can surpass this lifespan quite easily I think. I am 30 and only just got the second car of my life 9 months ago. And only did that because my first got stolen and totaled.

Any amount of time you drive a car past the time when it is paid off you will be driving it for free (without a car payment). So to the extent you are trying to live modestly, you ought to try and drive your car as long as possible. The more yrs you can drive your car without having to make payments, the lower that $300,000 number I quoted above will be. And money that isn’t being spent on a depreciating car, is money that can be spent on more important stuff (retirement savings, kids’ college, mortgage payments, etc).

Continue Reading