This is a guest post from my wife, who thinks the following story is simply hysterical.
J.D. and I are fairly good at eating our leftovers. I often intentionally create leftovers for my sack lunches or an easy weeknight dinner. J.D. has improved at remembering we have them since instituting his leftover list on the fridge. But last night he returned to his evil ways, and I thought I’d share it with his readers.
For several weeks, we’ve had a half-jar of homemade marinara sauce in the fridge. Made with last summer’s garden tomatoes, it’s Good Stuff. Thinking I ought to use it soon, I added a roll of pre-made polenta to last weekend’s grocery list, envisioning some northern Italian goodness.
On Sunday afternoon I actually had the ingredients on the kitchen counter, moments away from fixing dinner. The oven was preheating. My stomach was growling. Then J.D. came [...]

Casey Serin of I Am Facing Foreclosure recently held a two-hour conference call to take questions from readers and to explain his situation. I didn’t hear the call, but I did read the entire transcript (part one, part two).
   

For those of you unfamiliar with him, Casey Serin is the Napoleon Dynamite of real estate investing. He took real estate seminars from Russ Whitney and read books by Carleton Sheets. He bought into the “get rich quick” mentality. In October, the San Francisco Gate wrote:
After spending a year and upward of $15,000 (borrowed on credit cards) going to real estate seminars and buying home education courses from everyone from Russ Whitney to Bruce Norris and, of course, the aforementioned Robert “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” Kiyosaki, Serin embarked on his brilliant career as a real estate flopper, er, flipper. “I wanted to move toward financial independence,” he told me by phone from his home [...]

Cheap but great dates | zen habits
I wrote an entry about this subject for Valentine’s Day, but never posted it. Maybe next year.
(tags: frugal dating romance frugality cheap)

The Simple Dollar » The Simple Dollar Guide To Shaving
Trent advocates an old-fashiones safety razor, badger brush, and shaving soap. I have shaving issues, so I’m willing to give this a try. High initial cost, but low residual expenses…
(tags: grooming lifehack lifehacks)

My Foolish Money Mistakes: Moves That Cost Me More Than $1,000 Each » Silicon Valley Blog About Money
(tags: reallife money finance)

Tiara wrote with the following money hack:

This is aimed at people who generally drive or take public transport to work/university/etc, but who could easily cycle or walk the same distance. Each time you cycle/walk instead of driving/using public transport to your destination, pay yourself the equivalent fare. If it costs you $2 for a bus to the city, for example, and you’ve decided to walk there instead, keep the $2 in a savings box. If the trip would have cost you about $5 worth of petrol, and you’ve opted to cycle, pay yourself that $5. Do this for about a month.
By the end of the month, you will have saved a substantial amount of money. (You should also be seeing some improvements in your health as you gain extra exercise!)

This is a variation on a tip I’ve shared a couple of times before, but I still think it’s effective: replace something that costs money [...]

A couple of readers forwarded Jeffrey Strain’s list of 10 reasons you aren’t rich. It’s a fine piece, though it takes a negative approach. Sometimes we need to hear the negative. Strain’s ten reasons (with my commentary):

You care what your neighbors think. It’s not a competition. Who cares if your best friend just bought a BMW? What does it matter that your sister dresses her kids in designer clothes? You know what’s best. Live below your means.
You aren’t patient. “Until the era of credit cards, it was difficult to spend more than you had. That is not the case today.” We’ve also come to love the dream of quick riches. But, as the name of this site implies, if you have patience, you can obtain wealth.
You have bad habits. Strain notes that vices — smoking, gambling, drinking — have more than just immediate financial costs. There are long-term costs, as well.
You have no goals. I’ve [...]

Your Broker Is Just As Confused As You Are - Consumerist
(tags: investing investments)

Ask Lifehacker: How do I get started using Quicken? - Lifehacker
(tags: quicken software tools howto lifehacks)