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One mature perennial can often become several plants through division. Hostas, daylilies, iris, bee balm and other established plants can fill empty garden spaces without another nursery purchase. Jennifer McCallum/Shutterstock Walk through a mature perennial garden and you may be looking at hundreds of dollars’ worth of plants you haven’t created yet. Hostas, daylilies, irises, bee balm, and several other common perennials can be dug up and separated into multiple plants, giving you an inexpensive […]
Before tossing dead garden plants, check them for mature seeds, healthy compost material, or cuttings that can become next year’s plants. Diseased debris is the major exception and should be removed. ade123321/Shutterstock By September, plenty of gardens look like they’re ready for the trash pile: brown bean vines, crispy flower stalks, exhausted tomato plants, and annuals that have clearly seen better days. Before you yank everything out and fill the yard-waste bin, however, take a […]
pensive person stands against a green background with a hand thoughtfully near their chin. Finding out why a coupon that worked last week suddenly gets rejected at the register can be frustrating for smart shoppers. Pexels. One of the most frustrating coupon experiences happens when the same product worked with a coupon last week, but the register rejects it today. The product may look identical, and the coupon may even appear to be the same […]
Debt looks different depending on how old you are, according to a new study from Accredited Debt Relief, conducted in partnership with Money.com. The survey of 2,000 U.S. adults carrying debt found that younger generations are piling on debt faster and feeling more stressed about it, while older generations report more stability but are wrestling with their own pressure points, like Gen X’s shrinking retirement savings. The Generational Debt Gap Forty-five percent of Gen Z and 39% of millennials say their debt increased over the past 12 months, compared with 34% of Gen X and just 30% of baby boomers. Boomers were the only generation more likely to report their debt decreasing than increasing. The stress numbers tell a similar story: nearly 6 in 10 Gen Z and millennial respondents say they often or always feel stressed thinking about their debt, compared with just 36% of boomers. And when it comes to optimism, fewer than 3 in 10 Gen Zers and millennials feel confident they’ll pay off their debt, versus 37% of Gen Xers and nearly half of boomers. “What stands out here is that debt hits differently in different life stages,” said Bobbi Rebell, Chief Financial Education Advisor at Accredited Debt Relief. “For a 20-something, that can mean delaying a first home or starting a family. For someone in their 50s, it can mean reworking a retirement plan they previously thought was on track. But the common theme is that debt throws off someone’s expectations for where they’d be at certain life stages in terms of goals and milestones.” What’s Really Driving the Debt? Interestingly, personal spending isn’t the top culprit. Nearly 8 in 10 respondents across every generation pointed to inflation as the biggest contributor to their rising debt, with two-thirds also citing housing costs and their own spending decisions. Some causes were more generation-specific. Sixty-eight percent of millennials blamed low wages or job loss, and more than half cited the cost of raising children or caring for aging family members. Gen Z stood out for pointing to a lack of financial education (51%) and recent changes to laws, taxes, and government programs (55%), likely tied to recent shifts in federal student loan policy. Milestones on Hold For younger generations, debt isn’t just a monthly stressor. It’s rewriting life plans. Thirty-eight percent of Gen Z and 31% of millennials say debt has kept them from saving for or buying a home. Gen Z also reported debt delaying career moves and family planning. For Gen X, the concern is further down the road: 41% say debt has forced them to cut back on retirement savings, the highest share of any generation. Boomers were far less likely to say debt has blocked major milestones, though about 1 in 5 said it’s forced spending cuts in retirement. Breaking the Cycle About 6 in 10 Gen Z and millennial respondents say their parents’ money habits shaped how they think about debt today, and roughly two-thirds of both generations say they want
If you’ve ever watched someone hand over a stack of coupons at checkout and walk out paying almost nothing, you’ve probably wondered how they do it. The good news is that couponing isn’t some secret skill reserved for a select few. It’s a learnable system, and once you understand the basics, you’ll start seeing savings opportunities everywhere. Here’s your full breakdown of how couponing works, the different types you’ll run into, and the lingo you’ll want to know before you dive in. Join the A Dime Saved Community to get even more couponing tips and tricks! Join here! The Golden Rule of Couponing Before we get into anything else, remember this one rule: always keep your receipts. Receipts are your proof of purchase for rebates, price adjustments, and return policies. Get in the habit of holding onto them, even after you’ve used them for a rebate app, until you’re sure you won’t need them anymore. The Three Main Couponing Methods Digital coupons live online instead of on paper. You’ll usually find these on a store’s website or app, loaded directly onto the loyalty account you’ve set up with that retailer. Paper coupons (sometimes called cutouts) are the physical kind. Look for them in magazines, newspaper inserts, store ads, mailers, and sometimes attached right to the product itself. Sales and clearance happen when a store marks an item down from its original price. These happen constantly, and at every store, so it’s worth checking current sales before you shop. There’s also a fourth piece of the puzzle worth knowing: rebates, which are partial refunds you get back after you’ve already paid. Apps like Ibotta and Fetch offer rebates based on your receipts, and some stores offer their own, like Home Depot’s rebate on certain in-store purchases. The real magic happens when you combine all of these: use a coupon on an item that’s already on sale, then submit your receipt to a rebate app for extra cash back. Types of Coupons You’ll Come Across Manufacturer coupons come directly from the company that makes the product. Look for the words “Manufacturer Coupon” or “MFR” in the fine print. Always read the details closely, since these coupons usually limit how many you can use per transaction, list an expiration date, and specify the exact brand, product line, and size that qualify. Store coupons are exclusive to one retailer and will typically say that store’s name on them. They can be digital or paper, and whether they stack with other store coupons depends entirely on that store’s policy. As a general rule, two of the exact same store coupons usually won’t stack together. Catalina coupons are the long, narrow slips that print out from a machine near the register, often after you complete a purchase. They can be either manufacturer or store coupons, and you’ll see them most often at Walgreens and Kroger-owned stores. Printable coupons are ones you find online and print at home yourself. A
Committing to frugal habits is one of the simplest ways to build a frugal lifestyle. When small everyday choices shift, the savings add up fast, and that money can go toward the things that actually matter to you. Living frugally isn’t about deprivation. It’s about spending less on what you don’t need so you have more for what you do. Try working a few of these frugal habits into your routine, then put the money you save toward something meaningful: an emergency fund, a bit more charitable giving, retirement savings, or a new income stream. Write Down Meal Plans Food is a need, not a “skip it” expense, but it’s also one of the easiest places to save. Writing out a monthly meal plan makes it easy to shop your own cupboard first, using up what’s already there before buying more. That habit does double duty: your pantry gets a refresh, and grocery bills shrink because meal planning cuts down on takeout. When dinner is already planned, and the ingredients are on hand, there’s a lot less temptation to order out. Shop Groceries Online Wandering the aisles looking for deals isn’t always the time-saver it used to be, especially when items are out of stock. Grocery delivery apps make it easy to save time and money on every shopping trip; if something’s unavailable, switching stores or finding a substitute takes seconds. Shopping online also cuts down on impulse purchases, since there’s no aisle of tempting extras to walk past. Add the hours saved by skipping the drive, parking, and checkout line, and it’s a solid win for both time and budget. Use the Freezer Buying meat or chicken in bulk is almost always cheaper per pound. Portion it into freezer bags right away, and it’s ready whenever you need it. The same trick works for cheese, sauces, herbs, and vegetables; most freeze well and stretch a grocery budget further. Eat Out Less Eating out is fun, but the cost adds up quickly. Try capping restaurant meals to once or twice a month, and lean on a grocery shopping list built around pantry staples like beans and canned goods. Buy fresh produce in smaller, more frequent amounts so less goes to waste, and batch-cook meals you can pack for work, school, or a quick weeknight dinner. Take Cold Showers Cold showers tend to be quick; you don’t linger the way you do under hot water. That means less water and less energy used to heat it. The time savings add up too: shaving even 10 minutes off two showers a day frees up more than two hours a week. That’s time that could go toward a side hustle or anything else worth prioritizing. Cold showers also come with some notable health benefits, though they’re admittedly a harder sell during the coldest winter months. Buy Cleaning Supplies at the Dollar Store Many dollar-store cleaning products work just as well as name brands at a fraction of the price. Items that need regular
My Sweet Retirement SIA Shares Price: Dividend Yield and Should I Buy Now? The SIA shares price sits at around S$6.55 as of 21 September 2026. Since the SIA shares price changes throughout each trading day, I always check the live quote on SGX or my broker before … SIA Shares Price: Dividend Yield and Should I Buy Now? My Sweet Retirement
My Sweet Retirement Endowment Plan Singapore: How They Work and What to Check First A guide to endowment plans in Singapore, covering participating vs non-participating plans, current guaranteed rates, how they compare to fixed deposits and SSBs, and what to check before buying. Endowment Plan Singapore: How They Work and What to Check First My Sweet Retirement
Don’t miss an episode of our podcast, Personal Finance for Long-Term Investors. Available on all podcast players. Here’s the latest episode: Small change, giant impact. One challenge in financial planning is when a “small” decision creates much bigger than we assumed. “End of Plan” is one such decision. Some planning software might call it “planning horizon” or “life expectancy” or any number of other euphemisms for “when might you die?” Yes, death is scary to consider. And it’s obvious how our lifespan affects our finances. The longer we live, the more money we need to live a successful retirement. But there’s so much more! If you’ve ever dabbled with financial planning software (Boldin, Pralana, eMoney, RightCapital, Empower, etc.), you might be unaware of the unintended side effects that “age at death” is creating in your plan. Defining the “Problem”… The (frequent) “problem” I witness follows this logic: Running out of money is a scary idea. I don’t want to underestimate when we’ll die. I’ll overestimate instead…I’ll live until 90. My wife, 95. Boom. I’ve “solved” the problem of running out of money. [Narrator: But they were completely unaware of the unintended side effects…] I agree that it’s important to “stress test” whether you’ll run out of money. Changing your assumed age of death is a good idea. But what else are people missing? Let’s dive into what people often miss. Side Effect 1: Social Security Claiming Extending your End of Plan to age ~85+ almost assuredly pushes your Social Security claiming strategy out to age 70. If you live a long time, you wouldn’t want to claim Social Security early. This one is straightforward. In fact, it might be less of an “unintended side effect” and more of a “known headliner.” Plenty of couples should be claiming Social Security before 70 — at least for one of the two spouses. But if you model your End of Plans out at 85, 90, etc., then the planning software might encourage you both to delay until age 70. Side Effect 2: Roth Conversions Roth conversions are tricky. Decades of unknowns lie ahead, and you need to account for them in today’s Roth conversion math. It’s a gray area. Nevertheless, what’s the effect of assuming someone lives until age 95? The main effect is that said person would have 20+ years of required minimum distributions, the last of which would be more than 10% of their account value. These RMDs would push this person into higher and higher tax brackets, likely making present-day Roth conversions more and more attractive. Said succinctly: later death = more Roth conversions today. But if that same person dies at 75? Roth conversions might be outright bad. If they die at 80? Perhaps much smaller Roth conversions would be appropriate. The choice of modeling death at age 85, 90, or 95 can encourage
You’ve decided to buy a house. Congratulations! Now comes the hard part. Buying a home in Jamaica can be exciting, but if this is your first time doing it, the process can also feel overwhelming. Between finding the property, getting a mortgage, paying closing costs, dealing with lawyers, valuations, surveys and trying to figure out exactly how much house you can actually afford, there is a lot to think about. I bought my first home […]
12 Ways to Reduce the Cost of Moving Interstate Moving interstate is one of those costs that sneaks up on people. A quote arrives, it says three and a half thousand dollars, and suddenly the fresh start feels expensive before it has begun. Here is the part worth knowing: most of that number is negotiable, […] The post How to Move Interstate Without Blowing the Budget: 12 Ways to Cut Costs appeared first on The […]
Homeownership has felt out of reach for many but with recent changes and some knowledge, it might be easier than you think. Anish Puri from Perth founded NestPath which is free and can help you with everything you need to get into the property market. What is your side hustle? NestPath is a free education […] The post Tips For First Home Buyers from NestPath appeared first on The Thrifty Issue.
WiseStacker Where to Buy Non VBV Data in 2026: What Non VBV Bin Security Means Where to Buy Non VBV Data & What Non VBV Bin Security Means The phrase “non VBV” gets used like it describes something permanent about a card. It does not. In 2026 the meaning has drifted, and the places people source these ranges are not the same as they were even a year ago. This guide breaks down what non […]