by Libby Balke | I Am So Cheap, Kid-Friendly
It’s a rite of passage for teenage girls: working as a babysitter. I did it, my mother did it, my aunts did it, and some day, my daughter will do it, too. When I was a teen, the going rate around town was $5/hour, per kid. So if you had two kids and were going...
by Libby Balke | Food and Recipes
There was a time in the not too distant past when I did all my grocery shopping at Walmart. The reasons were twofold: first, Walmart was the closest grocery store to my house, so convenience played a big role; second, saving money was my main motivator, and no other...
by Libby Balke | Debt Free Living
I assume you’ve heard the phrase, “House Rich, Cash Poor.” It refers to the idea that someone’s overstepped their family’s finances when it comes to purchasing a home, meaning a lot of money is tied up in real estate and leaving them...
by Libby Balke | Deals and Steals
Several months ago, my boss and I found ourselves in a posh NYC restaurant for a business dinner. She was wearing an amazing dress and shoes that looked like they cost a fortune. “Where’d you get those?” I asked with my mouth half-full of orzo pasta...
by Libby Balke | Uncategorized
“THEY DON’T LIVE HERE ANY MORE!” I scrawled atop the envelope from AARP in big, angry, red marker, borrowed from my daughter’s collection of kindergarten art supplies. Probably a little over the top for a message to the USPS, but I was at my...
by Libby Balke | Dining out with Kids
It’s the great American pasttime – dining out at the ballpark. Now that summer’s officially in full swing, my husband has been up my you-know-what, bugging me to loosen the purse strings so we could take the family to a baseball game. But between the...
