I’ve heard that rich people find it kind of tacky to talk about money. But for the rest of us, well, we gotta. I’m not saying you need to be hashing it over morning, noon and night, but you and your spouse do need to be on the same page in this department. Otherwise, it can be the one thing that does you in. I learned this the hard way when Charlie and me first got married. Neither of us were making much money. I was working down to the A&P, of course, and Charlie was at the mill. He’s a foreman there now, but he started out at the bottom doing odd jobs. We …

When is a bargain a bargain, and when is it a waste of time and money? Case in point:  What a Deal On my way home from the dump I stopped at someone’s sale I smelled a bargain lurking, and This nose, it doesn’t fail I zoomed in on some rubber boots They just jumped out at me The kind you’d wear for hunting ducks, That come up to your knee LaCrosse 800’s what they were And just as good as new They looked about my size, and fully Insulated, too “Are you a ten?” the woman asked Ten is what I wear “Then they should fit you good and snug And keep you dry …

Charlie and me were paying our bills the other day. The way we do this is, we sit down and pay ‘em together. It doesn’t take that long. We try to do it every couple of weeks. At least once a month. It helps if you put it in the calendar. I know some folks just do it automatically, right from their paycheck, but we’ve been doing it this way forever and it helps us stay on the same page. When things are tight (and they have been off and on over the years) bill paying isn’t my favorite thing to do. But the fact is, it’s gotta be done. Easier to show up and …

When is a bargain a bargain, and when is it a waste of time and money? Case in point:  What a Deal On my way home from the dump I stopped at someone’s sale I smelled a bargain lurking, and This nose, it doesn’t fail I zoomed in on some rubber boots They just jumped out at me The kind you’d wear for hunting ducks, That come up to your knee LaCrosse 800’s what they were And just as good as new They looked about my size, and fully Insulated, too “Are you a ten?” the woman asked Ten is what I wear “Then they should fit you good and snug And keep you dry …

Charlie and me were paying our bills the other day. The way we do this is, we sit down and pay ‘em together. It doesn’t take that long. We try to do it every couple of weeks. At least once a month. It helps if you put it in the calendar. I know some folks just do it automatically, right from their paycheck, but we’ve been doing it this way forever and it helps us stay on the same page. When things are tight (and they have been off and on over the years) bill paying isn’t my favorite thing to do. But the fact is, it’s gotta be done. Easier to show up and …

I have a whole chapter in my book, The Sweet Life, about how to deal money because money, or lack of it, can cause a lot of stress in a marriage. Now, I don’t give any advice on how to invest your hard-earned cash. I just share ways to approach money on a day-to-day basis, things that have worked for Charlie and me. Some of it we’ve been doing since we got married, and some we had to learn the hard way. I want to save you some pain. I’ve heard that rich people find it kind of tacky to talk about money, but for the rest of us, well, we gotta. I’m not saying …

Things have slowed down to a crawl at the A&P. It’s not that we have less business or that us employees are losing our touch. No, it’s because of these mysterious “micro chips” embedded into your new credit and debit cards. The powers that be installed the card reader for ‘em last week, and like a lot of things that are supposed to make life easier, it’s turned out to be a real pain in the patooti. Why? Well, if you’ve tried one, you know. First off, if you insert the card too early, we have to start again. If you insert the card too late, we have to start again. If you take it …

Ida discusses her fascination with the TLC show, “Extreme Couponing.”

There’s a couple here in Mahoosuc Mills who are so cheap, they squeak when they walk. They have everything budgeted right down to the penny. And, get this, they have to account to each other for every, single cent they spend. I’m mean, they buy a pack of Juicy Fruit gum, they get a receipt and fess up. I witnessed this very thing at Cumbies over the weekend. This guy asked for a receipt for his pack of gum! I’m all for havin’ a budget, but you know what? I’m too old for extreme anything. Even with the tightest of budgets, I believe you each need a little fun money to spend anyway you want …

Charlie come home from work the other day, and I could tell straight off, he had some sort of bee in his bonnet. “What’s a matter?” I ask. “I’m gonna mow the lawn ‘fore supper,” he says, stormin’ out the door and lettin’ it slam behind him. “OK. Sounds good.” Now, in the early years of our marriage, I’d try to get Charlie to tell me what was bothering him. I’d hug him, you know, wanting to make things better. Frankly, all that did was make him feel smothered. Then, I’d end up as miffed as he was. Nowadays, I give him a wide berth, let him work through whatever it is at his own …