Recession vocabulary is everywhere—“recessionista”, “staycation”—but when it comes to changing habits, how can we actually go from being shopaholics to penny pinchers?

The answer comes from a surprising source—bestselling author Sarah Strohmeyer’s new novel THE PENNY PINCHERS CLUB. In it, Kat Griffiths has never saved a penny in her life. But when she begins to think that her husband is leaving her, she decides to kick her spending habits and prepare for divorce. What ensues is a hilarious, uplifting and heartwarming story about how hardship can lead to happiness.

THE PENNY PINCHERS CLUB is the perfect beach read for those in a funk about the recession.

I’m giving away TWO copies of this book. To enter, just leave a comment on this post. The contest will end next Friday at 5pm EST.

It seems like Mr. Savvy and I have a jillion accounts between the two of us.  However, I added one more account to the mix last night.  I opened a SEP-IRA for myself.  Mr. Savvy already had one and I decided to get one as well.  We both have side businesses and while mine isn’t nearly as profitable as  his, I want to be able to shelter all the income we can.

Taxes are a bear and I just found out that property taxes will be increasing statewide this year.  Ugh.  So every little bit counts.  Not to mention, we have ~18 years until retirement and compounding interest is your friend.

How many accounts (banking and retirement) do you have?  Are there any that could be consolidated in order to simplify your finances?

photo credit: Tessss

All for the low price of $25 -

25th Burt Day Celebration Grab Bag

Celebrate our 25th Burt Day with a bag full of goodies!

How it Works

It’s our 25th Burt Day and we’re ready to celebrate with a gift – just for you! We’ve mixed and matched our most popular natural products and other special gifts into our premium Burt Day Celebration Grab Bag. A bag full of these goodies sells for over $50 MSRP, but we’ve lowered the price especially for our birthday.

You’ll get 6 regular-sized products: 4 lip products, a 4 oz. spearmint lime body wash and a 3 oz. nourishing body lotion; 12 mini-size products; and 4 special gifts!

Give the gift of well-being to others or keep them all for yourself. And of course, Happy Burt Day!

• 6 Regular-Sized Products:
• Lip Shimmer Merlot
• Lip Shimmer Toffee
• Replenishing Lip Balm
• Beeswax Lip Balm
• Spearmint & Lime Body Wash (4 oz)
• Nourishing Body Lotion (3 oz)
• 12 Mini-size:
• Baby Bee Buttermilk Bath
• All-in-One Wash
• Lip Gloss Red
• Lip Gloss Nude
• Natural Skin Care for Men Soap
• Peppermint Soap
• Citrus Spice Soap
• Baby Bee Buttermilk Soap
• Orange Essence Facial Cleanser
• Peppermint Foot Lotion
• Rosemary Mint Shampoo Bar
• Therapeutic Bath Crystals
• 4 Special Gifts:
• Bamboo Poof
• Burt’s Bees Gardener’s Gloves
• Red Wristlet Bag
• Lip Balm Clip-On
• Items may vary. All sales final. No returns or replacements.

photo credit: zolierdos

I received notice a few days ago that Microsoft is discontinuing it’s Money software.  I’ve used MS Money since the mid to late 90s (am I dating myself?) and have always liked it.  The question is what do I do once Money goes away?

I like being able to automatically download my transactions, stock prices, etc.  Not to mention I currently have at least 10 years of data store.  Though I hear good things about mint.com and similar programs, I’m not comfortable with all my financial data being online like that.

The obvious replacement would be Quicken but I’m not sure how well Microsoft’s and Intuit’s products will be to interface with each other.  Do you use financial software (online or desktop)?  If so, what do you use and why?

photo credit: m.a.r.k

Is it ethical to accept financial if you don’t need the funds?