by CHansen

The “butterfly effect” is the idea that a small and seemingly insignificant event can trigger something on a much larger scale than what originally took place. It’s the theory that a butterfly can flap its wings, eventually causing a tornado to occur a thousand miles away. Remember how Homer Simpson went back in time, squashed a prehistoric bug, and returned to a drastically altered universe, where donuts fell from the sky? I find that much easier to understand than fractals or chaos theory.

Anyways, let’s try to enumerate the long term effects of making a seemingly insignificant decision to wear flip flops instead of shoes and socks. It is an exaggerated and contrived example, but serves to illustrate the “butterfly effect” in terms of saving money and saving the planet. (I think it feels like compound interest on steroids…)

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by hitkaiser

I didn’t have a regular job until I graduated from college. In order to get by, I did a variety of interesting jobs so that I wouldn’t be completely broke. Without a regular income, I became quite good at getting by with what I did earn, and by the time that I had a full time job, I was so used to passing on certain luxuries and saving my paycheck, that my financial situation and preparation for retirement had developed into something to be proud of.

Here are some of the more interesting things that I have been paid to do:

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Where is the very best parking space in the whole lot? It’s simply the absolute first spot that you encounter upon entering the parking lot, and it’s not just for Ferrari and Porche owners.

Here are the many reasons to park right away:

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It’s getting close to the deadline now for taxes this year, and I’ve been hearing the usual talk among coworkers about how much they’re getting back in their tax refunds.

I hear things like “I love getting a big refund”, or “Getting back more is better because it helps me save”, or even “Woo-hoo! Free money!”.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Not another article about how getting a big tax refund is bad because you’re making an interest free loan to the government”. (If you haven’t thought of it this way before, lets review:

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