I think the answer is yes.  By it’s very definition, frugality is the rationing of resources and the careful spending or resources.  In being frugal, we carefully budget our money.  We carefully check over the fliers and find the best deal on groceries.  Eventually, as we continue doing these things, they become second nature.  We do them almost without consciously knowing that we are.  It becomes a way of life.

Fitness is very much the same.  In being fit, we ration our resources; eating only what our body needs.  We keep close track of how we are spending our resources and are constantly trying to find ways to improve our outcomes.  We want to run a faster mile.  Do more sit-ups, pull-ups, and bench press more.

So, it’s only natural I suppose that the two attract each other.  If you’re spending your time being frugal (and like it), there’s a pretty good chance you might either be fit, or should give it a try.

Do Fitness and Frugality go Together? is a post from: Beating Broke, if you enjoy it, please visit us and subscribe to the Feed.

I’d like to celebrate in some way.  What does everybody think?  What should we do to celebrate?  Maybe a nice pizza party?  I know who we could get to deliver.  Or maybe we just have a nice quiet dinner?  Or?

Let the suggestions begin!  I want to hear your ideas and how you’ve celebrated your anniversaries on your sites.

2 Year Anniversary Coming Up is a post from: Beating Broke, if you enjoy it, please visit us and subscribe to the Feed.

The event itself should be quite amazing.  I just wish I could attend.  If you want to check to see if there is a location near you that will be hosting the event, you can click on the attend button on townhallforhope.com and do a quick search.  It really should be something to see.

Disappointed in Dave Ramsey’s Town Hall for Hope is a post from: Beating Broke, if you enjoy it, please visit us and subscribe to the Feed.

I think I would take it one further.  Not only is the way that you spend your money a very important skill, but, as the title of this article states, the entirety of your personal finance management is a life skill.

Schools all around the world concern themselves with teaching children life skills.  Skills like writing.  Reading.  Wood Working.  Mathematics.  Science.  And even Cooking (0ne of my favorites).  Perhaps personal finance isn’t as important as things like mathematics, writing and reading (the three Rs), but I would argue that it’s just as important (or more so) than the rest.

Improper management of your personal finances can lead to some pretty dire circumstances in your life.  You can find yourself falling into a trap of revolving debt and upside-down mortgages.  Too easily, you can find yourself making the choice between ramen and gas to go to work.  And yet, people continue to put personal finances aside as something that isn’t all that important.

Over the last decade, I’ve spent my time learning many of the tenets of personal finance management.  Even with the knowledge I had gained, it was a very difficult trip to take.  I started as close to the bottom as I cared to get.  I’m still a long ways from the top, but I’m getting there.  And most of that is owed to learning to manage personal finances properly.

Take the time today to learn something about taking care of your finances.  Teach it to your children.  Teach it to your friends.  If we all learn a little bit more each day, week, and month, we can turn our situations around and help more people.  The more people we help with this, the less likely that our economy will ever find itself in this situation again.

Personal Finance is a Life Skill is a post from: Beating Broke, if you enjoy it, please visit us and subscribe to the Feed.

40% off QuickBooks Pro – all versions (both CDs and Downloads)and QuickBooks Mac (both CDs and Downloads) + Free Learning CD + Free Shipping

The only difference with this one over the last is the substitution of a free learning CD instead of the one year of support. I’ve never used either, so I can’t vouch for which would be more valuable. And it’s kind of a moot point now anyways, as the one with support has expired. This current one runs from February 23rd 2009 to February 27th 2009.

Go out and get your copy of Quickbooks Pro today!

Another 40% off Quickbooks Pro and Quickbooks Mac Discount is a post from: Beating Broke, if you enjoy it, please visit us and subscribe to the Feed.

40% off QuickBooks Pro – all versions (both CDs and Downloads) and QuickBooks Mac (both CDs and Downloads) + Free Shipping + 1 Month Free Support

The offer is good from February 16th 2009 through February 20th 2009. You don’t need to be a math genius to know that 40% off of Quickbooks is a huge discount. If you do anything with business accounting, Quickbooks is the standard in business accounting. It’s a little bit heavy for personal use and for that I would suggest something like Quicken or MS Money. I personally use Quickbooks pro (albeit the 2008 version) for my small business accounting. It does an incredible job keeping all my income & expenses in order and has some very useful reporting features.
You can see all the new features and order at the Intuit Quickbooks 2009 page.

40% off Quickbooks Pro and QuickBooks Mac is a post from: Beating Broke, if you enjoy it, please visit us and subscribe to the Feed.

In any case, I managed to get mine all finished up last week and filed them all.  Last year, I ended up short and needed to pay in so I waited until much later to file so I could hold on to my money a little longer.  This year, I made a few changes to my W-4, and as a result, ended up with a small return coming my way.  And there’s no reason to not file if they owe you money.

North Dakota was amazingly fast with the refund.  I got it back on Wednesday.  I filed on the previous Thursday.  Less than 4 business days to go from my computer to the state and back to my account.  And a EFT deposit takes at least a day from start to stop, so they had to have initiated the transfer on Tuesday.  Less than three days process time.  Very nice.  Of course, I haven’t really heard much from the Feds, so not sure if I’ll be seeing that back anytime soon or not.  I’m sure they’re a little more swamped than the state is, but you’d think they’d have a bit higher capacity too.

How about you?  Taxes done? Did you get a refund or did Uncle Sam drain you a little drier?

Taxes Done? is a post from: Beating Broke, if you enjoy it, please visit us and subscribe to the Feed.

Currently, I believe, the only way to use the WaMu online savings is in conjuction with one of their free online checking accounts.  I haven’t personally used either account, so I can’t vouch for ease of use or quality of service, but the 3.75% rate certainly puts them near the top of the list of high-yield interest accounts.

WaMu Savings Rate Up to 3.75% is a post from: Beating Broke, if you enjoy it, please visit us and subscribe to the Feed.