If you’ve been a long time reader of Fiscal Musings, you know that I’m not big on eating out. There are a couple of reasons for this, but you can read the Restaurant Lifestyle for more information. Unfortunately, even if we would rather save the money, we have friends and family who don’t share the same opinion. Sometimes the only way to maintain a friendship is to go out.

So how do you find a compromise in these situations? I’m going to give a few ways to keep your restaurant tab down while still having a good time with family and friends.

1. If you’re married, or are in a relationship, try splitting a meal. Restaurants are usually very generous with their portion size, and most of us could stand to eat a little less. So cut your bill in half and share a meal.

2. Take a pass on the alcohol. These drinks can easily be the largest part of a bill. If you’re going out with friends who want to drink, order a soft drink instead. You’ll typically get free refills and you can still enjoy the conversation. I have also been given these drinks at no charge when everyone else is ordering alcohol, and nothing beats free.

3. If you don’t want to split a meal, or are single, don’t think that you have to eat everything on your plate. Feel free to take home leftovers. Even though you won’t save anything on your bill, it’ll save you the money you would have spent on another meal.

4. Finally, don’t just let your friends dictate where you’re going to go to eat. Take an active role and lobby for a place that you know won’t break the bank. People sometimes take forever to decide where to go, and that’s the perfect situation for you to suggest some place that you’re comfortable with.

Ultimately, it’s your money, and you can decide how to best spend it. Don’t just give in to the peer pressure when it concerns your personal finances. Too often we just go with the flow and figure we’ll take care of the finances later.

1. The Digerati Life has put together a list of 15 Painless Ways to Pay Yourself First. None of the ideas would be considered “ground-breaking”, but they’re simple ways that will force you to save. For some reason people won’t do the simple things to get ahead, yet they will sink money into some scheme that promises them to “get rich quick”. In the article the advice is sound and worth the read.

2. I’ve talked over and over about passive income, alternative income, or whatever you’d like to call it. Even so, maybe you’d still like to hear about it from someone else. All Financial Matters writes that Passive Income is the Key to Freedom, and Retirement. Perhaps it’s time to start creating some of this “passive income”.

3. The Money Smart Life wants to know Why Some People are so Ignorant About Money. There are multiple reasons given in the article and you can possibly add a few of your own. You may even see yourself in some of the reasons, and recognize a weakness that you can improve on.

4. Fiscal Musings Throw-back: Slick Marketing. You simply cannot escape the advertisement world these days and they will use all sorts of techniques to try and win your business. You have to be careful though not to fall for some of their slick tricks.

In your search for a new home, you’ll most likely need to get a mortgage in order to finance the purchase. MyHomeLoanMortgages.com is a comprehensive online mortage and real estate financial resource that can provide you with news, calculators, and information on professionals in your area. You can look for a California mortgage and find many different lenders to compare. You can also search at the local level to find brokers and agents. If you’re in my area you could find a Florissant mortgage.

The following is a guest post from The Rogue League:

A lot can be learned about warranties by knowing how they are accounted for. Accounting guidelines don’t require that publicly-traded companies separately disclose how much they spent on warranty expense. They only have to separately disclose their warranty liability if it’s deemed material (i.e. significant), and even then it can be done in the notes to the financial statements, not in the statements themselves.

This is significant because this means these companies can basically very easily hide their warranty expense and liability information from the less than astute investor. Why would they want to hide it? Because of what can be inferred from this information. If a company has a lot of warranty-related expenses, the public will view it as a producer of low-quality products. Conversely, if it’s warranty expenses are low, people will see no need to purchase a warranty from the company. A company doesn’t really want either of these things. They want the public to think they are producers of high quality products and, simultaneously, that they still need some kind of insurance. Because, at the end of the day, that’s all a warranty really is.

That is worth remembering here–that warranties are money-making devices, whether a company just rolls it into the overall purchase price of the product or they make it an add-on purchase. A company offers a warranty only after having determined that payments from customers will exceed the charges they expect to incur on repairs. In other words, the company is pooling the risk of all the individual consumers in such a way that they can offer protection to the individual but still make a profit. This happens, of course, because most people never need to use the warranty, or at least, not use it in full.

I think all of this is worth keeping in mind when deciding about what product to purchase and when considering its warranty situation. If the product is of very high quality, an extended warranty probably isn’t really worth it. you’d just be giving the company more money for no real reason. But, if you place a high value on peace of mind, and you just want to know that it’s there if you need it, then you might decide that a (extended) warranty is worth it. I think the main thing to remember here is that, overall, it’s a numbers game, and the company makes money off the arrangement. the odds are more likely than not, that whatever warranty payments you make, you will get less back in free services from the company.

We’ve all been asked to lend someone some money at some point in our lives. Sometimes it’s a large amount and other times it’s only a couple bucks (which isn’t usually a big deal). It can be a problem however when someone does happen to want to borrow a substantial amount of money.

In these situations, does it depend on who it is that’s asking? Does it depend on the amount that’s being asked for? Does it matter in what state your finances are at that point in time? I believe that it depends on all of these things. It also depends on a lot of other things, too many to mention here. The point is that each situation will be different, and also how you choose to handle things.

For most situations, I would avoid lending money to family and friends. There are far too many complications that can give rise to all sorts of ill will. It’s possible that you will never see the money again or you won’t get it back as soon as you as you had agreed upon. Too many friendships have been broken and family relationships tarnished because of loans that have gone bad. All you have to do is watch any of the daytime “judge shows” to see it firsthand.

Now, there will be certain times when you will feel that it’s necessary to lend someone some money, and that’s fine. I’m not saying that you should never lend someone money, but I do think that we should be more judicious with when.

I’ve heard the suggestion not to ever lend money, but when you feel it’s that important to give the money as a gift. Not everyone will be financially able to take this approach, but it’s definitely an idea to keep in mind.

If you’ve got a business and are wanting to expand and grow it, you’re probably going to need some money. EZUnsecured wants to help you get unsecured Small Business Loans in order to help you reach your goals. They boast an easy process, fast funding, and great service. Check them out to find out more.

For as many different types of people, there are equally as many different ways to manage personal finances. They may be varied, but people somehow seem to make it work. And they should since they’re the only one that worries about their finances. Things don’t always go as smoothly however when a couple comes together and combines their finances.

Oftentimes one is a spender and the other is a saver. I don’t believe I need to explain how this could be a problem. One person may also love credit cards while the other abhors them. One may love to budget and keep track of everything while the other prefers a more carefree style. As you can see there are many issues that can arise between a couple when it comes to their money.

I’m not going to dive into all the specific issues that can arise due to the sheer number of them, but many of them can be solved through open and honest communication. Too often I hear about someone that only recently found out that their significant other has hidden debts. One may spend first and ask questions later. When situations like these come up, too many people just get frustrated and keep to themselves. Unfortunately, this can be one of the worst ways to deal with things.

We need to set aside some time to openly talk about our financial situations, and we also need to talk about more than just the numbers. We need to be honest about our financial habits and spending patterns. Only when we understand where each other is coming from can we work together to solve any issues and potential problems. Maybe it’s finally time that you talk together.