Archives

Money minute: 3 Ideas for Vacationing on a Budget

Author | July 9th, 2018 |

Soaring gas prices, rising hotel rates, and creeping menu prices. You may need a spending vacation after your summer vacation this year.

The American Automobile Association’s annual vacation costs survey shows travelers will pay 5 percent more for rooms and food this year.

A family of two adults and two children can expect to pay an average of $247 per day for food and lodging, according to the AAA survey. Lodging rates will average $129 a night, up 3.9 percent from last year. Meals will cost $118, up 6.5 percent. That doesn’t even account for gas prices. Depending on your destination, fuel … Read more »

Newsmaker Sunday with John Hook – Fox News Phoenix

Author | July 8th, 2018 |

This was a great half-hour interview. In this day of 3 to 5 minute fast paced interviews, it was nice to be able to sit and interact with John Hook. He is a down to earth guy. Raised in the country but living in the city. He hasn’t forgotten the lessons he learned from his dad. Save all you can and stay out of debt.

He was really interested in why we had two of our sons working with Steve in the yard repairing the in-ground sprinkler system.

We told him that there was no guaranteeing what their earning potential would be. … Read more »

WEEKEND! Magazine – Focus on the Family Radio

Author | July 8th, 2018 |
Focus on the Family Logo

We taped a one hour interview with Focus on the Family Weekend! in August 2004. Through the magic of editing, they took the interview and broke it up into five great interviews you can listen to here.

The interviews were hosted by Dr. Bill Maier and originally aired between February 26 – April 23, 2005 (and multiple times afterward)

February 26, 2005 — Family Money: Steve and Annette Economides believe families can survive low incomes without going into debt.

https://moneysmartfamily.com/wp-content/uploads/WeekendMagazine-112.mp3

March 5, 2005 — Money and Marriage: Steve and Annette Economides believe husbands and wives should handle the family finances together.

https://moneysmartfamily.com/wp-content/uploads/WeekendMagazine3.5.05.mp3

March 19, … Read more »

Paul Harvey News and Comment

Author | July 8th, 2018 |

Bill Karambelas was Paul Harvey’s sound engineer for many, many years. Bill’s dad was a friend of Steve’s dad. So when our book was about to be released, the two dads talked and we sent a copy of our book to Bill Karambelas to put into Paul Harvey’s hands.

One day in the fall of 2006, our office phone rang. Steve answered and heard a familiar voice on the other end saying, “Steve, this is Paul Harvey.” Steve was in shock.

Mr. Harvey went on to say that he thought our book was going to help a lot of people and he … Read more »

Marketplace Money – NPR with Tess Vigeland

Author | July 8th, 2018 |

This was a good interview, but we could tell that Tess felt a little uncomfortable discussing frugality. You can listen to the entire interview at the bottom of the page or read the transcript here.

We take ‘cheapskate’ as a compliment

Frugality is a virtue. Tess Vigeland explores the wisdom of cutting your costs with the Economides, America’s cheapest family (and yes, that’s their real name).

TESS VIGELAND: Tightwad, a cheapskate, don’t like being called those names? Well, Annette and Steve Economides don’t mind. They not only enjoy being cheap, they actually wrote a book about it. It’s called America’s Cheapest … Read more »

The Pat McMahon Show — KTAR Radio – Phoenix

Author | July 8th, 2018 |

This was a fun interview with Pat on his radio program. We talked about saving money on Groceries and how to teach your kids to handle money.

Unfortunately, we don’t have any audio of the interview.

But we do have a photo with Pat and his producer Rosemary Scarfo — she’s a sweetheart (you can tell from Pat’s face that we caught him off guard . . . so we’ve included a couple of other photos).

Hmmm, well, we tried to help Pat look more prepared, but in this shot he looks like he sat on a tack — so we gave it … Read more »

Kids, College and Debt Free Living – Good Morning Arizona

Author | July 4th, 2018 |
good morning arizona logo

In this two-part interview, Good Morning Arizona anchor Kaley O’Kelley talks with Steve, Annette, Abbey and Joe Economides about how to be a MoneySmart Family.

Plus, at the bottom of the page, we’ve also included a list of things parents should never pay for.

Part 1 covers College Expenses

How to go to college debt free.
Where to look for scholarships.
How to find huge discounts on textbooks.

Part 2 covers how to start training kids to manage money.

How young to start
How to set up a system that is better than an allowance.
What an 18-year-old money-smart kid looks like.

Parents are going broke raising their kids

PHOENIX — … Read more »

Money Matters Radio — Crown Ministries — Living Better On Less

Author | June 28th, 2018 |
Crown Financial Ministries

We recorded a series of interviews with Steve Moore from Crown Radio which ran over a period of four months.

We discussed several topics: How we got started on our frugal lifestyle; How to deal with marriage partners differing economic backgrounds; How to take fantastic vacations without breaking the bank;  How to research purchases so you always get the best deal; How to best deal with unexpected money that comes your way.

Listen to the interviews here:

April 13 – Windfalls—Dealing with Unexpected Cash
May 18 – Vacations without Debt Regret
June 18 – … Read more »

The Harvest Show – 5 Interviews about Money & Family

Author | June 28th, 2018 |
The Harvest Show - hosts and logo.

The Harvest Show

We appeared on The Harvest Show, Wednesday, October 17, 2012 and taped 5 additional segments for airing in 2013 on July 3, 16, 23 and August 1, 7

It will be a 10 to 14-minute interview so we’ll be able to touch on many different areas of content from The MoneySmart Family System. The five additional segments covered the following topics.

Toys, Recreation and Technology
Clothes / Miscellaneous Expenses
Work and Transportation
Debt Free College / Friends Love and Marriage
Boomerang kids, Bailouts, and MoneySmart Grand Parenting

You can watch the Harvest show live or online. Check out their Read more »

Free Advice for the Frugal Life

Author | June 27th, 2018 |
Arizona Republic and AZCentral

Experts offer simple ways to save money every month

Michelle McKay likens herself to a hunter, only what she stalks, tracks and brings home are free or nearly free home furnishings and appliances. Washing machine, NordicTrack, antique armoire: free, free, free.

McKay threw her arms open wide in the middle of her Phoenix home and said: “This stuff is my horns on the wall.”

Champions of frugal living• Pinch a Penny Till It Screams, by Madeline Clive (Lucerna Publishing, 2006, $12.50).

•Frugal Living for Dummies, by Deborah Taylor-Hough (For Dummies, 2003, $16.99).

• America’s Cheapest Family … Read more »

KSAZ TV Fox — Arizona Morning – Cutting College Costs

Author | June 27th, 2018 |
Fox10 logo

The average college student is graduating with $20,000 worth of debt.

Most graduates take 10 years or more to pay it off. If you spend a little time applying for scholarships you can trim or eliminate what you need to borrow.

There are always ways to save on college costs from scholarships to lodging to books. We cover lots of these strategies in our January, February, and April 2005 back issues.

1) Financial Aid — get thousands even now

FAFSA Free Application for Federal Student Aid www.fafsa.ed.gov. This is a two-step process: First, you’ll also want to register for PIN number, which will take … Read more »