Local cable has been running a television commercial that simply rips my heart out. A young girl around eight goes into a jewelry store with her dad and her bright pink piggy bank. The dad helps her pick out some jewelry for mom and the commercial ends with everyone smiling and happy. Even though it’s fictional, I try not to think of how long this girl would have to save up for anything of value at a jewelry store. Do you think her mom really wants her daughter to spend months worth of savings? If I’m her mom, I’m sad. I could have simply bought it myself with the savings from a few hours of work. I would much rather have a poem or a picture from my son or daughter.

The commercial would have made Anna Jarvis, the inventor of Mother’s Day, extremely angry. Though she thought that mothers should be recognized, she later regretted the idea due to the mass commercialization of it. Jarvis ended up spending the rest of her life trying to take back the holiday from the marketers.

If I were the father in the jewelry commercial, I would have given his daughter a few of these frugal Mother’s Day ideas from Better Budgeting. Additionally, there are always these arts and craft ideas from Mommy Savers. (Editor’s Note:  In addition, Prosper Blogger, Cash Money Life had published 15 Inexpensive Mother’s Day Gift Ideas.)

Lastly, please consider writing your own card. Why would you go to a store and pay $4 to have someone else tell you how you feel about your mom? Think of this exchange from Seinfeld:

Kristin: You got the card I sent?
Jerry: I did.
Kristin: So where is it?
Jerry: What?
Kristin: The card. Is this it in the trash?
Jerry: No?
Kristin: This is my card, you threw it away.
Jerry: Well–
Kristin: I put a lot of thought into this card.
Jerry: You signed your name and you addressed the envelope, it’s not like you
painted the picture and wrote the poem.

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Lazy Man has been a lender at Prosper since February 2006. He is the author of the personal finance blog, Lazy Man and Money and the health and fitness blog, Lazy Man and Health.

A couple of weekends ago, I a good friend of mine invited me out on his boat. It was beautiful day, around 80 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. We headed on up to McCovey Cove to sit outside the San Francisco Giants stadium and enjoy the day. There’s also the small chance that someone will hit a homerun into the boat. And as it turned out John Bowker of the home team delivered his first major league homerun into the water. We never had a chance to retrieve it as someone with a telescoping net from within the stadium scooped it up. Nonetheless, short of winning the lottery it was the perfect day.

Maybe it was the perfect day or maybe I got a little too much sun, but I found myself thinking about the future. How many days like today will I experience? If my wife and I have kids and grandkids, will they be able to enjoy the same fresh air? It was that thought that triggered my wife and me to finally recycle some old electronics that we had sitting around the house. Thought it was a shame that doing the right thing left our wallets $18 lighter (we had to pay to recycle the electronics), we realized that in the grand scheme it’s a small price to pay.

You don’t have to lighten your wallet to make a difference. Here are just a few tips to get you started:

• Use Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs - This is the definitive way to save money and the environment. They are a much more efficient than incandescent bulbs.
• Don’t Drink Bottled Water - Especially avoid imported bottle water. Instead, get a filtered water pitcher and a refillable bottle.
• Read The Good Human. It’s full of tips on how to do things in a more environmentally friendly way. The writer is modest, he’s a great human. I’m only an okay human.
• Recycle Aluminum Cans - The price of aluminum keeps rising. That means people will pay you for your efforts. Some states charge a deposit so by not recycling you are throwing money away.
• Donate Items You Don’t Use To Charity - You can earn yourself a nice tax break.
• Drive a Small Car - I’m not going to suggest you sell your current car and buy a small one, but consider a fuel-efficient car when you buy your next car. Better yet, carpool when you can.

I know you have a lot more tips. Submit your favorites in the comments. Remember, a lot of people doing a few little things can really make a difference.

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Lazy Man has been a lender at Prosper since February 2006. He is the author of the personal finance blog, Lazy Man and Money and the health and fitness blog, Lazy Man and Health.

Spring is finally here and with that comes blossoming flowers and college kids going crazy in Cancun. For me, Spring means mostly one thing… the start of baseball season. I will watch over 130 Red Sox games this year. While I love watching the game on television, it doesn’t compare to going to a game. They are completely different experiences.

Going to a major league baseball game is expensive. In Boston, if you are lucky enough to get tickets at face value, it will cost you $314 for a family of four with beer, hot dogs, and soda. It’s not just the cost of tickets and concessions, there’s souvenirs and parking (up to $100 a game) as well.

If you have to buy tickets on the secondary market it can get much more expensive. Some tickets for regular season games go for $1000 or more a piece. While that’s the high end, even the bleacher seats get marked up 100% or more.

Here are some tips for enjoying baseball games despite your situation.

• Consider Minor League Baseball - Though this a complete cop out if your favorite team is a major league team, some great savings can be had. Here’s a great story about a blogger saving money at a minor league baseball game.
• Eat before the game or bring your own food - Many people don’t realize it, but many ballparks allow to bring your own food to the game. For instance, Fenway Park has a long list of items of not allowed, but food is not listed. For drinks, you might be limited to juice boxes since they prohibit nearly every other container I can think of.
• Take public transportation - One thing I learned quickly is that it is much cheaper to drive near the game and take public transportation the rest of the way. I find that I get home quicker because I don’t have to deal with traffic when the game finishes.
• Buy souvenirs in advance - Hats and shirts are likely to be more expensive at the game. If I were taking a family of four, I
  would hop on Ebay and buy clothing in advance. You’ll not only save money, but you’ll look good tailgating before the game.
• Prepare for weather - I’ve gotten a sunburn and nearly suffered from hypothermia in the same game. Now I make sure that I
  have a strong sunblock on, dress in layers, and bring a blanket.
• Watch your favorite team in another city - This is more appropriate for those who have to deal with the secondary ticket
  market. Why not plan a summer vacation around the baseball schedule of your favorite team? Washington D.C. can be an extremely fun and educational vacation - and you can catch the Red Sox and Yankees there August 18th-24th.

I’m not the only one to try to tackle the raising cost of the national past-time. You might want to read other related articles at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity and Money and Values.

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Lazy Man has been a lender at Prosper since February 2006. He is the author of the personal finance blog, Lazy Man and Money and the health and fitness blog, Lazy Man and Health.

If you’ve picked up a newspaper or turned on a television or radio, you’ve probably heard about the recession. For a long time there was much debate, but now most analysts agree we are in a recession.

Recessions are generally have negative connotations, but there is some good that comes from it. As Baron Rothschild once said, the best time to buy is when there is “blood in the streets.” I’d go with the more general, “opportunity knocks loudest when times seem their worst.”

With that in mind, here are some ways to make the most of a recession.

• Buy Stocks at Bargain Prices - I still haven’t contributed to my Roth IRA for 2007. We had a wedding to fund and my income dropped dramatically in October. Neither of those are good excuses - it’s more about me being Lazy. I welcome the recession as an opportunity to make the most of that money. I’m buying and holding stocks for the long term - more than 30 years from now. I’d rather buy stocks at recession prices than bubble prices. I wouldn’t recommend waiting like I did, I accidentally timed the market well. It could have been worse.
• Relief for those with HELOCs - The Federal Reserve is cutting interest rates at a furious pace. Those who have gotten themselves in trouble by tapping their home equity can pay off more principal and less interest.
• Cheap Housing - Home prices have dropped in many places around the country. I’ve seen prices drop 10% in Boston and San Francisco - two markets I follow. Usually when this happens, mortgage interest rates go up. However, around the country, rates are at their lows of a few years ago. If you are in the market for a home, have cash for a down payment, and can afford it, it is the best time to buy a home.
• Rebate Checks - Many people are getting $600 or $1200 in an economic stimulus package. I would rather have a good economy, but let’s not ignore that this is real money that many will use to buy an iPod or Wii. On second thought, perhaps this should go into the “Why I Hate a Recession” column.

One thing that I don’t like about recessions is that I don’t make as much money in high interest saving accounts. Though peer-to-peer lending is a different asset class in many, many ways, I will consider shifting some of money from those savings accounts to Prosper.

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Lazy Man has been a lender at Prosper since February 2006. He is the author of the personal finance blog, Lazy Man and Money and the health and fitness blog, Lazy Man and Health.

My wife and I are recent newlyweds. While we tried to be responsible with the costs of a wedding, at 200 people, we knew the costs were going to add up. It only made sense to try to save as much money as possible in anticipation of those wedding bills. We found we could save a great sum of money by going out on frugal dates.

I thought I’d share five of our favorite cheap date ideas:

• Picnic in the Park - Instead of paying restaurant prices for brunch, you pay grocery store prices. Instead of paying $20 and up for wine, you look for cheaper options under $10. If you have a radio, that can certainly add to the romance.
• Tour a Factory - In Northern California we have Jelly Belly and a Budweiser factories. When we lived near Boston we had options of Sam Adams and Yankee Candle. I recommend the book Watch It Made in the USA, which should be available from your local library.
• Movie Night - Red Box and DVD Play each have the latest DVDs available for about a dollar. Add a cozy blanket, microwave popcorn, and your favorite beverage… fun.
• Camping or Hiking - My wife loves the outdoors so this is one of her favorites. I don’t mind the outdoors, I just think that every tree should be Internet-enabled. I’m building up into liking this date more and more. In a year or two, I might be there.
• Minor League Sporting Events - Here’s a slightly more expensive option. My wife and I went to a Modesto Nuts baseball game last year. Tickets are around $7-10. Food was reasonably priced and the team gave away shirts and souvenirs in between innings. Even though we didn’t know any of the players, we still had fun inventing nicknames for them. We still associate any clutch performance with Jose Chavez, a player who got a huge hit in the game.

A good general rule of thumb is to opt for outside activities. If your wallet is looking a little thin, you might want to trade in your standard Saturday night restaurant date for one of the above options.

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Lazy Man has been a lender at Prosper since February 2006. He is the author of the personal finance blog, Lazy Man and Money and the health and fitness blog, Lazy Man and Health.