Personal Finance Advice

While I’ve said that I think working for a small business can be surprisingly beneficial, it can also have many undeniable drawbacks. 1. Lower pay: Many small businesses simply do not have the resources that large companies do. While you may get more experience, you’ll often get paid less than you would doing the exact [...]

How to choose gifts that are appropriate without spending a small fortune for events that we attend is often hard to decipher. The following reader is looking for help on how to choose these gifts: Lately I have had quite a few events to attend where I was required to bring a gift. How do [...]

Oxygen Trick Could See Organic Costs Tumble: Good news for those who purchase organic, but cringe every time they see the cost of doing so. A new way of preparing organic foods for storage that doesn’t use chemicals may allow these foods to last longer and spoil less which should reduce their costs. Half the [...]

I recently stayed in a bed and breakfast for the first time. I was a little worried about the experience ahead of time because of all the negative stereotypes about bed and breakfasts having horribly tacky decor and forced socialization with bizarre strangers (Gilmore Girls, anyone?) but the experience was wonderful. Maybe it was just [...]

By Shannon Christman “I got a pocket full of quarters, and I’m headed to the arcade,” sang Buckner & Garcia in the song “Pac-Man Fever.” Though I grew up when kids across the country were coming down with Pac-Man Fever, I was rarely allowed to step foot in an arcade. My parents didn’t have anything [...]

Many times it helps to hear how other people do the things and to use their examples to best fit your needs. That is such a question that came by e-mail the other day regarding how to budget: I know that one of my problems is my lack of organization when it comes to everything [...]

Is Recycling Worth It?: An interesting study about whether recycling was good for the environment with an overwhelming nod in favor toward recycling most things: Studies that look at the entire life cycle of a particular material can shed light on this question in a particular case, but WRAP decided to take a broader look. [...]

Something has been bugging me about IRAs lately. Most of the time I read an article or discussion about Traditional IRAs, as opposed to ROTH IRAs, I see that it is a pretty common assumption that income tax rates will be lower when one retires. Every time I see any mention of tax rates most [...]

Working for a small business can be substantially different from working from a medium sized or large business in ways that many people don’t realize. Personally, I have worked for several small businesses and think it’s an interesting and highly beneficial experience that everyone should have at least once. Here’s why. 1. Ability to learn [...]

It’s that time of year again when the weather starts to get to a hotter and you need to find ways to stay cool. Here’s a question from a reader that is looking for inexpensive ways to beat the summer heat: We live in the Southwest which gets very hot during the summer and our [...]

“For sale by owner” web sites can generate higher prices than Realtors: Here’s an interesting article where a small test showed that those who made their own website and sold their house on their own got a better price for the house than those who went through a real estate agent. Add that to the [...]

If you are looking to get the best price on airline tickets, it takes more than going to an online comparison site. One area that can help bring down the price you pay is the flexibility you have when making the reservations. Here are some things to consider when trying to get the best deal [...]

I’m always proud to tell people that my total monthly expenses today are pretty close to what they were when I got my first real job after college. Some things, like my rent, have gone down, while other things, like my discretionary spending, have gone up. All of this has me convinced that I could [...]

By Shannon Christman A toddler has control of nearly $1,500 of our household budget this year. Yes, you read that right: how our family will spend more than a thousand dollars depends on the whims of a child who throws a tantrum when he’s told he can’t have any more chocolate pudding. We could use [...]

It’s not often when I receive an e-mail about personal finance that is quite different from the majority that I have received before. That was the case with this e-mail which came in from a reader about what she should do with her husband and money: I have a problem. To most people it doesn’t [...]

Eight Things to Consider When Buying Someone Out: If you’re into yard sales and you have considered buying someone out of an entire collection or group of items instead of paying for things individually, Mighty Bargain Hunter has a list of 8 important things to consider before doing so. 10 Things Your Wedding Planner Won’t [...]

Here’s a question. You don’t have a whole lot of money and I want you to save more. So I create a plan where for every dollar you save, I will take away $2.60 worth of benefits from you. How likely are you to want to save money? That is exactly what a new study [...]

The state of California recently reviewed a sample of state tax returns which claimed large mortgage interest deductions and found that 75% of the tax returns had claimed excessive interest deductions. There are rules that limit how much interest you can deduct for your mortgage and other monies borrowed against your house. However, historically, only [...]

Have you seen the Tractor Supply Company commercial about the free puppy? A man says “My neighbor gave my daughter a puppy,” and then describes how they’re now buying toys, food, dishes, etc. The actor smiles and says “It’s like my dad always said: there’s no such thing as a free puppy!” Well, this couldn’t [...]

Sometimes we are forced to deal with people who have money habits that can be extremely annoying to us. This is the case with the following reader who is having trouble with one of her coworkers: I have a problem with one of my coworkers who is just plain cheap. When we go out for [...]