Personal Finance Advice

Product Loyalty: Consumers Mistake Familiarity With Superiority: While this article is about consume electronics, I believe that it it illustrates what happens in almost every product we buy. Well worth the read.
Americans Don’t Use Their Vacation Days: Americans aren’t using their vacation days. “This year an estimated 51 million Americans - more than one-third [...]

There is no need to spend a fortune to movie theaters since there are a number of easy ways to get movie tickets at a discount (and sometime for free). The main thing you need to do is always read the fine print on these tickets- While most are good at any time, some [...]

As I price items for our community’s yard sale this weekend, I try not to think of the difference between the original price and the price I’m writing on the sticker. My primary goal with the yard sale is to get rid of some clutter, but the extra cash will be nice, too. [...]

Sometimes the advice that is given time and again doesn’t apply to you. This is the case with the current reader who has found a lot of advice on saving money when you own your own washing machine, but who is looking for saving advice for those that live in an apartment and don’t [...]

Ways Not To Save The Environment: Looking for a contrarian view of some of the ways to save energy and the environment, take a trip over to samewriter’s post on ways not to save the environment.
Financial Astrologers (via Alpha Guy): The person claims that many fund managers use astrology to make their stock picks [...]

By Wixx, special contributing writer
This is a fun little game in which the members of a household role play a little to help them save money. In this game, the family or roommates will play the part of the board of directors for the home or apartment business. Right away this will prove [...]

On May 25, President Bush signed a bill that included a minimum wage increase as well as a few tax provisions.
Federal Minimum Wage Increased: The federal minimum wage will increase to $7.25/ hour over the next two years. The federal minimum wage has been at $5.15/hour since 1997. Under the new law, it will increase [...]

Trying to evaluate when it is worthwhile to pay somebody to come in and help or do it yourself is sometimes difficult. The following reader has a question about what is the best option for improving the resale value of her house:
I have a question that I hope that you can help me with. [...]

Edible Flower Guide: If you’re looking to try something really different to add to your next meal or just like experimenting with different types of food, check out this edible flower guide. Find the edible flowers that grow naturally in your area and add to your food supply for free.
What are the best and worst [...]

While diet may not seem to be relevant to personal finances at first glance, it actually has quite a bit of the impact on your money. The healthier that you feel, the more productive you will be and the less health issues that you will have.
When it comes to diet, I find that most of [...]

What motivates you to spend money? Most people never take the time to consider this question, but understanding the reasons why you spend money can go a long way to help you get your finances under control. Here are 15 common reasons people use as an excuse to spend money:
You Think It’ll [...]

When purchasing a house, there are a lot of considerations to take into account before making the purchase. This reader writes wondering if their dream house is ruined by a single (but major) fault.
We have been looking for a new house for about six months now. We finally found what I would consider [...]

Where Can I Invest My Money to Realize at Least a 10% Return?: It’s the million dollar question - literally if you are looking at compounding interest over many years - unfortunately, you won’t like the answer since it isn’t an easy follow step 1, 2 and 3. But it is very true and [...]

Here is a great money hack that most people are not familiar with. Most libraries offer free, 24/7 at-home access through your computer to money-saving publications like Consumer Reports, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s National Business and Financial Weekly, and many other top business magazines and professional and trade journals. This [...]

This is a question that Chicago Tribune columnist Gregory Karp asks in his latest column while giving the following quiz:
1. You desperately want a new baseball glove that costs $50 but you only have $30 saved. What should you do?
A) Wait until you save $20 more from weekly allowances.
B) Borrow money from your parents at [...]

Before you throw out your unwanted gift cards, keep in mind that there are many ways you can get a little something in return for them. Below are five things that you can do with unused gift cards:
Sell on eBay Generally, gifts cards sell on eBay for 70% - 95% of the gift card’s value. [...]

By S. Shugars
Many people don’t like coupons. I’m one of them. But with BBQ season now upon us, this is the one time of the year that I do use coupons. If you go to the alcohol section of the grocery store, you will see that many of the wines, hard liquors and beers will [...]

A huge financial challenge which many working couples face is the cost of child care. If the only reason that both parents are working is for the extra money the second income provides, you may want to take some time to see if the second income is really providing as much money to the family [...]

When it’s time to leave a job you have more than the loss of income to think about in regard to your personal finances. You also need decide what you will do with the accumulated money in retirement plans at the company. That is a question that this reader has:
My wife will be retiring [...]

Determine Your Social Economic Status Have you ever wondered what your social economic status is: lower, middle or upper class (or simple wanted to confirm what you believe?) The New York Times has a calculator that takes four important points that help determine your status: occupation, education, income and wealth. Give it a [...]