Personal Finance Advice

I have been gathering the money confessions from people that attend my talks for the last few months. The more interesting of these confessions I have decided to share on this blog. This is confession number 53 in the series: “People invest money with me because they think that I’m wealthy. I live paycheck to [...]

If you blog and you attend college, your writing may be worth $10,000 toward your education. College Scholarships is giving away a $10,000 scholarship: Scholarship Requirements: Your blog must contain unique and interesting information about you and/or things you are passionate about. No spam bloggers please!!! U.S. citizen; Currently attending full-time in post-secondary education Important [...]

One simple way to save money is to keep your fixed costs low. In order to do this, you must first asses each of your regular expenses and see what subjective value it has for you. There are many items and services that we view as necessities or the basics these days that didn’t even [...]

My husband sighs, “I’m still bummed about the Cayenne.” We’re at a stoplight and out the driver’s side window is a beautiful, sparkling, silver Porsche Cayenne. About a year ago we were hot in the market for a new car. We had studied the Audi brand, the Chrysler 300 and the Dodge Magnum, and this [...]

A few years ago, my parents’ church was collecting Campbell’s Soup labels for a school that was saving them up to get a van. I hate to throw away anything that somebody can use, so I started saving my family’s labels, but the collection jar was gone by the time I actually remembered to take [...]

This is part of an ongoing series of money confessions that I have been collecting. I have asked participants in the talks I have been giving to anonymously write down a money confession. The confessions that I find interesting I have been sharing here. This is confession number 52 in the series: “When the plumber [...]

By Nathan Powers Nudists (or “naturists” as some prefer to be referred to), have been the brunt of many a joke for many years. However, the truth of the matter is that living a nudist lifestyle may actually be far better for you, physically, ecologically and economically. That dirty word – “Laundry”: Let’s start with [...]

So kiosks can’t think, but there is a lot of thought behind them, as well as a surprising lack of thought. Kiosks hold a pretty unique spot in the sales realm, and since most frugal shoppers like to know the advertising and marketing ploys of the places they shop, I thought I’d talk with a [...]

Almost everyone keeps a secret or two. After the presentations I give, I ask the people attending to anonymously write down a money confession. I share some of the more interesting ones here with you. This is confession number 51 in the series: “I spent $28,000 on my wedding. The marriage didn’t last 3 months.” [...]

How much does it cost to raise happy children who go on to be productive citizens? My husband and I decided not to be parents since our few surviving houseplants have to spell out H2O — like the Village People dancing to YMCA — just to get water. However, since I was a child once, [...]

A few months ago I began to collect money confessions from the audience members that attended the talks that I have been giving. At the end of the presentation, I would ask people to take a few minutes and anonymously write down on a piece of paper a money secret that they kept, but which [...]

In today’s climate of big business and automated customer service, nearly everyone has at least one story to tell about getting nowhere when complaining to a company about its products, services, or practices. Just like person-to-person relationships, person-to-company relationships have much potential for miscommunication, mistrust, and misunderstanding. So what do you do when you have [...]

Here’s my top five favorite plant list, at least for today. This is the season for garden tours in my area so I’m liable to come up with some brand new favorites each time I get to wander through someone else’s garden full of favorites. But for now, my list shapes up like this: 1. [...]

Most people have a secret or two that they keep to themselves. I have been asking people to anonymously share their money confessions after the talks I give. This is confession number 50 in the series: “I slept with my boss to get my last raise.” Other confession already listed: The First 25 Confessions Shopping [...]

How much do you spend on gifts in a year? Add it up. I think your knees will buckle. There was a time when a store bought gift was the exception and a homemade gift – a handmade quilt or some of Pappy’s corn likker – was the norm. These days, we run to the [...]

This is part of a series of money confessions that I have been putting together over the last few months. I ask people after some of the talks that I have given to anonymously write down their money secrets. This is confession number 49 in the series: “I paid someone to do all my homework [...]

College Credit That Fails Students: “Big lenders, such as Sallie Mae, even persuaded Congress to remove bankruptcy protections for private loans in 2005 — these are the nongovernmental loans we’ve been hearing about lately, whose interest rates can exceed 18%. Credit card companies and payday lenders could only dream of this kind of congressional giveaway.” [...]

Starting this year, Illinois State University initiated a classroom dress code for students in marketing classes. Students taking marketing classes will no longer be able to roll out of bed, throw on whatever they feel like, and head off to class. Business casual is the new rule. According to the school, the policy is to [...]