Personal Finance Advice

I love music. My husband collects CDs like I collect books. We also have a large collection of LPs and of MP3s on our computer. I won’t even go into our magnetic tape collection. Literally, I won’t go into it. Its size frightens me. We have no plans of slowing down the growth of our [...]

There’s a lot more to life than money. Even when you do concentrate on money issues, it should be with the thought of getting your finances in order so you can pursue the experiences in life that you want. Yet profound life experiences can still be enjoyed even if you have a negative balance in [...]

By David John Marotta
If your credit card minimum payment was $10 and you repaid it every month for 15 1/2 years with an accruing interest of 15.9%, a $1,000 purchase would end up costing $2,250. Every time you use your credit card to pay for something you risk it being marked up two and [...]

I definitely wouldn’t consider myself an impulse spender. At least not on items of $50 or more. That seems to be my line of what I would consider a small purchase or a big purchase. Everyone has a different number for that line, but the important thing for everyone is to make [...]

Alcoholics Anonymous, Weight Watchers, local faith communities, service organizations, and even mommy groups all acknowledge the power of positive peer pressure. When you want to accomplish a goal or live your life a certain way, it is a bit easier when you meet with others working toward the same end.
Whether or not [...]

By David John Marotta
Putting all of your retirement eggs in one basket is easy to carry, but risky. Most workers are putting all their retirement assets in the basket of their employer’s retirement plan. They are depending on one employer and two dozen eggs (funds) to hatch and maintain their lifestyle, independence and dignity [...]

Planning a wedding can get pretty expensive, especially when you have to pay for it yourselves, but no one ever talks about how expensive weddings can be for your guests. Unfortunately, you will get to the age where all of your relatives and friends start getting married at the same time and it won’t [...]

Is it predetermined that you will be a good saver or is this learned behavior? It dawned on me the other day that so many people have different ideas about how to spend and save money and I’m not really sure when this begins. How early is too early to learn about spending [...]

Not only do I not give a hoot about keeping up with the Joneses, I would like to start a movement of the Un-Joneses. I want to influence people to look at my life and decide that they want to spend less not more. Wanna join me? I hope so.
How can we do [...]

By David John Marotta
Most people want to honor their debt. But many families have allowed their debt to spiral out of control, and they feel helpless, ashamed, and at a loss to know what to do. While bankruptcy isn’t anyone’s first choice, sometimes it is an important choice to consider.
As strange as it [...]

My Dad loves to save money and to tell stories. One way he combines these loves is to reminisce about the low prices in “the good old days.” He is realistic, however. When he talks about buying ice cream cones for ten cents each, he rarely fails to add, “But I made [...]

By David and George Marotta
There are 946 billionaires in the world according to a recent survey. Half are in one country, the United States of America. The others are scattered throughout 53 other countries. Because of the surging world economy, 195 newcomers were added to the list last year and only 32 dropped out. [...]

In the absence of clearly-defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it. — Robert Heinlein
Have you ever felt trapped or enslaved by your own financial situation and/or spending habits? Anyone who’s had any financial hardships or made a later-regretted impulse buy knows what [...]

If you knew that a friend busted their budget in order to invite you over for dinner, would you enjoy the dinner? Probably not. Keep this thought in mind when you entertain.
When preparing for dinner guests, wondering, “What will they think about the water stains on the ceilings?” is normal. Hoping the [...]

By David John Marotta
For those working in the arts, financial planning is artistic freedom. You can be an artist and also eat well if you don’t avoid the subject of financial planning all together. After you have your cash flow and career planning in place, you also need to address your insurance and legal concerns. [...]

In James Grippando’s novel, Lying with Strangers, a nurse tells a doctor, “We are the last repairmen on earth.” He goes on to explain that people rarely take the time to fix things anymore; soon the only thing left that’s worth fixing will be the human body.
Though I had trouble suspending disbelief for [...]

Having debt and saving money don’t tend to go hand in hand. Some would say they are two opposites and others would say that opposites attract. Well, here’s my story about how being in debt led us to saving more and being smarter about our financial situation.
I’ve had my share of “small” [...]

By David John Marotta
The image of the starving artist has prevailed too long. At the July 24-29 San Diego Comic-Con there were tens of thousands of people working in the arts. Of the 650 hours of events and presentations, only one hour was devoted to financial planning for artists. Here are the financial essentials that [...]

My husband and I recently bought a new puppy. Before we even brought her home, I found out how expensive dogs can be (I did a lot of upfront research beforehand so I could budget most of the costs). But alas, whenever I find out how expensive something is, I can usually find [...]

When it comes to teaching your kids about money and finances, there is no need to go looking for specific books on these subjects. Your child’s bookself is probably already full of books that can bring financial lessons to life. Here are just a few of the possibilities:
Mother Goose Rhymes, traditional: Money themes abound in [...]