Personal Finance Advice

I’m not a social butterfly by any means. Never have been; it’s just not in my makeup. I have a very small circle of good friends (like maybe four) that I’ve known most of my adult life and that’s about it. The rest of the people in my circle are acquaintances that come and go [...]

During the last Christmas season, Disney’s Club Penguin website allowed children who played its online games to donate their virtual earnings to help the environment, improve children’s health, or assist children in developing countries. Though players could use the coins to purchase virtual items to enhance the games, more than 2.5 million of them chose [...]

I’m usually very good at shopping with a list, knowing exactly what I’m going to a store to get, and coming out with only those items. But every now and then, like this weekend, I’m assaulted by the “I want it now monster” and I’m forced to fight my way through the impulse. I have [...]

What I am about to say may be shocking to some in financially responsible circles: I use my credit cards more and more each year. Now, to make a disclaimer, I have never been tempted to rack up credit card debt and have only once failed to pay off the balance in full (a mistake [...]

Since I landed my first job at age 15, I have been with the same bank. It is a credit union open only to residents of Washington State and I love the perks it gives us. When my husband and I got married, we decided to go with my bank for our checking and savings [...]

This past weekend I went to the annual bridal expo with a friend who is getting married soon. As my wedding was many years ago, I was astounded to see how far the bridal industry has come. Or maybe I should say I was astounded to see how far the bridal industry will go (to [...]

The most expensive day of your week completely depends on your individual circumstances and spending habits, but I think for a lot of people, that day is Friday. There are many different factors that can influence why your spending would be more on Friday than on any other day of the week and here are [...]

Big companies pay big bucks for advertising because they know it works. If you have a small business — whether a hobby business that earns you a little mad money or a full-fledged company that employs several people — you know advertising works, too. But you might not have enough money to advertise in the [...]

The football season is over now, and while that makes my husband very sad, it actually makes me pretty happy since I don’t particularly enjoy football. While I can’t get too interested in watching the game itself, I know there are some things to learn from the game. For instance, it’s better to be on [...]

One thing saving has in common with the rest of life is that opportunities are always changing. Economic conditions, companies’ offers and policies, tax laws, and personal financial situations are not static. As a result, the best ways to save today might not be the best ways to save tomorrow. The best savers don’t say, [...]

We all want to be safe and secure, but spending big money on a high tech security system may not be necessary. In most cases, simply applying some common sense will do the job. For most people, reasonable security can be attained for very little money. I say, “reasonable security” because the sad fact is [...]

If you’re on this site, you’re at least going the right direction. If you’ve gone to the library to check out some books, if you’re searching through some weblogs, if you’re talking to your best friends about money instead of your high heels, you’re definitely on the right track. There are a million and one [...]

There seems to be a disconnect between those who read personal finance blogs, magazines, and websites like SavingAdvice.com and those who need to read them. Most people who read about personal finance already care about their finances. But the people who need to read about finance, who are in the most trouble, don’t. So the [...]