Personal Finance Advice

A lot of people ask me: “If you don’t watch TV and you choose to limit movies, clubs, restaurants, etc. in order to save money, what do you do for entertainment? Aren’t you bored?” I usually look at them, dumbfounded, because to me there is too much to do and boredom is never a problem. [...]

Since I first became interested in personal finance a few years ago, I have been dead set against buying a new car. As a person who likes to save money, the thought of buying something that would depreciate tremendously as soon as I drove it off the lot made me shutter. Plus there [...]

Depending on where you live, you may see copies of Christian business directories, the most well known of which is The Shepherd’s Guide, in businesses around town. Though the stated purpose of such directories is couched in loftier terms, their basic goal is to promote businesses owned by Christians to Christian customers, encouraging people [...]

I know several people who, rather than trying to deal with their finances, have simply thrown up their hands and declared that it’s impossible, so why bother. They say things like, “I owe so much I’ll never get out of debt so why pay anything?” or, “I don’t know where to start; it’s too overwhelming [...]

Printing invitations, photos, shipping labels, and other paper items from a home computer is one do-it-yourself activity many people erroneously adopt in an effort to save money. While printing from home rather than buying in a store can save money in some cases, it may actually cost more in others. Those who believe they [...]

I went to the grocery store this morning. My list included four items. I returned with ten. It would seem I had a problem with the impulse buy. That’s not, however, the case. Four of the things I returned with were on sale, so maybe it was sale-blindness. That’s not the case either. I [...]

Last weekend a group of personal finance bloggers got together in San Francisco to discuss personal finance and Web 2.0. The event was sponsored by MyStrands, Inc. in conjunction with Networth IQ and Expensr and called the Personal Finance Leaders Workshop by The Bay. The event was an attempt to see how Web 2.0 can [...]

Just in case you have spotted me checking out all the library books I can find by Walter Wick, best known as co-creator of the I Spy books, I have a confession to make: they’re not really for my kids. I did check out the first one for my son, but while I learned he [...]

I’m frequently asked why I choose to be frugal. Is it all about saving money? My answer is always, “No, it’s not all about saving money, although that’s a nice side effect.” Saving money tends to be the driving reason behind why many people turn to a frugal lifestyle (and it was for me, [...]

Pennies made the news this month, as they now cost more than their value to mint. (Nickels do, too.) These costs are blamed on the rising prices of the metals used to make the coins, so theoretically, you might be able to melt down a pile of coins and sell them for more [...]

I have always enjoyed camping, first in a tent and then in a mini-motorhome. We’ve always found it to be an economical way to travel. It’s always been cheaper than flying or driving, staying in a hotel room, and eating out three meals a day. Campsites have historically been inexpensive and food is a non-issue [...]