Personal Finance Advice

Today’s question to get your morning rolling is, How much cash do you keep at home?
I know a lot of people that don’t keep any cash at home and I was one of them until 1995. Since then I always keep a minimum of several hundred dollars at home and I don’t even try to [...]

Most of the people I know are convinced that the current high fuel and food prices are temporary. “Surely the bubble will burst soon,” they say. “It won’t be long before we can resume living the way we were before,” they proclaim. “A new president will fix things,” they believe. They continue spending [...]

Today’s morning question is, Do you consider credit cards an asset or a liability?.
I have seen this issue from both perspectives. When I first met my wife, she had about $10,000 in credit card debt and in her case credit cards were a huge liability. Everything she bought actually cost a lot more than [...]

The fourth of July promised to be a leisurely, stress-free weekend. My credit card was paid off and ready for gas purchases. My car was running smoothly. Our campsite was at a private cabin at a lake, and we’d long ago collected all necessary camping gear. The food was to be communal so we brought [...]

Today’s morning question is, How have gas prices changed your routine?
I have to admit that increasing gas have done very little to change my routine. Part of the reason is that living in Japan, gas prices have been over $4 a gallon for years (and now they are heading toward $8 a gallon), so I [...]

I frequently encounter people who don’t use coupons because they feel like it isn’t worth their time. If you’ve run the numbers and found this to be the case, I respect that. Coupon use, like all areas of personal finance, is a personal choice and not everyone will find it beneficial or to their liking. [...]

Weekend reading is a round-up of personal finance and money related stories that caught the eye of our forum members this week:

Can Less Money Equal Better Eating?
The 20 Healthiest Foods for Under $1
75 Ways to Survive A Down Economy
The Bear’s Back
Consumers accelerating their credit card spending
The Leftover Calendar
Spending [...]

I know from personal experience that when it comes to getting your personal finances in order, taking those first steps is one of the most difficult parts. There is so much information and it seems like it will take forever before you can ever reach your financial goals. It makes a person want to give [...]

If you have a blog that you’d like to promote, we are looking for some outstanding articles and we’re adding in a little twist - we’ll actually pay you to promote your blog and writing. If you think you might be interested, read on:
If you are looking for a way to get more people aware [...]

“Is it getting dark outside? Are you having trouble seeing? Turn the lights on!” is the gist of one “Wiggles Tips” segment on The Wiggles television show. These segments introduce the show’s preschool audience to a bit of humor – even they are old enough to know to turn on the lights when it’s dark [...]

A friend recently had a run of bad luck that required her to cancel a much-anticipated vacation. Her father died two weeks before they were to leave. Aside from the grief, she had to deal with much of the estate and legal matters. That alone would have made it difficult to go on vacation but [...]

Buried in the bottom of a box lot I recently bought at an auction was an advertising booklet from the 1950s, 1003 Household Hints and Work Savers to Help You Beat the High Cost of Living. The title caught my attention because it mentioned a “high cost of living” in an era many of us [...]

Weekend reading is a round-up of personal finance and money related stories that caught the eye of our forum members this week:

25 Businesses We Once Knew
How Disneyland Design Helps Families Spend Money
Money habits are charged with more shame and self-consciousness than sex
The silent market crash: the S&P 500 vs the price [...]

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of the library for the books they provide. But even I didn’t realize all the free resources and activities they have until I spent a week actively seeking out all they had to offer. I was surprised at how much I found and had to pinch myself [...]

I’ll be perfectly honest. Even though I make a living writing about personal finances (and enjoy reading and writing about the subject), I have to make a concerted effort to stay financially motivated with my own finances. For those that have little interest in personal finances, but still want to get their finances in order, [...]

“When I get a little money I buy books, and if any is left I buy food and clothes,” Desiderius Erasmus has been quoted as saying. If he read like I do (more for fun than for education), he was budgeting for entertainment before necessities. He certainly would not be alone. Today, [...]

As a finance and conservation nerd, I’m excited about higher gas prices. I realize that I’m in the minority in this opinion and I know full well that most people will think I’m nuts. I have to admit that I don’t enjoy paying higher prices, but since there’s nothing I can do about it and [...]