Personal Finance Advice

Here’s something marketers don’t want you to know: Stuff cannot and will not ever make you happy. In fact, stuff can make your life more complicated and miserable than you can possibly imagine. I learned this lesson a really hard way. I nearly lost everything in Hurricane Katrina. I say nearly because we didn’t know [...]

The library is an awesome, low cost place to hang out. But once you’ve read all the books, taken all the classes and surfed everything on the web, what else is there? Try these suggestions to make the most of your tax dollars. Find a date – Forget online dating websites. Choose your next date [...]

One of the questions I’m asked most frequently is, “How did you learn so much about finance?” The subtext to the question is usually along the lines of, “I know you aren’t a genius or good with numbers, so how come you have a handle on this stuff and I don’t? How come I’m broke [...]

It’s become quite fashionable to attack credit card companies or banks who hold our mortgages, especially with the recent turmoil in the financial market. While talk of increased regulation and pointing the finger of blame may each have their place in how we deal with such situations, both psychologically and fiscally, they can quickly overwhelm [...]

When I was in college, I was content to open my kitchen cupboard and find it full of Ramen. Every flavor – except shrimp (yuck) – was represented after a trip to the grocery store. Not only did I know where my next meal was coming from, but I had saved money. Never mind that [...]

Are you left with more month than paycheck? Are you trying to stick to a budget, but can’t understand where all your discretionary income is going? Do you always end up searching the couch cushion and car seats for extra change to make everyday purchases? My husband and I had all of these problems and [...]

How does using cash or a debit card influence our spending? About a month ago, I watched a video on Yahoo about an ordinary couple who were challenged to use cash for everything they bought for one week. The idea was to find out if they would spend less when using actual paper money. How [...]

Weekend reading is a round-up of personal finance and money related stories that caught the eye of our forum members this week: 43 Mortgages Within Same Family What really killed WaMu? What Are the Economic Collapse Indicators to Watch For? An odd welfare story The Power of Negative Thinking 5 percent on CDs may not [...]

If you have kids, you have probably endured seasons of organized youth sports. Baseball, basketball, football, hockey, lacrosse, swimming, volleyball – the list of options for kids is seemingly endless and can keep them occupied from January to December. If your kid wants to play a lot of different sports, it can be both a [...]

What do you usually have for a snack? Do you choose something healthy like fruit or veggies? Or is it more like a bag of chips or your favorite candy bar? How about dinner? Do you make dinner from scratch, or do you heat up something that is premade? If you are like many people, [...]

What is family entertainment? First, let’s take a look at the definition of these two words. Entertainment – Something that diverts, amuses, or occupies the attention agreeably. Family – A group of people living together and functioning as a single household. Seems pretty self-explanatory, doesn’t it? So why do we spend so much time sprawled [...]

One of the absolutely best things my wife and I ever participated in was premarital counseling with our pastor. Among other things, he brought the topic of finances to the forefront for discussion and helped us put the right plan together. Not unlike other families, our biggest issue was that I am a saver and [...]

You Clap On! the television and there it is. Yet another ad for a product that you never knew you wanted. You turn up the volume on your Personal Sound Amplifier. Did you hear the announcer correctly? Could it really be? All that and a free gift for only $19.99 plus shipping and handling? You [...]

In the last year, I’ve noticed a trend among the invitations I’ve been receiving in my mailbox: Rather than being simple invitations to celebrations, they are becoming thinly disguised money grabs. I have been invited to weddings and told (not requested, but told) to give cash. I’ve been invited to a “going away to college [...]

I received a letter from my electric power company recently encouraging me to sign up for the company’s “Green Generation” program. If I joined the “Green Team”, I could purchase energy generated from wind power and landfill gas for a mere .01667 cents per kilowatt hour. I could also purchase Green Blocks instead at $2.50 [...]

Hello, my name is Joe and my computer is 10 years old. I work in the IT field in my day job, so an admission like that is often greeted as though I am admitting to suffering from alcoholism or some terminal illness. Many of my coworkers habitually upgrade their PCs every 2 years or [...]

I am a frugal shopper. I clip coupons, look for sales and comparison shop. Whether I am shopping for groceries or furniture or a car, I want to get the best deal I can get. I enjoy being a smart shopper and I take pride in it. If you are reading this article, you probably [...]

Why do many people opt to spend rather than save money? Because saving isn’t fun. It’s not as much fun as going to the movies, or out to eat, or to an amusement park. And why is that? Because many of the things we do for entertainment are social. They get us out amongst other [...]

I am sure that almost everyone would say they would like to improve their financial position in some way. For many, it would be getting out from under mountains of credit card debt or paying off school loans. Others may be trying to accumulate money for a down payment on a home or saving up [...]

Your grocery bill is likely one of the largest parts of your living expenses. If you were to rank them from largest to smallest, it would probably fall just after mortgage (or rent), energy and car payments. You can’t do much to lower a mortgage payment or car payment, so trimming as much as you [...]