Personal Finance Advice

You cannot recover the money that you spend, but you can always earn more. Money will come to you from hard work, good fortune and simple luck. You will spend all of it or some of it and often you will be able to control how you much of your money you give back to [...]

I’m often puzzled when, in an effort to help someone else save money, I’m looked at like some sort of criminal or crazy person. Here’s an example. This week I had a coupon for $5 off at TGI Friday’s. The coupon explicitly stated that it could be used multiple times or given away to friends. [...]

A fire is not only emotionally devastating and life threatening, it can be financially devastating, as well. Even with great insurance you may find yourself having to pay out of pocket for things you didn’t have covered or for unexpected expenses. If you don’t have insurance, or not enough enough insurance, you could be out [...]

I recently read an article where the author gave 8 Reasons Not To Coupon. I understand that it was probably an assignment given to a “journalist,” but overall the article kind of annoyed me. I do not coupon directly, but I do save a ton of money using the coupons that my wife prepares for [...]

Contests and sweepstakes can be fun to enter and the prizes can be great. You can win everything from a few bucks in cash all the way up to new cars or houses. Contests are easily found. You can find them on product packaging, advertised on TV or in magazines, and through associations to which [...]

Unless you live in Germany with access to the Autobahn or own a private race track, chances are good that you will never have a legitimate reason to travel at speeds faster than the law allows. You may want to travel faster than the speed limit and you may do so regularly, but you probably [...]

When we talk about bargain hunting and getting the best price on items that you need, it’s usually with the assumption that you have time to shop, compare models and prices, and wait for sales. Most of the time that’s the case. But there are times when you need something right now and you can’t [...]

Recently I’ve been restructuring my eating and exercising habits. I haven’t had any major health concerns or anything, but I’ve just come to the realization that I’m not getting any younger and my body just can’t take the level of abuse that I could heap on it when I was younger. This hasn’t been an [...]

This week’s suggestion is both a way to make money and save money. When you review books for magazines, websites, or newspapers, you are often given free copies of the books. Even if you aren’t paid monetarily, reviewing books can be a great way to fund your reading habit. However, if you are lucky enough [...]

In even the most organized of kitchens, there will be waste. Spills, failed recipes and other mishaps will add to food costs. It cannot be helped because accidents do happen. At the same time, a lot of waste can be avoided and a lot of unnecessary costs do not have to be suffered. It just [...]

You may have heard about the movement to automatically opt employees into their 401K’s. Right now, the default option is for you not to contribute. When you’re hired they ask you if you’d like to contribute and how much. If you say no, then nothing is taken out of your check. There is a movement [...]

This has been a hot year in many parts of the country. I recently heard from a friend who was at her wits end because of the extreme heat. She cannot afford to run the air conditioner all day and was asking me if I knew of any budget ways to beat the heat. Obviously [...]

On my last trip to a used car lot, I was able to get exactly what I wanted out of the transaction. The salesman, of course, tried to talk me into getting more car than I needed, and more importantly, more car than I could afford. I wanted to trade my car outright and not [...]

Magazines don’t have to be old and collectible to have some monetary value for you. You can resell whole magazines, or sell useful articles or collectible photos. But everything is online, you say. How can I make money when people can just read stuff online for free? Even in today’s world of online publishing, there [...]

August is here! That means that for the next few weeks, after I have taken care of all of my domestic duties and professional responsibilities, I will have one thing, and one thing only, on which to focus my attention. I will not be cleaning up oil in the Gulf of Mexico. I won’t be [...]

Over the years I’ve found myself, both here and in my real life, telling people with financial problems that small changes will help. I’ve told people that, “If you just stop eating out,” or “Stop spending on magazines at the grocery store,” or “Save $10 per pay period,” you can really help your financial situation. [...]

Many people don’t realize that going on vacation can be a money saving exercise. If you’re careful, you can save enough money to offset some of the cost of your vacation. How does this work? While you’re not at home, your house is still spending money unless you make it stop. Here are some tips [...]

Boredom is usually a self-inflicted condition. If you take a moment to think about it, when you are on your own time, you usually control whether or not you are engaged or bored by what you are doing. If you are always looking for a television for entertainment, chances are good that you will quickly [...]

Ah, but this isn’t strange, you say. Of course when I’m done with a book I’ll sell it on Amazon or eBay. But what if you could sell books you got for free, or that you paid only pennies for? Then you would make nothing but profit. If you want to sell used books, you [...]

Yesterday I went to the movies with one of my sons. He is a film buff and wanted to see a Ray Harryhausen movie on a big screen. Fortunately, a local cinema was offering a free screening 1974′s all too memorable Golden Voyage of Sinbad and we took advantage of that. Just as we left, [...]