Personal Finance Advice

For the past generation or so, lenders and financial gurus have been promoting the myth that all student loan debt should be considered Good Debt. Student loan debt is said to be good because it is debt accrued in the pursuit of an education, which is an asset that will (ideally) product more money. The [...]

I choose to be homeless. I am what is often referred today as a digital nomad. I travel full time although I do have a few “home bases” with family and friends where I’ll stay for a week or two in between my travels to new places. Most people who meet me for the first [...]

How many times have you just dumped detergent in the washing machine, or grabbed a swig of cough medicine without measuring? This may be quick and convenient, but likely you are wasting money and product by not measuring. Some products make it easy to measure the correct amount. Detergents, for example, come with measuring cups [...]

When it’s time to make financial decisions such as contributing to your retirement, paying down debt, saving for college, buying a home, and building an emergency fund, you need to ask yourself a question. “Will this change my life for the better?” This question is important because it’s the opposite of the question people usually [...]

I am a board game nut. I get excited when Christmas rolls around and all the new games show up in the stores. I also love the classics. So why, in a world of electronic entertainment, do I love board games? There’s no single reason. I’ve learned over the years that board games offer a [...]

When most people first begin to think about overhauling our finances or saving money, they usuallyfocus on issues such as budgeting, cash flow analysis, and how to improve a credit score. But almost all aspects of your life can affect your cash flow, directly or indirectly. It’s serendipitous when a life-change can not only improve [...]

My friends often comment on how lucky I am to be able to travel as much as I do. While I’m certainly lucky in many respects, the truth is that I have created the “luck” that allows me to travel as much as I do. Most of my friends believe that I spend a great [...]

Now that I pay most of my bills online, have email, a cell phone, and a million other ways to stay in touch, I have very little need for envelopes. I rarely have envelopes in the house anymore and, on the rare occasion I need an envelope, I hate having to go to the store [...]

Over the years I’ve discovered that the single greatest thing you can do to help your finances is to be an independent thinker. You need to make your own choices and live according to what you know is right for you, not what society thinks is right for you. Society (your friends, family, coworkers, acquaintances, [...]

While most people are surprised to find out that I don’t have a cell phone, they are even more surprised when they also find out that I also don’t have a car. As with the cell phone, the reason I don’t have a car has nothing to do with lack of money. I can afford [...]

In the wake of the post-Christmas sale frenzy, I found myself wondering, “Why is it that people will beat each other senseless to save 75% on wrapping paper and cards, but they won’t take advantage of the biggest sale of all: A down stock market?” Back when the market was tanking in 2008 and 2009, [...]

One of the most interesting things I have learned about personal finances is that things that seem to have absolutely nothing to do with money often have a huge impact on your finances. A good example is knowing what makes you happy. Another one was discovering that the more I know about my personality, the [...]

A coworker came to me moaning about her debt level the other day. Her New Year’s resolution is to get out of debt and she wanted to know where to start. I asked her what kind of debt she had. Car loans? Student loans? Credit cards? Almost all of the debt she had was from [...]

If you already use coupons, chances are that you get coupons in the paper that you don’t use. Even if you don’t use coupons, you probably have access to coupons from the paper or magazines that you receive. Wouldn’t it be nice to turn unwanted coupons into a little extra cash? You can if you [...]

Over the years, I have called the cable company to reduce the amount of money my mom pays for her cable TV on a fairly regular basis. I just did it again this week and saved her $170 over a 6 month period. No matter how many times I tell my mom that she needs [...]

I know quite a few people who seem to think that life owes them a good job and income simply for getting out of bed every day. They go to work and do the bare minimum, yet wonder why they never get a raise or why they are always the first to get laid off. [...]

This week there was a story in the news here about a man who was robbed thanks to a post on Craigslist. He posted several items that he wanted to sell including a game console, TV, some DVD’s and other electronics. A woman contacted him about buying the items and they worked out a time [...]

Trawling Etsy.com this week, I cam across this shop. This person makes pin-on buttons and sells most of them for $1.00. For fifty cents more, you can have the button made into a magnet. Some of them are cute and the whole thing reminded me of the button covered jean-jackets and purses that were popular [...]

I am probably one of the last people in the US that doesn’t have a cell phone. I don’t have a cell phone to protest in any way. I actually think there are a lot of interesting aspects to them. I have friends that keep telling me that I really need to get one so [...]

I am a firm believer, from my own experience, that after committing to spend less than you earn, the most important thing that you can do for your finances is to truly understand what is important to you and what makes you happy. I know that at first glance this doesn’t seem like it has [...]