Personal Finance Advice

I saw a small sign on the corner outside my neighborhood advertising “We buy junk cars” the other day. I started wondering why anyone would want to do this and I soon discovered that it can be a way to make some extra money. If you have access to a truck and trailer that can [...]

One of the hardest things for many people to see in relation to their finances is how their actions today are robbing them of future wealth. It’s easy to focus on today and think that if you can make the payments on that living room set that it’s okay. It’s easy to think that borrowing [...]

When I was younger, I was a figure skater. To get the rust off of our blades we would frequently soak them in Pepsi. I didn’t understand at the time why that worked, only that it did. Turns out that most dark sodas have a pH of 2.8 – 3.4. This makes them acidic enough [...]

You’ve probably seen retirement calculators scattered all over the Internet. Almost every bank and brokerage firm has their own. You can also find them at sites like CNN Money or MSN Money. With so many available, you’d think that everyone would know their “number” that they’ll need to retire. The thing is, even with this [...]

If you need a way to make money that requires very little work on your part (but some possible pain), you can look into selling various parts of your body. To get the most value out of your body, it needs to be in great condition. Non-smokers of appropriate weight and with few overall health [...]

The other day a friend of mine was talking about how much her family eats out. To my astonishment, they eat out every single day, sometimes for more than one meal. Much of that food is fast food picked up on the way to school, work, or other activities. When I asked her why they [...]

Houseplants are an inexpensive way to improve the appearance and health of your home. Sure, you can invest in all sorts of expensive air purifiers, air fresheners, and decor to accomplish the same thing but houseplants are cheaper, don’t consume electricity, and give you additional benefits that you just can’t get from air fresheners or [...]

Financial gurus usually tell people not to envy the financial successes of their family and friends. Don’t envy their nice cars or big houses. Don’t envy their great vacations or their early retirement. After all, you may not have their means or good fortune. The conventional wisdom is that envy simply leads you to try [...]

If your lifelong ambition is to play video games for a living, there are ways to do that. Even if you don’t make enough to pay all of your bills, your video game habit can still generate a little extra spending money. Here are some ideas to turn your game playing habit into cash. Game [...]

I visit a number of finance-related forums. On many of these boards I hang out on, one of the most frequently asked questions is, “How can I make some extra money from home?” The question is usually asked by women who are home with kids. They want to contribute to the family income, but aren’t [...]

If you turn on the TV or read a newspaper, you’re likely to be confronted with two opposite messages. Either everything is great, the economy is strong, and finances are looking better, or things are terrible, everyone is poor, and we’re heading for doom. It depends on the day and the reporter/station as to which [...]

Traditional flooring is expensive. Tile, carpet, and even vinyl can all cost big bucks. Add in the cost of installation and you can quickly use up most of your decorating budget. If you’re strapped for cash, there are alternatives to traditional flooring. You have to be a little creative and use some DIY skills make [...]

No one (at least not anyone sane) wishes for awful things to happen in life. Death, illness, fire, floods and disasters are things no one likes to think about. We dread the day when we get that phone call telling us someone we love has died, or that our house is on fire. As bad [...]