Personal Finance Advice

I used to subscribe to emails from tons of companies. On any given day I’d get probably fifty emails from restaurants, retailers, and travel providers. That doesn’t count the texts I’d get on my cell phone from retailers, or the companies on Facebook that would notify me of deals and coupons. While I got some [...]

Everyone has bad days and as you’ve probably experienced, sometimes the best thing to happen on a bad day is receiving an unexpected compliment or friendly gesture. Those small things can make your day, so why not make an effort to make someone else’s day? It doesn’t matter whether it’s a stranger, friend, or colleague. [...]

I’m fortunate to work from home. I also know many men and women who work from home, are stay-at-home parents, or who don’t work outside of the home for a variety of reasons. Maybe they are disabled in some way, have health issues, or maybe they simply prefer to stay home and take care of [...]

With the 4th of July just around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about the fireworks that you’re going to be buying to celebrate. Depending on how extravagant you want to go, the cost of a home display can get quite expensive. With a little bit of planning and organization, however, you can create [...]

A friend of mine was lamenting her inability to gracefully bow out of events and outings that she can’t really afford. “When my friends invite me out to dinner at a pricey restaurant or out to the movies, I hate to say no, but things are so tight around here that I can’t really afford [...]

This week I’m giving you a quick PSA about the value of making sure your essential information and items are fully protected. My in-laws’ house burned down last weekend. To the ground. The good news is that no one was hurt, either human or animal. The bad news is that there is nothing left. Along [...]

Technological progress has a tendency to make things obsolete over time. People, on the other hand, tend to resist when it comes to giving up their things. I’m as guilty as the next guy; I like my stuff and I still have a lot of things I no longer use. I have my reasons, but [...]

Many people could use some extra income these days. Unfortunately, enthusiasm tends to wane when talk shifts to getting a second job. It’s a hassle to seek out and apply for the jobs, and it’s even more of a pain to come home from your main job, wolf down dinner and then head out the [...]

The big news in my neighborhood this year is that someone has planted a vegetable garden in their front yard. Gasp! More than a few of the neighbors are bent out of shape about it, saying that gardens belong only in the backyard. However, the neighbor in question has a problem with that. The way [...]

Sometimes bad things happen in life. More often than we would like, they all seem to happen at once. You lose a job, then get hit with big medical bills, and then all of your appliances quit working at once. Or, your spouse dies leaving you with no income and while you’re trying to stretch [...]

When people need to borrow money, they usually focus on how to get the money they need and often ignore the cost of getting that money. Borrowing money will usually entail paying for the borrowed money, but that doesn’t mean that saving money while borrowing isn’t possible. When you do need to borrow money, keep [...]

Chances are, especially if you have kids, that you have some old sporting equipment cluttering up your garage or kids’ rooms. There are a few ways to get rid of that stuff without consigning it to the dump. You could sell it to a place like Play It Again Sports or you could have a [...]

Amish people and communities are unique in many ways. To most outsiders, they’re known mostly as soft-spoken people who live a simple life, don’t use electricity and don’t drive cars. They’ve also had just enough bad press to make some people wary. No matter what your opinion of their beliefs, the traditional Amish lifestyle offers [...]

I don’t consider myself a soapbox preacher, but the issue of texting and driving is one of those that gets me going. It frustrates me to no end that people think those little messages are so important that they are worth endangering lives over. Of course, the problem is that no one really believes they’re [...]

Many people are gifted in the areas of art, music, dance, writing, and acting. However, when it comes time to choose a profession, many choose to pursue something other than their creative gift. “You can’t make money as a writer (dancer, artist, musician, etc),” they are told. Or the pressure to get a “real” job [...]

Remember when phones were a convenient way to talk with friends and family from your home? If you’re not that old, maybe you can recall when you used your cell phone just to talk to people from any place you happened to have service. No? Well, it really doesn’t matter; if you’re like most people [...]

Nothing brings on financial stress like occasions where several people get together and do something that involves money. It may be buying a group gift for an office mate or family member, going on vacation with extended family or a group of friends, or throwing a party for a child or adult. Whatever the occasion, [...]

While money gifts aren’t the best financial gift you can give your kids, that doesn’t mean that they aren’t a good choice at times. Sometimes it’s hard to figure out what gift to get for a new college graduate. Do you want to get them something they’ll cherish forever? Something fun and entertaining? Something that [...]

In many of my articles, and those of other writers, a common theme can be found. Most financial writers, myself included, tell people that they have to choose what to do with their money. We advocate choosing between life experiences like travel and the accumulation of stuff and gadgets. We tell people to choose between [...]

We all tend to think that retirement won’t come until we’re in our sixties or even seventies. We think we have plenty of time to save and prepare for that next phase of our lives. But what happens if it comes sooner than you think? In some industries/occupations, it’s not uncommon for people to be [...]