Personal Finance Advice

Can I let you in on a little secret about me? Here it is: I really suck at being frugal. Sure, I shop the sales rack and Savers for my clothing. I do clip coupons, I do sign up for rewards at my favorite retailers whenever possible and I am credit card debt free. But start waving around a "holiday" of little or no significance, I feel this awareness growing in my psyche ... who cares if I kno [...]

Most people seem to have a lot of false beliefs about being debt free. They seem to think that those of us who are debt free never have to worry about money, or that we are somehow free from the concerns of everyday life. Some people work to become debt free because they believe that it will somehow solve all of their money problems and confer some sort of bulletproof status upon them. When they d [...]

This week we had a snowstorm. To many areas of the country this is no big deal. However, where I live we don't "do" snow. We don't have bi snow removal operations, most of us natives don't know how or care to drive in it, and everything pretty much shuts down until the melting happens. I like it that way. To me, a snowstorm is a chance to take a break from the hectic pace of life, to slow down, an [...]

Regardless of whether you are looking to reduce spending for the purposes of debt reduction, or for saving, the first thing that must be done is to identify where you are spending money unwisely. If you are not ready to be honest about a budget breaker, a vice, or a 'treat,' then you are not ready to take full control of your financial (in)stability. This may be hard for some people to be able t [...]

My state, like so many others, is awfully short on money these days. There have been budget cuts and tax increases in an effort to make up the shortfall. However, some of these cuts have threatened my bottom line more than others and forced me to become politically active to save my money. Most recently, my county has threatened to shut down our local library branch. While this may not see [...]

The other day, I was headed to our local dog park with my wife and our puppy. We were already in the car and actually backing out of the driveway when I realized that I had forgotten my business cards. I stopped the car and told my wife that I was headed back into the house to get my cards. She was a bit surprised and said, "Really? Do you think you need them for the dog park?" I laughed and [...]

I read this article today over my lunch break and had to share it with you guys. It's from the Minneapolis Star Tribune and documents the "back to basics" approach of Dr. James Eelkema who quit his job at a large family medicine clinic and set up his own shop. While this isn't unheard of, Dr. Eelkema took it a step further ... if you want to see this doctor, you have to pay cash. http://www.s [...]

I'm a huge Star Wars nerd and many of my favorite quotes come from the Jedi Master, Yoda. My personal favorite is the following: "Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not." When I think about my debt free life, I often change that quote to read: "Spending matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my spending, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you s [...]

We all know (or should) that living above your means for the long term is a recipe for financial disaster. Living above your means is spending more than you earn on a consistent basis. When you do it occasionally, as in the case of an emergency or a planned splurge, it's not detrimental. However, it becomes detrimental when you do it consistently. Most of us know this and try to avoid it, with var [...]

This week, I made a big decision that will impact my future, my finances and likely my overall sanity. After over two years of working weekends and the occasional weeknight at the local cab company, I asked my boss yesterday if I could cut back to just working every other weekend. "I'm not surprised," he emailed me. "I was wondering when you were going to pick your personal life over gree [...]