Personal Finance Advice

Who couldn’t use some extra money these days? I’m guessing you have a skill that people would pay you for, and freelancing can be a great way to earn some extra cash. What work can you do as a freelancer? Take into account what you like to do in your spare time. Do you love [...]

When my mother became ill a few years ago, I did what all adult children usually do: worry and think, “She has to be OK! She’s the parent.” Finances, however, didn’t enter my mind. It was interesting to note that my parents – level-headed as always – remembered to consider the financial repercussions of Mom’s [...]

Like millions of Americans, my family will likely face a layoff. And, like other families we aren’t sure when we will get the news. Tomorrow? In another month? The suspense makes one reach for the bismuth. My husband has been a teacher all his adult life, but could be laid off at the end of [...]

When I started working after college in 1993, I was thrilled to get a job and make more than minimum wage. However, that $5.65 an hour didn’t stretch as far as it might, and I started to learn the hard lessons of personal finance all over again. My parents shared their financial experience with me, [...]

It doesn’t take an economic downturn to challenge the best financial wizards – it can be something as simple as the end of a relationship. When two people separate, their financial lives separate as well. Each person assumes more financial obligations while each has to learn to live within his or her means again. When [...]

My dear friend recently went back to work after being unemployed for a time. She is grateful for the job, but this work earns her much less per hour than before. In fact, it offers both fewer hours and smaller per-hour pay. Thus with a diminished earning power, she is understandably finding it hard to [...]

My parents were pioneers in the green movement. They weren’t necessarily trying to save the environment, but they grew up during the Great Depression when every penny counted. It turns out their thrifty habits are gentle on the environment too. Many of these habits work today to both save money and help my family reduce [...]

My husband hit the nail on the head the other day when he said, “It’s no wonder people have trouble saving money. Look at all the stores where you can spend it!” We were driving through a shopping district in our city when he made that pronouncement. Shops lined both side of the street, sometimes [...]

It is almost comical the trouble I am running into saving money lately. For instance, I was shopping at a favorite second-hand store when I found a great purse. I was so excited to find something that was the right size, reasonably priced and in fairly good shape that I quickly paid for it and [...]

We have all struggled with our finances at one time or another, and I worry how my children’s financial lives will proceed. I want to spare them the trials and tribulations of my experience, but I wonder is that really the right thing to do? I want my children to be financially savvy, so I [...]

We had a rare spring-like day this week – sunny and warm enough to shed the winter jacket for a bit. It was also the same day my favorite seed catalog arrived in the mail. Coincidence? I think not! Garden season is close. Gardening has always seemed to me like a thrifty three-fer: exercise, time [...]

Please consider the idea of haggling: a buyer negotiating with a seller to get a lower price. It sounds like a great way to save money. Why am I not doing it? I believe that like other consumers, haggling just isn’t on my radar: I pay what I see on the price tag without question. [...]

It has happened again. Because of the ailing economy, my local television news is reporting another story on how to save money. Very helpful, yes, but what got my ire up was the tone of the broadcast. This particular story detailed the local rise in people shopping at thrift stores. The report left me with [...]

One of the truths of getting older is that it takes a lot more work to maintain one’s fitness as compared to when we were younger. Not only do you need to be serious about watching what you eat, but what you eat is more likely to stick to unwanted places. Thus, began my search [...]

With this downturning economy, even governments are having a hard time. My own city is facing at least a $4 million dollar decrease in revenues, and my state is facing more than $140 million in shortfalls. One alternative to getting out of the situation is to raise taxes, a solution that no one likes. Thus, [...]

I have been walking regularly to many errands to save money on gas, wear-and-tear on the car, and to tamp down the urge to spend money on a gym membership. While an energizing and cleansing experience, these walks reveal unpleasant sights in my city: litter, leaves clogging street drains, and stray shopping carts. These are [...]

This is one of the hardest times of the year for me to continue setting money aside. For one, the money we earmarked for gifts has been spent, which makes the total in our account look smaller than usual. I’ve learned some techniques to stay on the savings course from my dear mother. She went [...]

Eating out used to be one of my favorite things to do. I loved to relax and be served great food with a minimum of effort on my part. This was before my husband and I implemented a budget, tracked our spending and were shocked at what we spent on restaurants. We didn’t even remember [...]

My father and I own a duplex. As the landlords for our small piece of property, we have seen plenty of tenants come and go in our college town. Most have been great. A few were not. In our experience, we’ve found that some behaviors can almost guarantee that your deposit will be history. For [...]

Do you know that feeling when you’ve had something hanging over your head for a long time — and then it’s gone? My husband and I have been enjoying that feeling. We just paid off our vehicle loan. What a relief! Now we have the happy problem of what to do with the “extra” money [...]