Personal Finance Advice

In my house we’ve had a tough couple of months with deaths, health scares, and general work-related stress. We’ve been tired, sad, and angry. There’s been a definite need in this house to feel better. We’ve needed some cheering up and calming down. In our spendier days we would have gone out to eat, gone [...]

I am not brand loyal, save for a very few specific products that, through trial and error, I have determined that only one brand best suits my needs. Generally I could care less who makes something as long as the quality, features, taste and/or price suit my needs. However, I have discovered that I am [...]

I’ve always enjoyed shopping at Amazon.com. Their prices have always been very competitive and the free shipping and no sales tax are excellent perks. The one negative about Amazon has always been that their prices fluctuate wildly, sometimes day to day (especially during the holidays). If you shop with them regularly, I know you’ve experienced [...]

I recently spoke with a friend who is heading to Walt Disney World soon. She was so excited because she has managed to amass $1,200 in cash and Disney gift cards by participating in several “Get Paid To” (GPT) programs and survey websites. This money will pay for the majority of her family’s spending while [...]

We talk a lot here at Saving Advice about the things you “should” do. Make a will and keep it updated, keep your financial affairs in order, plan for the succession/sale of any businesses you might own, get life insurance, arrange for your healthcare in the event you’re incapacitated, and generally plan for the future [...]

This week I’ve been getting calls from the satellite provider we use in our RV. They’re forcing me to “upgrade” my old package to their new, similar package. A couple of years ago I got a notice from them that my package was being discontinued, but that I could keep it as long as I [...]

A friend of mine was laid off from her job three months ago. Not surprising, given the current economy. Anyway, like many people, she’s in over her head financially. Without her salary her family is having trouble making ends meet. Since it looks like she might be out of work for awhile, she came to [...]

The other day I stumbled across an advertisement for Bank of America’s new Brighter Planet credit card. The idea behind the card is that every dollar you spend earns points which are then converted to purchase carbon offsets. Bank of America is not the first credit card company to try to convince us that we [...]

This past weekend the battery in my cordless phone died. I thought, “No problem. I’ll just run out and get a new battery.” When I got to the store I was disgusted to find that a new battery cost $18.99. My disgust grew when I turned around and looked at the phone display. I could [...]

I see many people worrying themselves sick over this economic crisis. Their worry is jeopardizing their health and happiness. They can’t sleep or eat (or they eat and sleep too much). They’ve stopped exercising. They aren’t taking care of themselves and their relationships. If their worry were a positive force for change, that would be [...]

I have a friend who is, shall we say, “crunchy” (in the best sense of the word). She and her family eschew many modern conveniences such as dishwashers, fast food, and big box stores in favor of doing things the old fashioned way. They are environmentally conscious to a fault and very outdoorsy. A few [...]

I’m growing very tired of the word “consumer.” Every time I turn on the TV, the talking heads are discussing “the consumer.” Consumers aren’t spending as much, consumers are cutting back, consumers are hurting, consumers need to increase their spending to save the economy. It’s as though consumers are the only component of the economy. [...]

Not long ago I wrote about low hanging financial fruit. These are the easy things you can do to save money that don’t require a lot of time, effort, specialized knowledge, or lifestyle alterations. Now I’d like to move on to the high hanging financial fruit.
Once you’ve gotten into the habit of saving money and [...]

I have demanding hair. It’s thick and curly and tends toward frizziness if I don’t beat it into submission. Like many women, I’ve fought a lifelong love/hate battle with my hair. At times I’ve wanted it straighter, shorter, longer, thinner, thicker or (rarely) curlier. As I’ve aged, however, I’ve mellowed toward my hair and realized [...]

This weekend I read a book called 50 Simple Things You Can Do To Save The Earth by John Javna. As the title indicates, it’s a book about living a greener lifestyle. In the book the author talks about “picking the low hanging fruit” when greening your lifestyle. By “low hanging fruit,” he means those [...]

One of the questions I’m asked most frequently is, “How did you learn so much about finance?” The subtext to the question is usually along the lines of, “I know you aren’t a genius or good with numbers, so how come you have a handle on this stuff and I don’t? How come I’m broke [...]

In the last year, I’ve noticed a trend among the invitations I’ve been receiving in my mailbox: Rather than being simple invitations to celebrations, they are becoming thinly disguised money grabs. I have been invited to weddings and told (not requested, but told) to give cash. I’ve been invited to a “going away to college [...]

Why do many people opt to spend rather than save money? Because saving isn’t fun. It’s not as much fun as going to the movies, or out to eat, or to an amusement park. And why is that? Because many of the things we do for entertainment are social. They get us out amongst other [...]

I live in hurricane country and it’s the season for misery and anxiety for us. In the last couple of weeks, we’ve had two near misses with tropical systems. Others have had it far worse than us. When you live in an area that’s prone to natural disaster, whether it’s hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, floods, fires, [...]

With the holidays approaching, it’s time to think about Christmas shopping. We always talk about ways to save money on gifts, from hitting the sales to drawing names out of a hat. That’s all well and good, but these strategies only save money for the buyer. How about turning the savings around this year and [...]