Personal Finance Advice

I was talking to a neighbor the other day and she expressed how frustrated she is with her current house and how much she’d like to move. As we talked, it became clear to me that it’s not the actual house, neighborhood, or lot she hates, it’s that the house is older and needs some [...]

Last week I wrote about trying to find contentment by getting back to a simpler life, one freer from forms of mass entertainment and consumerism. There’s an additional benefit to this than just living a simpler, less hectic life. You are likely to find freedom from the pervasive advertising in our culture. The less advertising [...]

I’ve noticed a side effect of the bad economy that may end up prolonging our economic woes. It’s called poor customer service. The other day I had to return something to a big box electronics store. The line in the returns department looked like the day after Christmas and only one clerk was working. When [...]

Last week I wrote a piece about the things that our forefathers never had to include in their budgets and the damage that those items are doing to our finances today. Writing that piece opened my eyes to another problem we have with our finances today. Many of us are no longer content with a [...]

When talk of saving money comes up, it usually leads to talk of the “good old days” when things were simpler and less expensive. Many people reminisce about the days when a stamp was ten cents, a loaf of bread was twenty-five cents, and a gallon of gas was fifty cents. Oh, the good old [...]

I was listening to the radio the other day and the DJ was talking about how he had to call someone to come fix his garage door opener. No matter how much he pushed the button, it wouldn’t open. There was no sign of life from the thing; even the overhead light didn’t work. So [...]

I got a rude surprise when I recently asked for some CorningWare as a gift. You probably know the bakeware that I’m talking about. CorningWare was famous for their bakeware with the blue cornflowers on it. It came in other patterns, but that blue cornflower was an icon. My grandmother had it, my mother and [...]

Many times, when I help someone with their finances, I discover that their biggest obstacle is that they don’t understand opportunity cost and the impact it has on personal finance. In order to take advantage of an opportunity, something else must always be given up. Opportunity cost is basically what you lose by choosing one [...]

An acquaintance came to me the other day and told me a sad story. She has been unemployed since December and unable to find work. Her husband also lost his job around the same time and although he has since found another, they went four months with no income and his new job pays considerably [...]

One of the biggest things you can do to save money is simply to plan ahead. I’m not talking about planning far ahead like planning for retirement or for starting a family, although those are good plans to make. I’m talking about planning hours, days or, at most, a few months ahead. There’s nothing wrong [...]

Oh, the joy of a high school reunion. The time when you get to see that most of your former classmates have done better than you, at least on the surface. My reunion was last week (let’s not discuss how many years it’s been) and I debated long and hard about going. Part of me [...]

This video from the Daily Show with Jon Stewart is funny and great entertainment:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
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CNBC Financial Advice

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But it’s also an important lesson in financial management. The lesson to be learned from this video is that you should never trust one source [...]

I see many people who set big financial goals for themselves. Get out of debt. Save up six months worth of expenses. Pay cash for a car. Save up a twenty-percent down payment for a house. Some goals are even bigger than that. Save two million dollars for retirement. Pay cash for a house. All [...]

I’ll admit to loving movies and certain TV series. As a result, I buy a lot of DVD’s. Someone once told me that I was wasting my money on all those DVD’s, since I could rent them for free or watch the same movies on cable. I didn’t think it was a waste of money, [...]

With insurance rates rising, I know more and more people who are choosing to insure themselves. Rather than paying premiums to an insurance company, they choose to instead save those premiums and other funds in order to cover any damage to their cars or property or, in some cases, to pay for health care. I [...]

I, like a lot of people, have a list of things that I would like to own. There can be a lot of fun in fantasizing about all the things you’d like to have and the fun you’d have owning them. However, the smart consumer understands that reality is somewhat different. The things that we [...]

Summer’s coming and that means vacation time! With gas prices lower than they have been in the last few years and with airlines gouging you for everything from extra bags to nuts, many people are hitting the highways this year. While road trips are typically less expensive than other forms of travel, there are some [...]

I recently spent a week at a relative’s house. When she went out shopping or to eat I went with her and I was astounded at the amount of money she left as tips in her wake. This relative has money trouble and constantly complains about her debt and how she cannot save money. I [...]

One of the things that saves us the most money is our well-stocked pantry and freezer. Like many people, I used to shop once a week or more for the food we needed just for that week. It was annoying because I hate grocery shopping. As far as I’m concerned, the less time I spend [...]

The other day I went to lunch with a friend who is working on becoming debt free and simplifying her life overall. I asked her how it was going.
“Ugh,” she said. “Well, I told you that Herman took a sabbatical so he could teach for six months, right?” Teaching was, her husband believed, his [...]