Personal Finance Advice

I’m sure you’ve heard that if you want to be successful in getting or staying out of debt, you should craft a budget and stick to it. Does this really work? I suppose for some people it does, but it’s really never worked for me. That is until I stopped caring so much.
The problem for [...]

AC/DC released their first album in 8 years on October 20th, 2008 and within a week, Black Ice hit number one on the Billboard Hard Rock chart. They have sold over 200 million albums worldwide. They were ranked number 4 in the “100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock” list from VH1 and 7th on MTV’s [...]

I know a lot of people who were asking if it’s possible to live on a single income before the proverbial excrement hit the rotary device, economically speaking. I imagine there are a great many people who are worried about losing their job and are now asking themselves if their household can live on one [...]

Consider that, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in the 20 years from 1985 to 2005 energy costs have risen 108%, Medical costs 251%, and college costs increased 439% — but a college degree is worth it, right?
Not necessarily. While having a college degree does open doors, and increase the odds of earning a [...]

It seems like every personal finance magazine I read reinforces the idea that our children are entitled to a college education. Beyond that - it’s the parent’s sole financial responsibility to provide a college education free and clear for their children. Don’t get me wrong, every parent would like their child to have a college [...]

I love saving money. Ask my wife, she’d be the first to tell you. She thinks I’m a tightwad and that I wrote the book on skinning a flint. I like to think she is maybe a bit facetious. Maybe.
But then again, I am mature enough to see the grain of truth in such [...]

At any given time in your life you may find yourself in a financial situation not of your making. The recent credit crisis in America is a prime example. It is a uniquely perfect storm to be sure, the kind of economic crisis that comes along once every 50 -100 years perhaps, but that doesn’t [...]

It’s become quite fashionable to attack credit card companies or banks who hold our mortgages, especially with the recent turmoil in the financial market. While talk of increased regulation and pointing the finger of blame may each have their place in how we deal with such situations, both psychologically and fiscally, they can quickly overwhelm [...]

Hello, my name is Joe and my computer is 10 years old.
I work in the IT field in my day job, so an admission like that is often greeted as though I am admitting to suffering from alcoholism or some terminal illness. Many of my coworkers habitually upgrade their PCs every 2 years or so.
I [...]

Your grocery bill is likely one of the largest parts of your living expenses. If you were to rank them from largest to smallest, it would probably fall just after mortgage (or rent), energy and car payments. You can’t do much to lower a mortgage payment or car payment, so trimming as much as you [...]

An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. - Benjamin Franklin
The secret is a simple one: Education. I’m not talking about going to Harvard or some elite university. I’m not even talking about a Masters or a PhD degree. I’m talking about fiscal education. The rich are rich because they know how [...]

As children, we are often taught by our parents to do well in school, go to college and get a good job to succeed financially in life? We have all heard that being active and hard work will make us healthy and wealthy. But being an active participant isn’t always good for your financial health. [...]

People have gotten into debt for a variety of reasons. Some is due to their own fault while others aquired the debt from circumstances beyond their control. While it’s important to understand why you got into debt so that you can take the necessary steps so that it doesn’t happen again, the fact is that [...]