Personal Finance Advice

We still pay most of our bills manually, by which I mean we don’t have automatic payments set up. While I recognize the advantages of automatic bill pay (no postage, time saved in writing out checks, etc.), I actually enjoy the task of paying bills the old-fashioned way. I like writing out checks and recording [...]

How many subscriptions do you pay for? Be sure to count not just magazines and newspapers but also services (warranties, computer virus protection, cell phone contract, ISP, etc.), memberships (gyms, fan clubs, business associations), and entertainment packages (Netflix, cable or satellite, online game sites, etc.) Count anything for which you are billed on a regular [...]

“Is it getting dark outside? Are you having trouble seeing? Turn the lights on!” is the gist of one “Wiggles Tips” segment on The Wiggles television show. These segments introduce the show’s preschool audience to a bit of humor – even they are old enough to know to turn on the lights when it’s dark [...]

Buried in the bottom of a box lot I recently bought at an auction was an advertising booklet from the 1950s, 1003 Household Hints and Work Savers to Help You Beat the High Cost of Living. The title caught my attention because it mentioned a “high cost of living” in an era many of us [...]

“When I get a little money I buy books, and if any is left I buy food and clothes,” Desiderius Erasmus has been quoted as saying. If he read like I do (more for fun than for education), he was budgeting for entertainment before necessities. He certainly would not be alone. Today, many people continue [...]

On a recent visit to the Yahoo! Answers website, I found a lot of questions that boiled down to the same thing: How can I make money (usually about $100) fast (usually by the end of the week)? Apparently this question is on many people’s minds. So here are a few answers: My best answer [...]

“Here, let me show you these great glasses — I want to make sure you get the full value of your insurance coverage,” enthused the salesman trying to get me to upgrade my purchase. I had already carefully chosen my favorite pair from the rack of frames my insurance would cover completely, using up enough [...]

Eyeglasses are an oddball purchase. Most people who need them will buy them, but the amount they pay can vary greatly without much difference in quality. There are a few ways, however, to find glasses you like for a price that’s low on the scale. First, consider whether you truly need prescription glasses. If you [...]

We are faced daily with an overwhelming number of choices, particularly when it comes to spending. A simple choice like buying shampoo can turn into a ten-minute decision if we consider overall price, bottle size, brand reputation, specific variety (for oily hair, for straight hair, for red hair, for thin hair), per-unit price, coupons, and [...]

Last year I read an article in Redbook declaring that mothers should hire people to do some of their household work and errands for them. The article made the popular argument that if you can hire someone to do your housework for less than what you make doing something else, you shouldn’t waste your time [...]

I used to think that social class was directly tied to wealth — if you were rich, you were upper class; if you were poor, you were lower class. If you were neither rich nor poor, you were middle class. Of course, even then I had a sense that because “rich” and “poor” are such [...]

Some people think using a coupon in public is even more embarrassing than, say, accidentally walking into the wrong restroom. I have done both, and I assure you — the latter is far more embarrassing! Here’s why I am not the least bit embarrassed by coupons: Companies make coupons available; why shouldn’t we use them? [...]

Several readers have commented recently that they would like to hear more about how to earn more and less about how to spend less. While earning more is a worthy goal — after all, you can never save more than you earn — I acknowledge that I am biased toward saving over earning in both [...]

When you take a vacation away from home, you spend enough to get there (especially with the higher gas prices this year) and to stay there (even if you camp) that you might not want to spend a whole lot on attractions. Thankfully, most areas have at least a few fun and interesting things to [...]

Frugality and thrift are far from the predominant mindsets in our culture, even among the multitudes of people who are taking control of their finances and paying down debt. In times past (the Great Depression comes to mind), “thrift” was seen as a virtue, but not so much anymore. Frugality could, however, become popular again…someday. [...]

Most financially prudent people search for a good balance of price and quality when shopping for televisions and groceries and automobiles, but few consider value when shopping for higher education. Though tuition costs alone are often a factor in choosing a college, the overall value — the quality of education received for the price — [...]

Several years ago, my husband paid for a pizza entirely in change. It wasn’t that he didn’t have any money left at the end of the week; on the contrary, he had just deposited his paycheck in the bank that evening. He simply wanted to use his change and save his bills. Had I been [...]

It’s that time of year again. Some of us know it as spring; others call it the start of yard sale season. Yard sales (also known as garage sales, tag sales, rummage sales, and stoop sales) attract an interesting and diverse subculture of bargain hunters, environmentalists, and treasure hunters; they are an interesting form of [...]

Personal storage facilities are appearing everywhere. Whether new garage-like structures or refashioned warehouses, factories, and banks, all have the purpose of storing our culture’s accumulated stuff. For the “low” price of $39.95 a month, you can rent the smallest of these empty boxes — a space not much bigger than a walk-in closet. The more [...]

It’s been said that when you take free advice, you should remember that you get what you pay for. I agree that it’s important to evaluate any advice — free or not — before following it, but rejecting all free advice because it is free is a really bad idea. (Unless you paid someone to [...]