By Amy L. Fontinelle
When it comes to resumes, work documents, and other professional writings, the quality of your writing directly impacts your success. Poor quality writing can lead to missed opportunities and negatively affect your earning power or financial well-being. When you don’t write correctly, you can come across as ignorant or careless and confuse […]

By Amy L. Fontinelle
No one would be surprised to read that cosmetics companies exaggerate the claims of what their products are able to do, yet thanks to an endless tirade of marketing, many of us still believe part or all of what we hear. Below, I’ve listed some of the biggest of these myths to […]

Amy L. Fontinelle
In general, I don’t advocate buying things that you don’t have the money for, whether it’s an expensive item like a car or an inexpensive item like a pair of shoes. In the case of computers, however, those offers to get a new laptop from Apple or Dell for “as low as $26.00 […]

By Amy L. Fontinelle
Timothy Ferriss, a twenty-nine-year-old, self-proclaimed member of the New Rich, recently published his first book, The 4-Hour Workweek. In his book, Ferriss proposes that retirement should be worst-case scenario insurance and that we’d all be better off taking mini-retirements throughout our lives instead of postponing true freedom until age 65 or later, […]

By Amy L. Fontinelle
In order to justify expensive purchases, many people, including plenty of otherwise very intelligent folks, like to refer to certain types of spending sprees as “investments.” Luckily for me, from the time I was about four years old, my father took any opportunity he could to tell me that anything that loses […]

By Amy L. Fontinelle
Eyeglasses and/or contacts are a necessity for most of us — a necessity that can be quite expensive. It doesn’t have to be that way. With a bit of research and time, there are plenty of ways to cut the costs associated with eye care. Here are some tips for keeping your […]

By Amy L. Fontinelle
While there are things you should avoid carrying in your wallet or purse to minimize your financial security risk in the event of theft, here are a few things you’ll want to make sure to leave in. Carrying these items with you will make your life easier, both financially and emotionally, in […]

By Amy L. Fontinelle
According to a recent Charles Schwab Financial Services survey of 1000 teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18, the average teenager believes that they will earn an annual salary of $145,000 a year. Teenage boys believe that they will earn an annual salary of $173,000 while girls believe they will earn […]

By Amy L. Fontinelle
Yesterday, I was reading my email and one was from a friend who had just had her purse stolen in a drive-by purse snatching. While losing the money in the purse is definitely both maddening and frustrating, it’s much of the other stuff that is in there that could become a pain […]

By Amy L. Fontinelle
Since I live in an expensive part of the country, I never gave a thought to buying a home. Everyone I knew, even successful people in their mid-thirties, rented. Then I started reading personal finance books, all of which said that I needed to quit renting yesterday. At first I just dismissed […]

By Amy L. Fontinelle
Many of us feel like there’s little point in preparing for a disaster because we never know when something might happen and it’s impossible to be perfectly prepared. If you back up your computer every Friday and it gets stolen on a Thursday, you’ve still lost an entire week’s worth of […]

By Amy L. Fontinelle
To save money on groceries, you can do lots of things besides clipping coupons (which I never do). Here are a few ideas to help you save money and add some spice to your routine.
Shop at ethnic markets: I find that a lot of really wonderful, exotic, and flavorful dishes can be […]

By Amy L. Fontinelle
We all hear a lot about protecting our financial futures by staying out of debt, having an emergency fund, and saving for retirement. Disability income insurance, or DII for short, is another important form of protection that many people don’t have and haven’t even heard of. The purpose of this kind of […]

By Amy L. Fontinelle
One of the most common New Year’s resolutions is to lose weight. Weight loss is also big business — Americans spend tons of money on diet pills, weight loss surgeries, gym memberships, and special diet foods each and every year.
Losing weight when you are medically overweight can go a long way towards […]

By Amy L. Fontinelle
If you’re a potential first time homebuyer, you may be confused about those mysterious closing costs — the expense that means that when you think you’ve finally saved up enough for a down payment, you really haven’t. Closing costs can add 2% to 5% to the purchase price of your home, which […]

By Amy L. Fontinelle
The only time in my life that I ever found it both easy and inexpensive to exercise is when I was studying abroad during my last semester of college. My minimal course load left me with plenty of time to do everything I wanted, including working out. I also had someone else […]

By Amy L. Fontinelle
Why spend money buying magazines at the airport for full price when you can get them for free with a little advance planning? Many magazines allow you a free trial of one or more issues. Sign up for a couple of free trials four to six weeks before your next trip, and […]

Amy L. Fontinelle
Food costs take up a significant portion of everyone’s budget, and we incur the cost month after month. While it is possible to eat for a dollar a day if you’re desperate, curious, or masochistic enough, most of us have the money and the desire to purchase foods we enjoy. If you’d like […]

By Amy L. Fontinelle
The first time a realtor explained the home inspection process to me, I thought, “What a load of crap! I can test the dishwasher and make sure all the outlets work myself! Why would I pay someone else $450 to do those things?” If you, like me, aren’t sure […]

By Amy L. Fontinelle
Last week, I wrote about the pitfalls of starting your own business. Now that we have discussed the potential downside, if you still want to take the plunge, here are ten tips for making your new business successful.
1. Set work hours and stick to them: When you’re self-employed, any time spent not […]