By David John Marotta
Financial planning is important, but it is never urgent. Most people fail to establish a financial plan because they fail to start planning. Some resolutions can be postponed, but for every six years that you delay saving and investing, you cut your retirement lifestyle in half. So, act on your resolution today. […]

By Marilyn Brodeur
Shortly after my husband and I got engaged, he asked to take a look at how much I had in student loans. He knew that my graduate program cost a lot, but had no idea how much in the red I was. He bought the rock which proved to me that […]

By Jennifer Derrick
I was talking with a group of friends about the upcoming holidays and one said, “I’m so afraid of Christmas. I don’t know how we’re going to afford it and I just know we’re going to end up in financial trouble because of it. It terrifies me, but there’s nothing I can do […]

By David John Marotta and Beth Anderson Nedelisky
The average college student graduates with almost $20,000 in student loans. While this is a daunting sum, it is still possible to build wealth even while paying off student debt. But earning the degree and paying for the degree require two different kinds of smarts. In fact, […]

By Shana Murray
Is it predetermined that you will be a good saver or is this learned behavior? It dawned on me the other day that so many people have different ideas about how to spend and save money and I’m not really sure when this begins. How early is too early to […]

By David John Marotta
For those working in the arts, financial planning is artistic freedom. You can be an artist and also eat well if you don’t avoid the subject of financial planning all together. After you have your cash flow and career planning in place, you also need to address your insurance and legal concerns. […]

By David John Marotta
The image of the starving artist has prevailed too long. At the July 24-29 San Diego Comic-Con there were tens of thousands of people working in the arts. Of the 650 hours of events and presentations, only one hour was devoted to financial planning for artists. Here are the financial essentials that […]

By Shana Murray
I find myself daydreaming about money quite a bit. It’s not so much about the money I have, but it’s about the money I don’t have…yet. Of course, if you add in my work bonuses and my lottery winnings I’m doing quite well for myself. Well no, I haven’t […]

By Jennifer Derrick
I have always spread my money around in multiple accounts. I use multiple checking, savings, and investment accounts, all marked for different purposes. Some are at the same institution, but I also use several different banks, depending on my needs. When I started making money years ago, spreading it around was simply the […]

By Cortni Marrazzo
I never pay any of our bills. Neither does my husband. But they get paid. Every month and on time.
Now I’m not advocating ignoring your bills and racking up a ton of debt. That would be stupid and begging for bankruptcy. What I am advocating is never physically […]

By Shannon Christman
“You’re causing me social stress!” was a common complaint of my college roommate, who liked solitude. I, on the other hand, loved the social life of the dorms and the wide activities college offered. I knew what she meant by “social stress,” though, and I still occasionally experience it today, often due […]

By J. Alan Maguire
What scares you? What is holding you back and affecting your financial well-being? If you were not afraid, how different would your life be? I think fear is a major problem when it comes to finances. Do you have any of the following financial fears?
Budgeting. This is […]

By J. Alan Maguire
One of the few shows I make sure I watch is Survivorman. For those who are unfamiliar with this show, it is about a man who strands himself in different locales all around the world with just his camera equipment and a few random items for seven days. He […]

Budgets are a main foundation for a lot of people trying to get their finances in order, but is a budget always necessary? That is a question from one of the readers:
I keep reading about the importance of having a budget and I’m wondering how important it really is for someone that is spending less […]

By Valerie S. Johnson
You’ve finally done it — earned that coveted diploma. You’re feeling a bit cocky. Your parents are wondering why they had to pay for your expensive education when you already knew everything.
Now it’s time to enter The Real World, the place that you have talked about for years as if […]

Sometimes the best ways to save depends on the number of people involved. That is the question that a single reader has about the cost of food:
I’m single male and I keep reading that it’s less expensive to cook your own food. I would love to save money, but I find that it is […]

Many times it helps to hear how other people do the things and to use their examples to best fit your needs. That is such a question that came by e-mail the other day regarding how to budget:
I know that one of my problems is my lack of organization when it comes to […]

By Wixx, special contributing writer
This is a fun little game in which the members of a household role play a little to help them save money. In this game, the family or roommates will play the part of the board of directors for the home or apartment business. Right away this will prove […]

By Tina Parcell
Looking for a way to get your finances organized and under control? Before you spend money on accounting or personal finance software, give a spreadsheet a try. Today’s spreadsheets are pretty powerful, with each file (or ‘workbook’) holding multiple sheets and unimaginably large amounts of data.
With that said, the prospect of building […]

Sometimes finances go beyond your own and involve the finances of good friends or family members. When the finances aren’t yours, but those close to you, how do you help those that are obviously having trouble keeping their finances under control? This was a question that was raised in the forums:
Over the Memorial holiday my […]