Personal Finance Advice

One of the most interesting things I have learned about personal finances is that things that seem to have absolutely nothing to do with money often have a huge impact on your finances. A good example is knowing what makes you happy. Another one was discovering that the more I know about my personality, the [...]

A coworker came to me moaning about her debt level the other day. Her New Year’s resolution is to get out of debt and she wanted to know where to start. I asked her what kind of debt she had. Car loans? Student loans? Credit cards? Almost all of the debt she had was from [...]

If you already use coupons, chances are that you get coupons in the paper that you don’t use. Even if you don’t use coupons, you probably have access to coupons from the paper or magazines that you receive. Wouldn’t it be nice to turn unwanted coupons into a little extra cash? You can if you [...]

Over the years, I have called the cable company to reduce the amount of money my mom pays for her cable TV on a fairly regular basis. I just did it again this week and saved her $170 over a 6 month period. No matter how many times I tell my mom that she needs [...]

I am probably one of the last people in the US that doesn’t have a cell phone. I don’t have a cell phone to protest in any way. I actually think there are a lot of interesting aspects to them. I have friends that keep telling me that I really need to get one so [...]

I am a firm believer, from my own experience, that after committing to spend less than you earn, the most important thing that you can do for your finances is to truly understand what is important to you and what makes you happy. I know that at first glance this doesn’t seem like it has [...]

One thing I learned along ago is that personal finance is not rocket science. In fact, it is far from it. The hitch is that simply because I know how to get my personal finances in order doesn’t mean that it’s always easy for me to do so when there are a lot of competing [...]

I have a friend who has been out of work for eight months, now. You’d think she’d be stressed out, worried about money, and ready for a meltdown, especially with two kids. But she’s not. She’s using her time off to travel a bit (under a strict budget), tackle some home improvements she’d been putting [...]

I’ve noticed that when most people think about their finances, they think in terms of their income and expenses. They think about how much they make per week or month and therefore that is how much they have to spend. However, the most financially successful people that I know think of their finances in terms [...]

We often talk about keeping up with the Joneses. When we accuse someone of keeping up with the Joneses, we usually mean that they are buying cars, clothes, or other tangible items because their friends and neighbors have those items. They want to fit in with their peer group, so they try to mimic their [...]

My friend is a complete idiot — which is a much worse insult than it may first appear since it’s being given by a guy who views drinking beer and watching TV as a worthy goal to strive for each and every day. I wish I could say it isn’t so, but I have always [...]

On a message board that I routinely hang out on, there was recently a discussion of people’s finances and whether or not they could afford certain items. As with all discussions of this type, there were some people who stated that they would have huge trouble affording these things and other people said that they [...]

Now that the kids are in school and the back to school shopping is done, it’s time to think about the next big spending event: Christmas. Christmas is a little less than four months away. It’s time to take action now so that you have the money you need for Christmas shopping. It’s also time [...]

Managing a household is a full time job and it requires a lot of skill, patience and vision to do it well. Those of you who manage your households know what I am talking about. Unless you are organized and focused, waste is almost inevitable. Keeping the house well stocked with necessaries, dealing with vendors [...]

I have recently read a number of articles about the businesses which are being hit the hardest by the current downturn in US and well as the global economy. This got me thinking about the businesses that should be affected, even though apparently some of them aren’t. Giant Gas Guzzling SUVs: Not only are they [...]

You cannot recover the money that you spend, but you can always earn more. Money will come to you from hard work, good fortune and simple luck. You will spend all of it or some of it and often you will be able to control how you much of your money you give back to [...]

This week a friend was forced to stay with us for a few days when her air conditioner broke down. When it’s 110 degrees outside, you have to stay somewhere and she has no family nearby and she couldn’t afford a hotel. While she was here, I had some frugal business to attend to. We [...]

We just bought some new living room furniture. Our old furniture was just that: Old. While it was still serviceable, it was no longer that comfortable. Yes, we could still sit on the couch, but the couch had lost a lot of its support and comfort. It was also no longer a great match for [...]

Over the course of a lifetime, you will have many occasions to purchase living things. If you own a home, there will be landscaping that might require plants. Wherever you live, you might want houseplants. Perhaps you want a pet, whether that means a dog or a canary or a horse. If you know your [...]

I lost a good couple of hours of my life this week to a website that a friend directed me to called Bundle.com. This site lets you look at the aggregated monthly spending habits of people in any city, county, or state in the U.S. You can further break it down by age groups, family [...]