Personal Finance Advice

I knew that there would be hiccups from time to time in the minimum wage challenge. It would be wonderful if spending was something that could always be prepared for and anticipated, but the reality is that unexpected costs will present themselves from time to time, and a decision what to do will have to [...]

Lenders rolled out an extra-long-term car loan last week: The 97 month loan. (That’s eight years, folks.) The lenders claim that this is because the average price of a new car has risen to $31,000 and extra-long loans are the only way that some buyers can get an affordable monthly payment. I’ve seen several reactions [...]

One of the selling tactics that I have been hearing more and more these days is to make purchases as a “lifestyle investment.” The entire term bothers me in a number of ways, but the worst part is be bringing in the word “investment” into the dialog, the salesperson is trying to make you believe [...]

If I keep my eyes open for coupons, I can get an oil change and tire rotation for $19.95 in my area without a problem. That’s less than it would cost me for the oil and filter, not to mention the time it saves me. But I don’t take advantage of these discounts most of [...]

If you haven’t noticed yet, I love the outdoors. One of the things that I wanted to make sure while attempting this minimum wage challenge was that I still got outdoors on a regular basis. With January 21 being a free entrance day to all national parks (and after the failed attempt to go out [...]

I learned today that if you want to save money by driving your car at a fuel efficient speed on the highway to get the most miles per gallon, you do so at your own risk. You will also have an untold number of angry driver’s violently making obscene gestures in your direction including a [...]

The fact that I really dislike driving would seem to make the choice here rather easy. If I had my choice, I would not drive at all (and quite frankly, it’s ironic the amount that I do drive with this attitude). I really miss the days when I lived in Japan where the public transportation [...]

Your car is likely one of the most expensive investments you’ll ever make. As such, you want to protect it from theft and vandalism much in the same way you want to protect your house. You also want to make sure that no one steals anything important out of your car. When it comes to [...]

On my last trip to a used car lot, I was able to get exactly what I wanted out of the transaction. The salesman, of course, tried to talk me into getting more car than I needed, and more importantly, more car than I could afford. I wanted to trade my car outright and not [...]

I don’t consider myself a soapbox preacher, but the issue of texting and driving is one of those that gets me going. It frustrates me to no end that people think those little messages are so important that they are worth endangering lives over. Of course, the problem is that no one really believes they’re [...]

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how the “Emergency Fund” should really be called something else, since so few financial events are really emergencies. Regardless of what you call it, you need to be setting money aside to cover car repairs/replacement, appliance replacements, home maintenance, medical expenses, and all those pesky problems of [...]

I and other financial writers often tell people to ask for discounts, particularly on large ticket items, because you just never know when a retailer might be willing to cut you a break. Many people are reluctant to try it, however. Some are afraid of being embarrassed and some think it just won’t work. The [...]

It’s an easy trap to fall into. Your friends have cool stuff. You buy cool stuff. Before you realize it, you’re surrounded by the latest and greatest model of everything and working 3 jobs to pay for it all. The easiest way to stop the madness is to recognize the signs and break the cycle [...]

There are a lot of people who hate credit cards because of the debt that they have helped get people into through their use. On the other hand, there are others that love them due to the advantages credit cards offer. What’s important to remember is that credit cards can either be an asset or [...]

When it comes to saving money on your car, there are things that you can do besides trying to find the lowest gas prices in town to reduce the amount that you spend. Many people don’t realize that there are a number of gadgets on the market that can help you save money. Here are [...]

By Sara Lennon If there was a big list entitled “The Procrastinator’s Massive List of Stuff That Never Gets Done”, you can put a fair bet that saving money on insurance would be near the top. However, that doesn’t make it a bad idea: sparing a couple of hours to seriously consider your options could [...]

With gas prices once again on the rise, more and more people will be looking for ways to save money on gas. In their pursuit to achieve this goal, they very well may end up hurting their pocket book. Many people assume that they are saving money on gas when they really aren’t. Here are [...]

For the first time in years, gas here went under three dollars a gallon. It was cause for a minor celebration. There’s just something nice about seeing that $2.98 on the marquee. It’s only psychological, but it was comforting. Of course, after my minor celebration I realized that there was no point in getting overly [...]

At various times in my life I’ve lived in apartments with few appliances, dormitories with no amenities at all, and homes with HOA’s that restricted what I could do on my own property. I’ve also worked in offices that had no free parking. Living and working in these places greatly increased my expenses because I [...]

You may have seen commercials on TV advertising a “vanishing deductible” (also commonly called a disappearing deductible) and thought it was a great idea. The concept is pretty straight forward and seems easy to understand: If you are accident and moving violation free for a year, your car insurance deductible is reduced by a certain [...]