Personal Finance Advice

Many people have financial troubles, and while financial difficulty happens due to legitimate reasons such as job loss or medical expenses, many times the poor financial state is due to nothing more than bad habits. Here are a number of things that people do that keeps them poor: Inability to Save Money There are a [...]

February 25 through March 2 is America Saves Week which was created to promote better savings behavior so that individuals can put them in better financial shape. Getting all your different financial accounts in order is an important step in putting all of your savings onto the right track. Part of that effort is having [...]

Are you expecting to receive an IRS refund this year? Do you have big plans for that money? Maybe you want to spend it on something nice for yourself. Maybe you are planning to use it for a great vacation to get away from it all. Many people who receive a tax refund each spring [...]

Did you know that many people don’t actually know how to obtain a credit report? More importantly, some of them don’t even know why they should check their credit report each year. Credit reports help prove your credit worthiness to potential lenders or creditors. It’s also important to check your credit report each year to [...]

If you’re looking for a way to get a new perspective on how you spend money, one of the best ways to do this is to do some type of “no spend” challenge. While there are a number of things that a no spend challenge can help improve, probably the main benefit is that it’ll [...]

Not too long ago my neighbor needed a new water heater. After it was installed, we went on one of our daily walks and she moaned about the expense and hassle. “Well,” I said, “at least you covered it out of your emergency fund, right?” I’ve heard her speak about their emergency fund so I [...]

It’s one of the worst feelings you can ever have. That moment when you see there is still a week left until you get you next paycheck and you have no money, little food and you have no idea how you are going to make it. Your mind starts racing trying to figure out where [...]

With Black Friday just around the corner, you might be wondering if you should take a peak at the advertisements and possibly wade into the crowds to try to score a great deal. Don’t! Seriously, it isn’t worth it. You’re only going to end up spending a lot of time and effort to not get [...]

By Bethy Hardeman for Credit Karma You’ve heard it before: You should improve your credit. But do you know just why you should focus on your credit health? It’s not just because you can qualify for credit cards with great rewards — though that’s a nice perk. A great credit score can actually save you [...]

One of the things that keeps a lot of people from beginning to get their finances in order is the fear that it’s going to take a lot of time and effort to do so. While it’s certainly true that certain aspects can be time consuming, there are a lot of little steps that anyone [...]

No matter how well we budget for the coming year, holidays always seem to sneak up on us. Think about how many special occasions require extra spending in just one year: birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving, the winter holidays including New Years, religious celebrations, or any weekend where you get together with family and friends. All [...]

This week I’m giving you a quick PSA about the value of making sure your essential information and items are fully protected. My in-laws’ house burned down last weekend. To the ground. The good news is that no one was hurt, either human or animal. The bad news is that there is nothing left. Along [...]

When people need to borrow money, they usually focus on how to get the money they need and often ignore the cost of getting that money. Borrowing money will usually entail paying for the borrowed money, but that doesn’t mean that saving money while borrowing isn’t possible. When you do need to borrow money, keep [...]

One of the biggest disgraces of the school system is that it often fails to teach basics that we all need for everyday life once we graduate. A prime example of this is basic personal finances. If we could get more students to graduate from high school with a basic understanding of how personal finances [...]

Many people often pay their bills while grumbling about how much they have to pay. It’s true that many services are very overpriced, but what most people don’t realize is that some of these services can easily be lowered. Sometimes all you have to do is make a phone call to the customer service department [...]

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 [...]

Long before the financial gurus with their TV shows and persona finance books to sell were around, Benjamin Franklin was giving down-to-earth, sound money advice to anyone who would listen. The advice was so sound that it’s still relevant and applicable to this day. Here are ten money lessons from Ben Franklin that you would [...]

By Dr. Charles Richards Why is it that just when everything seems to be going well financially and you feel like you’re getting ahead, something seems to crop up that alters your plans? In my practice as a psychotherapist, I’ve seen this pattern play out in clients and others many times. If this has become [...]

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 [...]

Credit cards get a bad rap in frugal circles. The high interest rates and the ability to quickly get deeply into debt make credit cards seem opposed to any sort of money saving lifestyle. This is true if they are used irresponsibly. However, if used responsibly and carefully, credit cards have advantages which can be [...]