Personal Finance Advice

We all remember fondly the games we played when we were children. There is a simple game that kept me entertained when I was young. It was called Barrel of Monkeys. My Barrel of Monkeys came in a bright yellow plastic barrel with twelve monkeys inside. The monkeys’ arms were sort of S curved and [...]

For anyone trying to get out of debt, the debt snowball method has become the choice of many to tackle their debt. This shouldn’t be a surprise as it is a straightforward and easy to follow method that works. While the basics are the same, there are a variety of different debt snowball approaches that [...]

I do have a credit card and I use it for a lot of my travel expenses because it provides me with a lot of advantages. I also use cash a lot just because I developed the habit when I lived in Japan and almost all transactions there were done in cash. There are still [...]

You know your credit is an important part of your financial life. Indeed, a number of people, from bankers to insurers to landlords, use your credit score to determine your financial fate. From higher interest rates and insurance premiums to paying a higher security deposit for a rental, a poor credit score can cost you. [...]

Have you noticed that lately new bank fees and fee increases have been popping up like pimples on prom night? Much of this is because of new federal regulations limiting revenue major financial institutions take in from things like overdraft fees and, more importantly, debit card swipe fees. Also known as interchange fees — this [...]

Once upon a time, the banks were determined to win your business. To get you to open a checking account they’d lure you with anything from duffel bags to free cell phones depending on what kind of customer they pegged you to be. These tactics attracted scores of personal banking clientele over the years from [...]

New legislation that took effect on October 1st means that banks can no longer collect exorbitant fees from merchants whenever you swipe your debit card. What does this mean for you? Your bank will now likely switch to collecting those fees from you, the customer. Several banks, including Bank of America, SunTrust, Chase, and Wells [...]

Financial responsibility is a crucial part of the college experience, yet some personal finance skills remain foreign to students as they prepare for college. Parents have the task of preparing their children for a new financial world and they can do that by discussing the pitfalls that come with being on their own. Do you [...]

Financial gurus often tout the money saving aspect of paying cash. With cash, if you don’t have it you don’t spend it, unlike with credit cards. But there is a lesser known aspect of paying cash that will save you money in the long run. Paying cash, especially at local mom-and-pop stores will help to [...]

I received a call from my TV provider the other day. After giving me a pep talk about what a great customer I am, the representative explained that I was about to receive, “A very special offer. Something that we’re only offering to one percent of our clients!” Being polite, I didn’t hang up on [...]

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 [...]

As more kids get on the Internet at younger ages, I’m hearing about more and more on-line money accidents. These “accidents” occur when kids play paid online games or games that let players buy items in the game, when they download music or eBooks from shopping sites, or when they bid on items on eBay. [...]

I have been car free for several years now, but there are times when I do need to rent a car. I have found that there is one way to consistently get rock bottom prices on a rental car that exceeds coupon specials and all the other advertised deals out there almost every time. Most [...]

The question of whether to write “See ID” on your credit cards instead of signing them comes up a lot in financial circles. The idea is that, by writing, “See ID” on your card instead of signing it, you are encouraging retailers to check your ID to make sure your card isn’t being used fraudulently. [...]

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 [...]

This week’s lecture was about credit reports, credit reporting bureaus, identity theft, and collection agencies. Quite a scattering of topics. The first part of the class was on credit scores and credit bureaus. Dave makes the point that a FICO score is an, “I love debt score” because the only way to get a FICO [...]

I frequently hear people bemoan the choices they have made when it comes time to “man up” and be financially responsible. They grieve over the vacation they have to cancel due to a layoff. They cry over the kitchen renovation that has to be put off when the roof needs replacing. They sob when they [...]

This is a series of posts about what you will find in Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University course. This is week four (week one — week two and week three) This week’s lesson focused on getting out of debt. We’re getting to the meat of the plan now, and I was eager to hear Dave’s [...]

This is a series of posts about what you will find in Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University course. This is week three (week one and week two) The lesson for this week was cash flow planning, also known as budgeting. You could see everybody approaching this lesson with trepidation. Not only does it mean more [...]

I married a man just like me. He had no debt going into our marriage and no desire to incur any. This has made it very easy for us to create a financial life together that we both agree on and enjoy. I know many other couples who are not so lucky and this has [...]