Personal Finance Advice

When thoughts turn to getting more cash every month, many people assume that they’ll have to take a second job. That may be true. If your financial situation is dire or if you have your heart set on some big ticket item, a second job may be the only way to get to the necessary [...]

Many times I hear people say, “It’s great that you’re debt free, but I’ll never be able to do that. I’ll always have a some kind of debt,” and then they elaborate on why they can never be without a car payment, mortgage, credit card balance, etc. “It’s just the way things, are,” they’ll finally [...]

When people find out that I’m debt free, the thing they most want to know is how it’s possible and how they can achieve it, too. Quickly. They want the crash course or the quick fix to debt free living. I tell them that there really is no quick fix. There’s no magic pill that [...]

Dan Ariely, a professor of Behavioral Economics at Duke University, says that studies show that when people pay off loans, they pay off the small loans first rather than the loans with the highest interest rate. Studies also show that even when people have debt, they keep a lot of cash. Both of these in [...]

In the process of making out my Christmas card list for the year, I was struck by how many of our close friends are also debt free. I’ve never given it much thought, but there it was. We didn’t plan it this way, it just sort of evolved over the years. Like any sort of [...]

My last “real job” where I worked full-time for someone else was a mess. There was sexual harassment, bullying, unfair hours and demands, and all sorts of other foolishness going on. I was young and hadn’t yet saved up a large emergency fund, so leaving wasn’t possible unless I had another job lined up. Not [...]

One of the most common responses I get when people find out that I’m debt free is, “Well, that’s nice for you, but you probably have a huge income.” I’m not alone. Many of my debt free friends say that they get the same response. The assumption is that in order to live debt free [...]

While I’ve never been one to keep up with the Jones’, I’ve noticed a palpable sense of relief amongst many friends, acquaintances, and message board posters that the pressure to keep up, show off, and compete is off. At least for the moment.
In the heyday of the 1990’s and early 2000’s, everything was about [...]

I knew it was bound to happen, but I’d been hoping that somehow I’d avoid it. Despite having excellent credit and no debt, we got a letter from one of our credit card companies dropping our limit from $10,000 to $300. This was done because of “inactivity” on our account, which really translates into the [...]

We all tend to make excuses from time to time. It’s just human nature. But I’ve seen people rely too heavily on excuses when it comes to finance. When they have too much debt or can’t seem to make ends meet they pull out the excuses as to why their life has to be this [...]

By Maggie Ellis
It is widely taught in financial education that there are only two kinds of debt that can be considered “good debt”: A mortgage and student loans (as long as they aren’t beyond your ability to repay comfortably). We’re always taught that it’s okay to go into debt to buy a house or another [...]

Over my years of debt free living I’ve learned that procrastination is a huge enemy to staying debt free. We all tend to say, “I can take care of that tomorrow,” and put off things we don’t want to (or can’t) deal with right then. The problem is, the longer you put things off, the [...]

The other day a friend asked me if I gave to any charities, or did I just save all my money in order to keep myself debt free. The questioner seemed to think that a debt free life automatically equates to a miserly life. There seemed to be a belief that one cannot be both [...]

It’s no secret that college costs are rising to ridiculous levels. Kids are graduating with huge debt loads. Even if their parents have saved for their schooling since birth, costs are rising so fast they’re still likely to have to take on debt or work during school. In the last twenty years or so we’ve [...]

One of the things I’ve learned living a debt free life is never to dismiss anything out of hand. Whenever I see a money saving tip, investment strategy, or other money management idea I don’t automatically pooh-pooh it as something I can’t do. I’m always willing to try something new — or at least [...]

By Linda W.
This is a simple question that I ask myself that helps me stay debt free. It may sound infantile or even stupid to some, but if you take the question seriously each time you ask it as I have, it has saved me from making a lot of poor purchases over the year. [...]

If you’re debt free, chances are that you are one of the few in your family or circle of friends who is. In the circle of people I know well, only my parents and two close friends are debt free. I’ve met others but of the people I’m close to, I’m one of five debt [...]

A friend of mine who, like me, has always lived a debt free life recently ran into a perfect storm of disasters. He was diagnosed with an illness and, despite having good medical coverage, ended up with bills that threatened to eat up much of his non-retirement savings. As if that weren’t bad enough, he [...]

One of the things I’ve noticed about my debt free life is how much less distracted and stressed my mind seems to be than those with a lot of debt. I see many of my peers running around freaked out by bills, or chasing the latest “deal” on some doodad that they just have to [...]

I know that many people believe that you have to have debt in order to have a high credit score. Many people keep their debt just so they can keep their score up (so they can get more credit later). They fret every time a credit card is closed or the available limit is lowered. [...]