Personal Finance Advice

I am in the midst of a job search. Although I have excellent experience and academic credentials, I am one of the hundreds of thousands of intelligent, articulate and qualified jobseekers in the market today. I am sure I shall eventually find a job, but my job search has taught me that despite [...]

I was listening to the radio the other day and the DJ was talking about how he had to call someone to come fix his garage door opener. No matter how much he pushed the button, it wouldn’t open. There was no sign of life from the thing; even the overhead light didn’t work. So [...]

One of the most enduring images that I recall from college was a video clip of an obviously drunk student at a football game and holding up a sign which read, “I don’t care. Daddy’s paying.” At the time, although my parents had paid for my tuition, I was working about 20 hours [...]

There are a lot of discretionary expenses that we incur every day. Whether we spend more for a brand name product or save money on a generic product is entirely up to each individual buyer. Whether we should buy a new car or a used car or go without a car is also [...]

We have all struggled with our finances at one time or another, and I worry how my children’s financial lives will proceed. I want to spare them the trials and tribulations of my experience, but I wonder is that really the right thing to do?
I want my children to be financially savvy, so I [...]

For all the time and expense involved and for all the talk about how a college degree will help you land a job and make a higher salary, there sure are a lot of important things that many college curriculum don’t teach you about how to excel in the working world. Here are a few [...]

Children don’t usually learn money management skills in schools, but don’t think that means they don’t learn about money. Children are like sponges. They soak up everything they can at an early age, and learn much more than we’d like from example. This is why positive role modeling is so important. It’s also why you’re [...]

I work at home and see a lot of neighborhood moms as I go about my daily errands. The other day, I bumped into a woman I have known for several years because our sons have played on the same teams and for a while they attended the same school. After chatting for [...]

The summer of 1987 was a great summer for me. I was between the junior and senior years of college and had decided that I could give up the retail job that I had held since age 16. Instead, I took a job working at the Essex Institute (now the Peabody-Essex Museum) in [...]

John and Jane Doe desperately want to be debt-free. They’ve sliced and diced their credit cards and cut their expenses until they’re living on next to nothing but macaroni and mooched meals off relatives. They recycle and reuse. They never go out like in the good old days and a night of fun is a [...]

Consider that, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in the 20 years from 1985 to 2005 energy costs have risen 108%, Medical costs 251%, and college costs increased 439% — but a college degree is worth it, right?
Not necessarily. While having a college degree does open doors, and increase the odds of earning a [...]

It seems like every personal finance magazine I read reinforces the idea that our children are entitled to a college education. Beyond that – it’s the parent’s sole financial responsibility to provide a college education free and clear for their children. Don’t get me wrong, every parent would like their child to have a college [...]

I was chatting with a neighbor – Mike — over the weekend. Mike’s daughter is a senior in high school and looking at a lot of different colleges. Mike is a successful dentist but he is still worried about the economy and the costs of putting his daughter through school, even though he [...]

One of the questions I’m asked most frequently is, “How did you learn so much about finance?” The subtext to the question is usually along the lines of, “I know you aren’t a genius or good with numbers, so how come you have a handle on this stuff and I don’t? How come I’m broke [...]

It’s become quite fashionable to attack credit card companies or banks who hold our mortgages, especially with the recent turmoil in the financial market. While talk of increased regulation and pointing the finger of blame may each have their place in how we deal with such situations, both psychologically and fiscally, they can quickly overwhelm [...]

Why do many people opt to spend rather than save money? Because saving isn’t fun. It’s not as much fun as going to the movies, or out to eat, or to an amusement park. And why is that? Because many of the things we do for entertainment are social. They get us out amongst other [...]

I am sure that almost everyone would say they would like to improve their financial position in some way. For many, it would be getting out from under mountains of credit card debt or paying off school loans. Others may be trying to accumulate money for a down payment on a home or saving [...]

An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. – Benjamin Franklin
The secret is a simple one: Education. I’m not talking about going to Harvard or some elite university. I’m not even talking about a Masters or a PhD degree. I’m talking about fiscal education. The rich are rich because they know how [...]

I grew up hearing my dad say “Most people don’t know how money works.” He is a Certified Financial Planner, and while there were a few drawbacks growing up the son of a financial planner (no Gameboy or frivolous purchases unless we had saved up for them in advance), it also had huge advantages. [...]

Kids often view cash and gift cards as things that need to be used immediately. I recall how my now grown son spent all of his birthday money within two days after he had received it, often wasting it on things that he never used. When I voiced concern or suggested [...]