Personal Finance Advice

We often think of hobbies as expensive, and some are. If you want to raise horses, collect antique cars, take up drag racing, or own your own plane to indulge your passion for flying, you’re going to pay a lot of money. However, there are plenty of hobbies available that are free or inexpensive. With [...]

This Week’s Money Tip: Visiting Las Vegas for a few days to see a friend made it readily apparent that hotels here have found a wonderful way to make their hotel prices seem much less expensive than they really are. Hidden fees come in all shapes in sizes. Most people are aware of the hidden [...]

I used to have a bad TV habit. A really bad TV habit. There were the daily prime-time shows during the week that I began watching as soon as I got home, and then sports the entire weekend. It never occurred to me that there could be a life without TV. It was just the [...]

Entertainment is a large category in many people’s budgets. We all want to have fun, after all, with what limited downtime we have after work and chores are completed. The problem is that, “entertainment” money is easy to waste on things that have little lasting value. Now, by lasting value I don’t mean that something [...]

I don’t go to the movies that often, but when I do I’m reminded that it’s not only the movies themselves that can teach lessons about money. Sometimes you can learn about money simply by going to the theater and paying attention to the whole experience. Here are some money lessons that you might pick [...]

When most people think about New Year financial resolutions, they think about tackling those difficult issues that they know that they should be doing, but have been avoiding because they know working on them is going to take time, effort and probably a little pain. Get rid of the credit card debt. Reduce costs. Make [...]

I was in Las Vegas this past week and wandered into the Wynn Hotel and Casino I was just in time for them to open their new “high roller” slot machine section, apparently the week before Christmas is one of the slowest weeks in Las Vegas so a lot of the casinos use this time [...]

If you’ve ever read the book by John Grisham or seen the movie, “The Firm,” then you are familiar with the tale of corporate and personal greed that leads one man to almost lose his life and all of the things he values. In the movie/book, Mitchell McDeree takes a job at a law firm [...]

In the last six months or so I’ve discovered a new hobby: Board games. I’m not talking about games like Trivial Pursuit, Monopoly, LIFE and the like that are available at the big box stores. I’ve discovered what are commonly called “Euro-games” because they are designed in Europe by European designers. They aren’t generally available [...]

If you followed any of the Black Friday news this year, you know that many stores including Target, Wal-Mart, and Best Buy pushed their opening times to midnight on Black Friday. Some stores, like Toys R Us and my local outlet center pushed the opening even further back by opening at 9:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving [...]

Anyone who knows me knows that my favorite vacation destination is Walt Disney World (WDW) in Florida. Some would say I have an unhealthy addiction to the place whereas I would simply call myself a fan. Either way, my travels to Disney World have taught me quite a bit about money. I know what you’re [...]

I subscribe to quite a few magazines. Some I got for free, but I’ve paid for many of them. Up until recently I’d been guilty of giving my magazines a quick read and then tossing them into the recycling bin. Then one day I asked myself, “Why am I subscribing to these if I’m not [...]

Do you have a museum, zoo, or theme park nearby that you find yourself visiting more than once per year? If you do, you might want to look into the costs and benefits of buying a season pass or becoming a member. I was surprised recently to discover that a year long membership at my [...]

There are few ways to save on TV viewing in your own home. You can cut back your cable service to the minimum, or use a service like Netflix to supplement or replace your cable. You can buy DVD’s of TV shows and movies cheap on the used or clearance shelves. But short of going [...]

In these waning days of summer you may be desperately searching for something to entertain the kids. They may be tired of the pool, the family vacation was a month ago, they’ve exhausted all their toys and games (and those of their friends), and it’s just too hot to go outside or hit the local [...]

Last week Netflix raised their rates, increasing the price of some plans by as much as sixty percent. Where before a plan with one DVD out at a time and unlimited streaming was $9.99 per month, the same service will now cost $15.98. Ouch. The outrage online was swift and furious. Customers were losing a [...]

One of my biggest problems is that I tend to save things for a later time. I buy books and think I’ll save them for a rainy day, sick day, or vacation. I buy or am given “treat foods” and I never seem to find an occasion worthy of eating them. I buy movies or [...]

Board games are a great source of entertainment. Unlike movies or other types of entertainment that are one shot deals, games can be played over and over again. New games, however, are often not cheap. They may cost $20 or more. Some games are as high as $50. While a great game may be a [...]

Almost every Monday, someone will ask me what I did over the weekend. For the most part, this is small talk asked just to pass the time. However, there seems to be an expectation that I did something that cost money. When I shrug and say, “Not much,” the asker usually launches into a tale [...]

April 16 -24 is National Park Week which celebrates and recognizes national and state parks, national monuments, and historic sites in the U.S. All national parks have free entrance this week, so you still have time to visit a national park near you for free this weekend. If you do go, one of the things [...]