Personal Finance Advice

One of the best ways to control your spending is to force yourself to use a mandatory waiting period before making any unnecessary purchases. Tell yourself that you will buy nothing until that waiting period is up. A waiting period gives you time to cool off, get away from the temptation, review your finances, and [...]

In order to avoid debt, it is crucial that we get the best price and value for our money on almost everything we buy. Over the years we’ve found that buying many items used makes this much easier than if we were buying things at retail prices. This was particularly true when we were young [...]

When we get bored or stressed, some of us tend to head for the stores to look for something to do. Maybe we want a new book, a new CD, or a new movie. Maybe we want new clothes so we can jazz up our wardrobe. Maybe a new board or video game will do [...]

I spent Christmas visiting my parents. When I am at my parents’ home, I am always amazed that nothing is ever out of place. I can walk into the house and know exactly what I will see and where it will be. I know what is in every drawer and every closet. [...]

By C Craig
It’s that time of year, when we set down promises to make this — and the coming years — the best yet. “I’ll lose that 10 pounds!” we promise ourselves, “Give up late night snacking, get to the gym, and get organized.” Most of us share a common aspect of New Year’s resolve: [...]

One of the best ways to save money and be frugal is to find ways to reuse things that can no longer be used for their intended purpose. I’ve gotten pretty good at this over the years, finding uses for jars, spare parts, newspaper, old clothes and many more items that most people just throw [...]

Last week, Florida had its first real cold spell of the season. When I went outside to let our dog stretch his legs after a night indoors, I could see my breath and I very much regretted leaving the house without at least two more layers of clothing. While we did not get [...]

I’ll let you in on a secret: I’m really about fifty-eight years old. Mentally, at least. In actuality I’m in my upper thirties. But if you look at my lifestyle, my spending choices, and my account balances, I’m much closer to someone who is nearing retirement. Financially I’ve always been about twenty years older than [...]

Since I love to read, I have to admit that I’ve been drooling a bit over the Kindle and now the Nook eReaders. I love the idea of being able to carry a ton of books with me when I travel without throwing out my back. I like the thought of freeing up some shelf [...]

I tend to be way behind the technology curve. Heck, I finally got a Wii two months ago, three years after the system came out. It’s not that I don’t like technology; I do and I’m always reading up on new gadgets to see what developments are coming. It’s just that I’ve found that [...]

Many people want to be out of debt. They talk about it and they may even take steps toward the goal. They may make up their minds that they will never have debt (again) and that may become their mantra. They may have the best can-do attitude out there. Yet they may still fail. Why? [...]

We’re heading toward the time of year when thoughts turn to New Year’s resolutions. Maybe you’re making some specific financial resolutions: To get out of debt, save for a home, increase your retirement savings, or cut your grocery spending. Those are great ideas, but even if your resolutions aren’t specifically financial, your hard work to [...]

I’ve noticed that some respondents to my previous articles seem to think that I’m living a life of deprivation because I choose to save money aggressively and live debt free. I want to set the record straight: A debt free life is not a poor life; it’s not a life of deprivation and suffering. It’s [...]

A recent article in Woman’s Day magazine stated that the average household goes through a ream of printer paper every three to four days and spends about $60 every three months for printer cartridges and paper. That’s $240 per year on printer supplies. Ouch. Our household spends far less than that — about $60 per [...]

If you know that you are going to have your car for a long time, buying parts with a lifetime warranty can make a lot of sense, even if those parts are more expensive than others that are available. That is a lesson that can be learned from Rachel and her car named Chariot. She [...]

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 [...]

When I discuss frugality and money saving strategies with those who are just starting down the frugal road, one of the things they always want to know is, “What can I buy that will help me become more frugal?” I always have to swallow a chuckle because buying things to become frugal is oxymoronic. You [...]

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 [...]

There is an image that the US has become an nation of shopaholics driven primarily by consumerism. Lee Eisenberg, the author of Shoptimism, believes that this is not truly the case. He sees that the average person still retains some of the frugality on which the US was founded and believes that most people that [...]

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 [...]