Personal Finance Advice

Bargain hunters looking for deeply discounted Christmas items and gift recipients eager to exchange their loot for something that better fits their bodies or personalities make the day after Christmas a busy one for retailers. With 364 shopping days until Christmas, those who work best under pressure might not have enough motivation to start shopping [...]

We all know that depression is a terrible disease that can have an enormous psychological cost, both for the sufferer and their family and friends. But there is also a monetary cost to depression that goes beyond the medical and therapy bills. I’m not a doctor and I’m in no position to offer treatment advice [...]

By Wixx, special contributor
Recently, as I am sure you have noticed, retailers have begun to move Christmas to an earlier timeslot. No longer is it the White Christmas in the middle of the winter. This year Christmas moved into a tie with Halloween for space in retail stores and card shops in October. [...]

It’s time for Secret Santas all across the country. You’ll draw someone’s name, get them exactly what they ask for, and that someone will get someone else exactly what they ask for and you will eventually get what you asked for. So goes the long-lived tradition. This year, instead of the same old boring ritual [...]

With Christmas right around the corner, you should have started to make your Christmas budget as one reader is currently doing. In the process, she wonders what is the better alternative: a real Christmas tree or an artificial Christmas tree?
I am trying to decide whether to purchase a real Christmas tree or an artificial Christmas [...]

Ah, it’s that time again. Time to begin planning yet another vacation (the sixth for this year). And time for well-meaning (I think) friends and family to ask, “How do you afford to go on so many vacations each year when we can’t even afford one? You must be putting it on credit
cards or cashing [...]

Usually at Thanksgiving, I make a point to give thanks for non-material things. I need that reminder not to overlook the things that really matter when I’m so busy thinking about earning, saving, and spending money. However, this year, I decided to make a list of money-related things for which I give thanks. [...]

I used to love Christmas shopping. I truly enjoyed searching for just the perfect gift for each person on my list - something that fit each one’s personality and interests, something that no one else would buy, and yet something still within my budget. But as the years wear on and the people [...]

Lately I’ve been trying to save more and spend less, all the while trying to exercise more and eat less. I’ve learned that even though I’m trying to accomplish two different goals, the principles to succeed are very similar. And these two goals are hard enough to take on during the year, but [...]

I was talking with a group of friends about the upcoming holidays and one said, “I’m so afraid of Christmas. I don’t know how we’re going to afford it and I just know we’re going to end up in financial trouble because of it. It terrifies me, but there’s nothing I can do about it!” [...]

If you knew that a friend busted their budget in order to invite you over for dinner, would you enjoy the dinner? Probably not. Keep this thought in mind when you entertain.
When preparing for dinner guests, wondering, “What will they think about the water stains on the ceilings?” is normal. Hoping the [...]

When my mom started her first job around 1950 or so, she didn’t have a 401(k), but she did have a Christmas club. Every paycheck showed a deduction for her Christmas club savings account, an account she emptied each December to buy gifts for her family and friends. She tells the story about [...]

How much do you spend on gifts in a year? Add it up. I think your knees will buckle. There was a time when a store bought gift was the exception and a homemade gift - a handmade quilt or some of Pappy’s corn likker - was the norm. These days, we run to the [...]

Not everyone can afford the impromptu vacation, and we couldn’t have done it without having done some basic preparations. Here’s what we did, and what we spent, that made our two days refreshing and allowed us to arrive home relaxed.
What an Impromptu Vacation is: The past weekend surprised us with a vacation hidden [...]

Newspapers are handy inventions. They are delivered to our door once a day, whether we want it today or not. They are at every grocery store, en masse. Wrinkle and shake one open, and you can find all sorts of gift ideas for your sweetie, or mom, or kid (or self). You can find [...]

Happy Birthday, Mothers’ Day, Fathers’ Day, Grandparents’ Day, Valentine’s Day, Sweetest Day, Hanukkah, New Year, Easter; Merry Christmas; Get Well; In Sympathy for the Loss of Your Loss of Parent, Child, Pet, Marriage; Get Well Soon; Thank You for Your Gift, Hospitality, Help; I Love You; I Miss You; I Just Want To Say Hello [...]

By Robert I. Craig, Guest Writer
The closest connection I have to China is a Hawaiian-print shirt made there that I bought at Wal-Mart. But an article I read about China recently sent a shiver–literally–up my back.
It brought to mind a tough lesson my family and I learned when we got hit, years earlier, by an [...]

There is nothing worse than having a holiday deadline coming up and not knowing what to get for it. That is the question this young woman has about Father’s Day:
I have a question that I hope you can help me out with. I noticed that yesterday a person wrote to ask about [...]

If you are going to book a hotel room, where do your think you would you get the best price?
A) Online Travel Website (such as Expedia or Travelocity)
B) Travel Agent
C) Call The Hotel Directly
D) Hotel Website
I assume that most people would choose the online travel websites, but that may be a bad (and costly) assumption. [...]

It’s almost time for summer vacations, but did you know there is no U.S. law that requires your boss to give you a single paid day of vacation time? Ever. Many companies do, probably due to competitive pressures, but twenty-five percent of private sector employees get no paid vacation time or holidays. You are less [...]