Personal Finance Advice

We’re slam in the middle of the Christmas nuttiness. Spend, spend, spend is the current motto and I don’t know whether it’s the coming full moon or simply the Christmas insanity, but people are acting crazy. I’ve seen far more people this year yelling at other people, pushing and shoving, flipping others off in parking [...]

I do have a credit card and I use it for a lot of my travel expenses because it provides me with a lot of advantages. I also use cash a lot just because I developed the habit when I lived in Japan and almost all transactions there were done in cash. There are still [...]

By Vicky Oliver I first realized that I was a frugalista a few years ago when I took a favorite black jacket back to the dry cleaners to complain that the garment had started to “pill.” The finely spun black lace had literally unraveled before my eyes –exposing the frayed white boning underneath. “This garment [...]

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 [...]

By Steve Repak, CFP® In basic training, a soldier goes through a process of mental and emotional retraining so that they can operate in an environment very different from the civilian world. I figured out I could take some of the same lessons I learned in the Army and apply them to my finances. Once [...]

In the not too distant future I’m going to have to have surgery on my foot and ankle. This is going to mean six to eight weeks of essentially being off my feet except for limited excursions to the bathroom and from the couch to the bed. I’ll be able to do some things, but [...]

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 [...]

By Jim Camp Do you believe compromise is the best way to get what you want? There’s a better way, and it’s based on a word young children understand even better than adults: “No!” If you’d like to boost your finances in 2012, then learning to say no, invite no, and be comfortable hearing no [...]

I walked out to get my mail yesterday to find an unexpected check in the mail. Of course, I am always thrilled when I get unexpected checks in the mail. Usually they are for rebates that I forgot about and simply mean a few extra bucks in my pocket, but I am never one to [...]

The Tightwad Gazette was a newsletter, published in the early 90′s, by Amy Dacyczyn. It was published in the days before email and the Internet. If you wanted to subscribe, you received your copies through the Postal Service. Eventually those newsletters were compiled into three books and, finally, into The Complete Tightwad Gazette which contains [...]

Two weeks ago I had to make an emergency trip to the home improvement store to buy a replacement part for my toilet. The home improvement store shares a strip mall with another big box store and several smaller stores. I parked between the big box store and the home improvement place since that seemed [...]

I’ve always kept my eyes open and to the ground when I walk and the result is that I usually find at least $100 dollars a year. There’s a lot of money at your feet if you are willing to look, and some people take this looking seriously. In fact, for them the streets are [...]

Many years ago I worked in a municipal permits and inspections department. Builders came in and applied for permits, we issued them and then took care of the inspections to make sure that homes and business were being built according to the current building codes. You wouldn’t think there would be too many money lessons [...]

Do you have any unused, unwanted gifts in the back of your closet? Have you considered regifting them to save a little money this holiday season? Regifting is not completely taboo. If you do it well, regifting can be a rather useful way to save money and clean out your house at the same time. [...]

Many people have large contractual or recurring monthly expenses in their budget. Cell phones, gym memberships, club memberships, cable/satellite TV, and data plans for tablets are just a few of the ongoing expenses you may face. These can really add up and you often end up paying even when no one is using the service [...]

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 [...]

Most people only consider the cost of cigarettes when they calculate how much smoking is costing them. It’s easy to calculate this cost as you know exactly how much you are handing over in cash for each pack of cigarettes you purchase. The truth, however, is that the cost of cigarettes is only a small [...]

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 [...]

Retirement can be a scary thing. You wouldn’t think so, since so many people look forward to the day when they can stop working and take it easy. However, the financial and emotional adjustments can cause problems if you aren’t prepared for them. Most of us just blindly save money toward retirement thinking that the [...]

Years ago I made the choice to leave the full time corporate world and go out on my own. I did it for many reasons, not the least of which was because I just couldn’t stand the toxic office games and politics. For the sake of my mental health I knew I had to do [...]