Personal Finance Advice

I hear from people who are struggling with money that one of the things that bothers them the most is their inability to financially help their favorite nonprofits and charities. The view that the only way to help these organizations is through a monetary donation is one that is far too prevalent. I hope this [...]

One of the keys to financial success is learning how to separate wants from needs. It sounds easy. A refrigerator is a need. A car (in most cases) is a need. Housing is a need. Utility usage is a need. This is all true, to a point. However, these things can easily bleed into the [...]

Do you want to know a really simple way to save money? The next time you go to the bank, any money you take out, make sure to ask for brand new bills. That’s it. Once you have the new bills in your wallet, psychology takes over and you will spend less than if you [...]

With Black Friday just around the corner, you might be wondering if you should take a peak at the advertisements and possibly wade into the crowds to try to score a great deal. Don’t! Seriously, it isn’t worth it. You’re only going to end up spending a lot of time and effort to not get [...]

While I am sure that you were already well aware that November 15 is National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day (how could anyone not know this?), there are a number of steps that you can take to save money while cleaning out your fridge — and really, it probably is about time that you did [...]

I recently received an email asking me if I could give some pointers on how to get a free turkey for Thanksgiving since I’d managed to buy and cook a full Thanksgiving meal for six people for under one dollar (this is what it looked like). One of the biggest obstacles that I faced with [...]

People spend a fortune trying to “improve” the air quality in their homes. They buy fabric sprays, air fresheners, candles, special vacuum cleaners, and expensive purification machines. Unfortunately, most of the candles, plug-ins, and sprays just make things worse. They don’t eliminate odors; they simply mask them. As for the expensive machines, many don’t work [...]

You’d think that if a manufacturer offers a warranty, getting service or a replacement under that warranty would be easy. You’d think that al you’d have to do is call the manufacturer, provide proof of purchase, and get your problem taken care of. Oh, if only it were that simple. While some manufacturers are great [...]

I recently wrote a piece about backing up your computer’s hard drive. At the end, I mentioned that if you don’t have the money to afford a backup mechanism you shouldn’t get the computer because the risk of data loss is too great. You’ll end up paying more than you paid for the computer to [...]

Everyone would like to save money on food if it means they can still get the same quality for a better price. One are where most people can save on their food bill is to reduce the amount of food they waste. Americans through out as much as 40% of their food according to a [...]

How many times have you brought home a new appliance, electronic gizmo, or power tool and promptly tossed the instruction manual without reading it. “I’ll just wing it,” you say to yourself. You may be able to do that, but chances are that reading the manual is still a worthwhile thing to do. Instruction manuals [...]

Fall and spring are big times for festivals, state fairs, and carnivals. Many people assume that these offerings are cheaper than visiting a major theme park. That’s not always the case. Most theme park admissions are all inclusive. You pay at the gate and then all of the rides and shows are included (except for [...]

Target is one of those stores you visit when you’re looking to do most of your shopping in one place. They have food, clothing, furniture, and most household amenities. However, even though many of those items are fairly inexpensive, your final bill can still end up being quite high. Fortunately, there are some good ways [...]

A couple of years ago, I wrote a piece about how to prevent kids from getting bored. The point was that when kids get bored, they get expensive. It’s tempting to give into the whining and take them to the movies, buy them a new toy, or take them to a paid play space. Well, [...]

Does it ever seem like you have too much stuff and no room to store it? When that happens, buying or renting a storage unit might seem like your only option. However, paying for a storage unit can be expensive and is often a waste of money. It might also be a waste of money [...]

A membership to a warehouse club like Costco, BJ’s, or Sam’s is something that you have to evaluate carefully, both before you sign up and each year at renewal time. If you’re going to pay to shop somewhere, you need to make certain that your savings will offset the membership fees. When we first joined [...]

Anyone who uses birth control knows that while it’s such a great thing to have, certain brands can get expensive, especially if you don’t have health insurance that covers it. For instance, Ortho Tri-Cyclen costs around $50 a month. That’s $600 for an entire year’s worth of prescriptions! Birth control costs can range from $100 [...]

This is a guest post by Jason Price from OneMoneyDesign.com. Jason is a husband, dad, soccer fan and blogger on the journey to true financial freedom. He enjoys sharing tips and ideas about money, career and more. I can’t think of anyone I know who doesn’t have a cell phone and has to account for [...]

I was talking to a friend about her recent home buying experience. Things were going well in the beginning, but as closing approached more and more issues came up. They decided they didn’t like certain aspects of the house as much as they thought they would. Some of the renovations that they wanted to do [...]

By Bethy Hardeman for Credit Karma You’ve heard it before: You should improve your credit. But do you know just why you should focus on your credit health? It’s not just because you can qualify for credit cards with great rewards — though that’s a nice perk. A great credit score can actually save you [...]