Personal Finance Advice

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 [...]

Home and personal security is a big part of personal finance. After all, you don’t want to work hard for what you have only to have it taken away by thieves. Neither do you want to be physically injured by someone who is after your stuff. While security is a very serious subject, the movie [...]

This week there was a story in the news here about a man who was robbed thanks to a post on Craigslist. He posted several items that he wanted to sell including a game console, TV, some DVD’s and other electronics. A woman contacted him about buying the items and they worked out a time [...]

Trawling Etsy.com this week, I cam across this shop. This person makes pin-on buttons and sells most of them for $1.00. For fifty cents more, you can have the button made into a magnet. Some of them are cute and the whole thing reminded me of the button covered jean-jackets and purses that were popular [...]

Let me say at the outset that I have no hard statistical evidence to back this post up. This is just something I found myself thinking about the other day based on personal observation and experience and I wanted to put it out there to see what others think. So here it is: I found [...]

Americans have a love of cars, so much so that there are 1.17 cars per licensed driver in this country. To talk to most people, a car is an absolute necessity, ranked right up there with food and shelter. To suggest that people go without a car is to incur some strange looks, laughter or [...]

It’s that time of year again. Christmas is past and New Year’s is upon us. With the New Year comes the avalanche of New Year’s resolutions. We claim that this will be the year we lose weight, get our finances in order, and find the path to happiness. We start out all gung-ho in January [...]

A debt free friend of mine came to me this week with an interesting problem. He’s recently been laid off from his job and is living on his (not insubstantial) emergency fund and unemployment while he looks for work. By his own admission he has enough in various savings products to last him about five [...]

If you’re trying to scale back your spending and live within your means or just save a little more each month, how do you determine reasonable spending amounts for each category of spending in your life like food, clothes, and transportation? Well, there are several government standards that you can use as a guideline. The [...]

Baby boomers remember a time when airline travel was a luxury and a reason to dress up. But these days, does anyone look forward to flying? Passenger complaints have been increasing along with consumer activism and lobbying congress, but the myriad annoyances involved in taking a commercial flight aren’t expected to get better in the [...]

My friend, Speedy, is quite possibly the best horse trader within a 200 mile radius. In all the time I’ve known him, he has never held a job and yet seems to do quite well for himself. No, he doesn’t actually trade horses. He uses a system of bartering. He has a knack for trade. [...]

It’s that time of year again. My kids had only been back to school for less than a week when they brought home the fundraiser brochure. This year my daughter was selling jewelry, boxed candy and “Michigan” themed products. My son’s school was pushing cookie dough and coffee. My 9 year old daughter immediately showed [...]

Weekend reading is a round-up of personal finance and money related stories that caught the eye of our forum members this week: For Most People, College Is a Waste of Time One Third of New Owners Owe More Than House Is Worth Store closings – make sure you use your gift cards up for these [...]

Weekend reading is a round-up of personal finance and money related stories that caught the eye of our forum members this week: More than 80% of Americans want overhaul of health system Where the big jobs are Food Giants Race to Pass Rising Costs to Consumer 76% of bank websites have design flaws that can [...]

Weekend reading is a round-up of personal finance and money related stories that caught the eye of our forum members this week: CA judge rules early cell phone termination fees illegal Could you afford to be poor? Mortgage Help: Who qualifies and how to get it 7 ways to save on groceries w/o using coupons [...]

Weekend reading is a round-up of personal finance and money related stories that caught the eye of our forum members this week: Are We a Nation of Financial Illiterates? 411 Calls Reveal How People Are Saving Money Why does the price increase of gas feel so enormous? How much you earn (and how you compare [...]

Today’s question to get your morning rolling is, Should the speed limit be reduced to 55 mph again? I find quite curious is that with all the complaining about gas prices, nobody has been willing to come out and say it’s time to go back to 55 mph speed limit again. I think that shows [...]

Weekend reading is a round-up of personal finance and money related stories that caught the eye of our forum members this week: How to stop worrying and learn to love the bear Inspiration for wannabe entrepreneurs Top 10 Ways to Trick Yourself into Saving Money Credit Card Forensics What Type of Billionaire Would You Be? [...]

Weekend reading is a round-up of personal finance and money related stories that caught the eye of our forum members this week: Can Less Money Equal Better Eating? The 20 Healthiest Foods for Under $1 75 Ways to Survive A Down Economy The Bear’s Back Consumers accelerating their credit card spending The Leftover Calendar Spending [...]

Weekend reading is a round-up of personal finance and money related stories that caught the eye of our forum members this week: 25 Businesses We Once Knew How Disneyland Design Helps Families Spend Money Money habits are charged with more shame and self-consciousness than sex The silent market crash: the S&P 500 vs the price [...]