Personal Finance Advice

With New Year’s just past and most people still in the honeymoon phase of their resolutions, it’s worth a brief look at how many self-improvement activities benefit your finances, and how studying one area can have a positive impact on the other. I’ll confess to being something of a self-improvement junkie. Not because my life [...]

I see many people give up on careers and activities that they love (or might love) because they don’t believe they have enough talent to succeed. Whether it’s acting, writing, designing, athletics, or even something more practical like computer programming or teaching, they just don’t feel like they have that magical ability that will make [...]

Many people fail to realize that almost all aspects of our lives are intricately weaved together with our finances, but it’s crucially important to understand that even things that don’t initially seem to have anything to do with finances or money management can have a great impact on these areas. By understanding that almost every [...]

One of the biggest disgraces of the school system is that it often fails to teach basics that we all need for everyday life once we graduate. A prime example of this is basic personal finances. If we could get more students to graduate from high school with a basic understanding of how personal finances [...]

I’m a big believer in lifelong education. I don’t think you need to stop learning just because you got a diploma. I encourage people to learn about finance because it’s not something that many people learn in their first pass through school. You may take an economics course in college that focuses on theory, but [...]

In this economy a lot of people are returning to the workforce after having stayed at home for several years. Maybe you stayed home to care for children or elderly parents, or simply because you had enough income or savings to do so. Unfortunately, the longer you are out of the workforce, the more difficult [...]

I was scheduled to have coffee with someone tomorrow but he had to reschedule because he has a telephone interview. I am always happy to reschedule a meeting because another person has an interview or an opportunity to meet with a client. I really believe that every person who finds a new job or a [...]

Recently, a twelve year old New Jersey Little League pitcher pitched a perfect game. For those of you who are not baseball fans, a perfect game occurs when a pitcher retires every batter in a game, without any of them reaching base. It is one of the rarest feats in baseball and it is a [...]

Consider that, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in the 20 years from 1985 to 2005 energy costs have risen 108%, Medical costs 251%, and college costs increased 439% — but a college degree is worth it, right? Not necessarily. While having a college degree does open doors, and increase the odds of earning [...]

It seems like every personal finance magazine I read reinforces the idea that our children are entitled to a college education. Beyond that – it’s the parent’s sole financial responsibility to provide a college education free and clear for their children. Don’t get me wrong, every parent would like their child to have a college [...]

An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. – Benjamin Franklin The secret is a simple one: Education. I’m not talking about going to Harvard or some elite university. I’m not even talking about a Masters or a PhD degree. I’m talking about fiscal education. The rich are rich because they know how to manage [...]

The Wizard of Oz was a big deal when I was a kid. It only played on television once a year, and I made sure I didn’t miss it. Of course I didn’t realize it at the time, but this movie provides young viewers with solid examples of adult finances in terms a kid can [...]

I’m sure you have heard that there is a difference between “good debt” and “bad debt.” Bad debt is usually associated with credit cards, car loans, and other debts that aren’t secured by something that is growing in value. However, the term “good debt” is often given to such debt as mortgages and student loan [...]

There seems to be a disconnect between those who read personal finance blogs, magazines, and websites like SavingAdvice.com and those who need to read them. Most people who read about personal finance already care about their finances. But the people who need to read about finance, who are in the most trouble, don’t. So the [...]