Personal Finance Advice

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 [...]

Financial gurus usually tell people not to envy the financial successes of their family and friends. Don’t envy their nice cars or big houses. Don’t envy their great vacations or their early retirement. After all, you may not have their means or good fortune. The conventional wisdom is that envy simply leads you to try [...]

Over the years I’ve discovered that the single greatest thing you can do to help your finances is to be an independent thinker. You need to make your own choices and live according to what you know is right for you, not what society thinks is right for you. Society (your friends, family, coworkers, acquaintances, [...]

I know quite a few people who seem to think that life owes them a good job and income simply for getting out of bed every day. They go to work and do the bare minimum, yet wonder why they never get a raise or why they are always the first to get laid off. [...]

On a message board that I routinely hang out on, there was recently a discussion of people’s finances and whether or not they could afford certain items. As with all discussions of this type, there were some people who stated that they would have huge trouble affording these things and other people said that they [...]

When I was in high school I was a “smart kid.” I got great grades and studied hard. I chose to make school a priority rather than going out partying every night. I got called a nerd, dork, or geek, as well as some other less flattering names. I learned to hide my intelligence and [...]

I think if I hear the words “bail out” once more I might scream. It seems that everywhere I turn these days someone, some company, or some institution is getting bailed out of their bad financial decisions. As someone who has tried very hard to live within the rules and not make bad or irresponsible [...]