Personal Finance Advice

It has happened again. Because of the ailing economy, my local television news is reporting another story on how to save money. Very helpful, yes, but what got my ire up was the tone of the broadcast. This particular story detailed the local rise in people shopping at thrift stores. The report left me with [...]

Sunday, December 28, 2008, was a black day. I needed advice from a real person regarding my iPod. My younger son needed software for his iPod. My wife had returns to make at Old Navy and The Gap. My older son needed something to do. Thus the stars were aligned for a family trip to [...]

This past year has been all about changes, some good and a lot not so good. We’ve ridden the gas price roller coaster and held our breath to see the first African American President get elected. Some have cried over the bouncing stock market and some have jumped on board and bought cheap, hoping to [...]

In my neighborhood, all of the houses have two car garages. What amazes me is how few people use their garages for their intended purpose. When I go out for a run, I see so many garage doors open and the garages are full of stuff, not cars. There is barely room to walk in [...]

Weekend reading is a round-up of personal finance and money related stories that caught the eye of our forum members this week: The Obama economic stimulus: Everybody gets to refinance their house at 4.5% Meet the family who live on $44K a year – debt-free Bush: “I’ve abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system” [...]

I recently finished reading Thomas Friedman’s Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution and How It Can Empower America. It’s a very good book if you’re interested in the environment, but it’s also a good read if you ever wonder what a “green economy” might look like. He covers a lot of [...]

It’s over. We did it. We made it through No Spend Month, where we had only $400 to spend on gas, groceries, and entertainment, with money to spare. We spent $339.54. The last week was both challenging and liberating. We hosted Thanksgiving for the family, and we managed to buy the turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberries, [...]

I spend a lot of time outside and, if I’m inside working, my desk faces the road. As such, I know a lot about what goes on in my neighbor’s lives. (Disclaimer: I don’t spy on people, but when you’re driving back and forth in front of my house and piling your purchases in the [...]

Last week, I outlined our plan to make November a spending crash diet. We have only $400 to pay for gas, groceries, entertainment, etc. — everything that isn’t a monthly recurring bill — for the entire month. By day four, hubby began pouting. “This sucks. Everything costs money. It’s so depressing,” he said, as he [...]

I know a lot of people who were asking if it’s possible to live on a single income before the proverbial excrement hit the rotary device, economically speaking. I imagine there are a great many people who are worried about losing their job and are now asking themselves if their household can live on one [...]

When I was in college, my roommates and I didn’t think twice about picking sofas, coffee tables, and housewares out of other people’s trash. Don’t get grossed out. We always gave them a good scrubbing and disinfecting when we got home. We were definitely tried and true dumpster divers, mostly because we were too broke [...]

This past weekend the battery in my cordless phone died. I thought, “No problem. I’ll just run out and get a new battery.” When I got to the store I was disgusted to find that a new battery cost $18.99. My disgust grew when I turned around and looked at the phone display. I could [...]

This weekend I read a book called 50 Simple Things You Can Do To Save The Earth by John Javna. As the title indicates, it’s a book about living a greener lifestyle. In the book the author talks about “picking the low hanging fruit” when greening your lifestyle. By “low hanging fruit,” he means those [...]

My mom likes to show my friends an embarrassing picture of me. I’m 3 years old, hanging on to my favorite blanket as it’s drying on the line. Laundry hanging on the line, drying in the breeze, was a frequent part of my childhood, and probably yours too. I didn’t even think about it. It [...]

Planning an effective date is both an art and a science. It is a science because successful planning requires both an understanding of your partner and an understanding of where you are in your relationship. It is an art because it must be creative and at times innovative. Moreover, a successful date must be planned [...]

Have you poured a half finished glass of orange juice back into the carton? Have you taken toilet paper down from your trees after being TP’d to use for its original purpose? I have heard of people doing just that. Have you done outrageous things just to save money? Are you happy with this lifestyle? [...]

Kool-Aid. A fruity sweet, thirst quenching, ambrosia for 6 year olds. We all remember it. It’s famous and served all over the world. Kool-Aid was invented in Hastings, Nebraska, as a liquid concentrate called Fruit Smack. In 1927, to save on shipping costs, it became the powder we all know and love. It was originally [...]

My family has long had a love hate relationship with zucchini. My grandparents, mom and I have planted one plant each and every year for as long as I can remember. Until about mid-August every loaf of fresh-baked zucchini bread tastes like it came straight from heaven. But then it happens. At the end of [...]

Getting my finances in order sucks. It sucks even more when I have idiots teaching me how to do it. Since I am now writing for a personal finance blog, I decided that I should actually try and get my finances in order. Usually I would call my sister and ask her for help in [...]

People have gotten into debt for a variety of reasons. Some is due to their own fault while others aquired the debt from circumstances beyond their control. While it’s important to understand why you got into debt so that you can take the necessary steps so that it doesn’t happen again, the fact is that [...]