Personal Finance Advice

Normally I write about ways to save and make money. It’s a necessary part of life, particularly if you want to live responsibly and well. But today I am reminded that, while money may matter, it is far from the most important thing in life. My area was hit by deadly tornadoes this week. The [...]

Health care costs continue to skyrocket. You’ve probably noticed your health insurance premiums jumping up every year. That’s bad news, but unfortunately the hit to your wallet doesn’t stop there. If you drive a car and have auto insurance, you can expect your auto insurance premium to jump every time your health insurance goes up. [...]

Class this week was about insurance. You could hear the groans and sighs around the auditorium. Insurance is boring and it isn’t fun. Plus, I think people don’t like to talk about it because it means thinking about your mortality (in the case of life insurance), catastrophe (home and auto insurance), illness (health, long term [...]

Many people cut corners on insurance in an effort to save money. They don’t buy policies that they should have, or they are underinsured on the policies they do have. They think that paying a smaller premium is a way to save money and do better financially. Technically, this is a way to save money. [...]

With insurance rates rising, I know more and more people who are choosing to insure themselves. Rather than paying premiums to an insurance company, they choose to instead save those premiums and other funds in order to cover any damage to their cars or property or, in some cases, to pay for health care. I [...]

When my mother became ill a few years ago, I did what all adult children usually do: worry and think, “She has to be OK! She’s the parent.” Finances, however, didn’t enter my mind. It was interesting to note that my parents – level-headed as always – remembered to consider the financial repercussions of Mom’s [...]

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 [...]

We all know that staying healthy saves us money. The healthier you are, the lower your insurance and medical expenses are likely to be. We are encouraged to eat right, exercise and sleep well in order to remain healthy. But one area that is often overlooked when we talk about the health/money relationship is keeping [...]