Articles on Personal Finance

5 Sleek Marketing Ploys Aimed at Getting More of Your Grocery Money

The cost of food isn’t going down, and for some, it is making the task of feeding a family more painful than ever. It doesn’t help that ad agencies and PR compani

Finding Money: 11 Ways to Save Money you are Spending Without Sacrificing Anything

There are a number of ways to find money by rearranging your finances, stretching your shopping dollar, and spending wisely. Here is a collection of 11 Tips to help you find some m

Non-financial investments

Talk about investments and most people think stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, plus maybe real estate and commodities like precious metals. Let's call those "financial inve

Making Do With Help From Mom And Dad

Ever wonder how the person with about the same salary as you lives in a fully furnished apartment, enjoys Caribbean vacations, and is setting aside money for retirement while yo

Tips for Increasing Your Financial Literacy

A recent CNN article titled "Americans are 'financially illiterate'"

Why You Don’t Need Mortgage Life Insurance

When you sign for your mortgage, you are offered mortgage life insurance as part of the deal, with liability forms to sign if you decline it. Which is better - mortgage life insura

Join America Saves Week February 24 to March 2nd

This week is officially America Saves Week 2008. This is a campaign started in 2007 by many government agencies and private entities to encourage Americans to save because the per

When Should You Say No to Those Who Want to Borrow Money from You?

I think most of us have been asked to lend money to someone we know. No matter how close you are with the potential borrower, there are certain situations when you just have to sa

All about stagflation

Those of you who are old enough may have noticed some worrisome similarities between the economy of the 1970s and the economy today. If so, you're not alone--more than a few p

Six Horrible Financial Products You Should Avoid

Dealing with financial products can be very confusing and stressful, but there are some products that you should absolutely stay away from for the sake of your financial health. [more]

Bar Stool Economics

Enjoy this lighthearted anecdotal story illustrating the North American tax system.

What is keeping you from a life of financial independence?

My goal has always been to work for ten years and then have enough financial freedom to do whatever I want to do. Whenever I tell people this they seem to be rather incredulous an

Make Homemade Dog Food with your Slow-Cooker

Awhile back, I told you how we had gone the way of homemade dog food. It isn’t jus

Foreign exchange class action settlement

Did you travel overseas between 1996 and 2006? Or, did you charge anything on a credit or debit card in a foreign currency? If so, be sure to claim your share of a class action s

Spiritual Insights From A Rich Idiot

The last person I thought would impart valuable spiritual wisdom is self-proclaimed rich idiot and wealth guru Robert Shemin, author of “How Come That Idiot’s Rich and I’m Not?&quo

Ten Tenets for "Arranging Your Rich" - Part 1: Rich is Relative

There are some guiding principles to arranging your own wealth. Ten, in fact. Ten important "tenets" to keep you grounded and on track as you begin the "arranging your rich" proces

Do not buy something just because you can afford it

Since I got married people have been constantly asking me two questions. One is, "are you pregnant yet?", and the other is "are you going to buy a house?" One

Longtime Mac Users Punished for Loyalty

I've watched other Mac lovers fall away from the True Faith, one-by-one, but I never thought it would happen to me. However, yesterday when we brought home the newest addition

Manage your fixed expenses

When you think of people ruining their lives with foolish spending, it's easy to focus on the little things that add up--the meals out, the hefty bar tab, the daily Starbucks habit

What Can You Do With Unwanted Gift Cards?

In my house we try to spend gift cards as soon as possible because the longer they are held the less purchasing power they have. Sometimes there are just cards you are not interest