Posted October 1, 2009 - 05:00 by Philip Brewer
The most simple-minded measure of your standard of living is how much money you spend: spending more equals living better. Reality is more complex. There are a lot of ways to live better without spending more.
Posted September 23, 2009 - 05:00 by Philip Brewer
If you quit checking your 401(k) balance last year, because the market crash made it too depressing, now might be a good time to take a fresh look. It'll still be well down from the peak, but it's probably recovered quite a bit from the low. However small it may be compared to some imagined goal, don't underestimate the value of any amount of retirement savings.
Posted September 22, 2009 - 10:00 by WC Porter
A lot of people find themselves wondering if phones like the iPhone are worth the money. Sure, they're pretty expensive and the data plans are an added cost—but there are things they can do that regular phones can't when it comes to saving money. The secret? It's all about the apps.
Posted August 24, 2009 - 08:46 by WC Porter
Most people think saving money has to be fun and exciting in order to work. Not so. I took The Boring Challenge and saved over $2,000. How much money will you save?
Posted August 12, 2009 - 12:00 by Xin Lu
Reward checking accounts are currently some of the highest yielding accounts available at FDIC member banks. These accounts currently have yields of up to 6% and that is much higher than yields of 2% to 3% paid by CDs and savings accounts. Here is a quick introduction to what they are and how you can take advantage of these accounts.
Posted August 4, 2009 - 05:00 by Philip Brewer
I got a notice from one of my credit cards a bit ago, announcing that they were raising the interest rate. It's only of theoretical interest to me, of course--I use credit cards for transactions, not to borrow money--but looking at the rate they're charging reminded me that there are really three interest rates.
Posted June 26, 2009 - 11:59 by Andrea Dickson
Storing summer's bounty, saving money on a gym membership, talking about finances before the honeymoon, how to get divorced while the world is watching, buying a car without getting ripped off, stay-at-home dads and more.
Posted June 19, 2009 - 09:19 by Philip Brewer
I spent my whole adult life trying to figure out how to get by on a lot less money, because I wanted to be a full-time writer and knew that it wouldn't pay enough to support the lifestyle I was living. Now that I've made the transition, I can see that I was worrying needlessly--there are three sources of big savings that come along almost automatically when you start to get by on a lot less money.
Posted June 18, 2009 - 09:46 by Xin Lu
A friend recently told me that someone she knows is so cheap that he would not let her use paper towels at his place. Yet at the same time he complains about not having enough money and lives in a very expensive apartment and drives a brand new car. I also know some similar folks who seem to be tightfisted about everything except for one or two big expenses in their lives. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but perhaps it is more efficient to save on that big expense instead of clawing onto paper towels.
Posted June 11, 2009 - 06:39 by Philip Brewer
When I went off to college in 1977, inflation was high and rising, but the maximum interest rate you could earn on a savings account was capped by the government at a fraction over 5%. The conventional wisdom was "It's dumb to hold cash when inflation is over the rate you can earn." I absorbed that conventional wisdom, and it led me to make some dumb decisions.
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