Home › The Simple Dollar

The Simple Dollar

Simple, applicable personal finance advice for the modern world.

Profile of The Simple Dollar

Latest Posts from The Simple Dollar (page 57)

Four Ways You Could Be Hurting Your Credit Without Realizing It

Published Wednesday, August 22, 2018 - 07:00 by The Simple Dollar

Paying your bills on time is a great idea, stipulated! Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, paying your bills on time is not the only thing you need to do to earn great credit scores. Credit scoring is considerably more complex than that. […]

Helping a Child

Published Tuesday, August 21, 2018 - 10:00 by The Simple Dollar

Connie writes in: I am 37, female, and single, and have no interest in getting married or having kids of my own. My younger sister (33) and her husband are having their first child in November. I want to help that child succeed. What’s the best way to do that? I have read about a 529. Is that the best route? This is a subject that’s near and dear to my heart. […]

Five Money Conversations to Have With Your Kids Before They Go to College

Published Tuesday, August 21, 2018 - 07:00 by The Simple Dollar

It’s never too early to begin discussing the concept of money and personal finances with your children. In fact, some financial experts suggest these conversations should begin during elementary school. For parents who missed that boat (and you’re not alone if that’s you), all is not lost. […]

Questions About Fast Food, Difficult Workplaces, Smoking, Refurbished Items, and More!

Published Monday, August 20, 2018 - 10:00 by The Simple Dollar

What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to summaries of five or fewer words. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question. 1. Difficult workplace 2. Capital One 360 overseas 3. Handling fast food cravings 4. Car total cost of ownership 5. Bicycle for groceries? 6. Overpaid for consulting work 7. Wife’s smoking habit breaking us 8. […]

529 Plans vs. Brokerage Accounts for College Savings

Published Monday, August 20, 2018 - 07:00 by The Simple Dollar

Saving for college is a daunting task. It’s hard enough to find room in your budget for contributions on top of your other financial responsibilities, and when you combine that with the fact that college tuition has been steadily rising over the past 30 years, it might feel like sending your child to college is an impossible goal. And while you shouldn’t stress too much about saving for college, y […]

Kids or Not, It Can Pay to Do Some Back to School Shopping for Yourself

Published Sunday, August 19, 2018 - 08:00 by The Simple Dollar

Back to school shopping doesn’t have to be just for parents or kids. For the last few years, I’ve covered back to school shopping for TheStreet.com, and while I was neither in school nor sending a child off to one, I can almost recite by heart the list of items that get discounted around this time each year. […]

Practical Goal Setting for Finance and Personal Success

Published Saturday, August 18, 2018 - 10:00 by The Simple Dollar

Marcus writes in: I was really intrigued by your goal setting process. […]

How Does a Target Retirement Fund Actually Work?

Published Friday, August 17, 2018 - 10:00 by The Simple Dollar

Tim writes in: Question for the Mailbag: how exactly does a target retirement fund actually work? Every time I read about it it makes less sense. This did start off as a question in the mailbag, but the answer became so long that it seemed sensible to give Tim’s question its own article. Let’s start off talking about risk and reward. There are a ton of different investment options out there. […]

Building Workplace Relationships in a Difficult Environment

Published Thursday, August 16, 2018 - 10:00 by The Simple Dollar

Tanya writes in: I started a new job on June 1. I work in an office setting with 20-25 other people. In the year or so before I started, there was a big “conflict” where a poisonous former employee kind of dismantled the office culture and got everyone to split into factions and many of the people in the office wound up not on speaking terms. […]

Handling Insurance on an Old or Historic Home

Published Thursday, August 16, 2018 - 07:00 by The Simple Dollar

Insuring an older or even historic home is a profoundly annoying task up to the point that you need that insurance. I live on a two-acre farm that dates back to 1851 and still includes a chicken coop, goat shed, potting shed, potato shed, smokehouse, outhouse, well house, detached garage, and 5,000-square-foot German-style barn. […]