Hot Today

Wise Bread articles that are hot today.

14 Gift Ideas for the Truly Broke

What can you give during the holidays when you're tumbleweed-rolling-in-your-wallet broke? Look to skills for inspiration.

20 Things to Have on Hand for Power Outages

Stocking these affordable items will make your experience safe, bearable, and even fun.

25 Things to Do With Reusable Water Bottles

As reusable water bottles become more common, you may think you have too many. But these containers are useful for much more than just holding water.

30 Delicious Ways to Enjoy Garam Masala

Indian food is known for the complexity of its spice blends, and garam masala is a great example. Learn how to use and enjoy this mix of cinnamon, cumin, cardamom and other spices.

Which store-bought stain remover works best?

This is the first in what will be an ongoing series of blogs, subtitled "Andrea shamelessly promotes cute guys who make videos about vaguely interesting topics." Now, I know that o

4 Golden Rules of Investing in Retirement

When you've spent your whole life investing for retirement, it can be nerve-wracking to invest during retirement.

Credit Counseling: When you Need it and When you Don't

So you are up to your eyeballs. Drowning in debt, expenses, and struggling to keep your head above water. You have been reduced to the life of a monk and are still making no headwa

Ask the Readers: How Do You Keep Heating Costs Low?

Tell us how you keep heating costs low and we'll enter you in a drawing to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card!

Spend Less This Valentine’s Day (And Win an iPod Touch!)

Whether you love or hate the holiday, there are some lovely things to adore about Valentine’s Day (like all the assorted chocolates.) We’ll recap the best of Wise Bread’s suggesti

Failed Frugality: 5 Clues You’ve Gone Too Far

For most people, frugality is a lifestyle choice born out of necessity. A lost job, increase in expenses, or a battle with debt has forced them to take extreme measures to balance

20 Free and Fun Ways to Reward Yourself

Reaching goals is often its own reward, but when it isn't, go ahead, do something nice and frugal for yourself.

IKEA Survival Guide

IKEA is a great place to buy furniture with style that doesn't cost a ton of money. But the store is notorious for sucking away hours of your time and patience. Here are five ha

What is Simple Living and Why Should I Care?

With our economic situation still precarious, many people desire simple living. But what does that mean in our busy, modern culture, and how can we get there?

What if the Mortgage Interest Deduction Went Away?

What would happen if the mortgage interest deduction were eliminated?

Debt repayment is not an expense

Over and over again, in budgeting articles and even books on personal finance, I see sample budgets that include debt repayment as if it were an expense. This shows a fundamental

8 Things You Must Immediately Do After Losing Your Smartphone

Lost your smartphone? Don't panic and follow these steps to protect your data, your privacy, and your money.

Check your statements

If a bogus transaction gets posted to your bank account or credit card, you have almost complete protection--just notify the bank that the transaction wasn't authorized and they ha

Canned vs. Dried Beans: Which Are Cheaper?

Should you buy dried beans or canned? Discover which kind costs 50% less.

When NOT to put money in your 401(k)

The twin advantages of tax deferral and a corporate match make the 401(k) the foundation of most people's savings plan. Putting in enough to get the maximum corporate match is

The Pros and Cons of Refinancing an Auto Loan

Before you refinance your auto loan, here's what you need to know.