Hot Today

Wise Bread articles that are hot today.

The Best Secured Credit Cards

If you have no or a bad credit history, getting a secured card could help you build or rebuild your credit score. Find out if one of these cards is right for you.

Happy (Financial) Independence Day

Today, as we celebrate, let's take a vow to be financially independent.

Turkey Dinner for Two

Recently we've grown tired of traveling to big, traditional Thanksgiving gatherings, so we decided to create new traditions for just the two of us.

25 Quick, Cheap Lunch Ideas

You lunch doesn’t have to be a budget-buster or bland. These 25 fast and inexpensive lunch ideas will keep your midday meals interesting and easy.

Hurray! Annual Freebie Calendar

Whether you're looking for comic books or coffee, print this list out and stick it on your fridge, so you'll always know when the next big freebie is coming.

Energy Price Spikes

There are several ways to help deal with spikes in energy prices, but the main one is simple: Get used to it.

Buying Restaurant-Quality Cookware

Restaurant supply stores offer a cheap place to get certain cookware for your kitchen.

How to Avoid Foreclosure

What would you do if you were about to lose your home? What would you be willing to do to keep it? Is it even possible to keep it once you've missed a few payments? [more]

Software review: TurboTax

I wasn't looking forward to doing my taxes this year.  They were going to be more complicated than in years past, because I left my regular job and started working full-time as

How Debt Fools People

People who have a natural aversion to debt often wonder how some people get themselves into such terrible problems with debt. Don't they know how much it costs? Don't they understa

Gratitude and Frugality

Feeling thankful can be one of the most powerful — and inexpensive — things in life. Discover frugal ways to express your gratitude.

It's all your money

Sometimes you get a windfall--a bonus, an award or reward, a gift, a long-forgotten loan unexpectedly repaid. When that happens to you, do you use the money to make a special purc

Beat the heat with cool summer meals

Some summer evenings are simple too hot to contemplate firing up the stove or using the oven. Some nights, even standing in front of the grill flipping burgers sounds like a bit to

Voluntary simplicity versus poverty

The first person I met who practiced voluntary simplicity didn't call it that, and I didn't understand what she was doing until many years later. [more]

Fixing the foreclosure crisis

Because homeowners are also voters, and because the subprime lending crisis threatens the whole economy, the federal government is trying to come up with ways to head off a massive

‘Secret’ Attraction

I finally buckled under the pressure to remain in the loop with Oprah and I rented 'The Secret.' Now, before you think I’m going to offer a movie review, I’ll simply say that it fe

The Best (Inexpensive) Souvenirs

As a rule, we don’t buy souvenirs for their usefulness. A t-shirt from the Hard Rock Café or a shell sculpture from Hawaii isn’t going to increase your productivity — in fact, dust

Facebook For Budget Travelers

For the frequent traveler, Facebook is an excellent way to keep in touch with friends and acquaintances from around the world. Is it possible, however, that the popular social netw

Coupon Coups

Nothing vindicates a cynic by being proven right and coupons can often be used as a marketing tool for the old bait and switch. Overcome misgivings about coupons by going from coup

Job-Search Romance

How is a job search like a romantic adventure or misadventure? Let me count the ways: nine. If you’ve ever wondered how to tell if a company is truly interested or just isn’t into