Money Tips Network

A few years ago, I wrote an article entitled Looking Down the Ladder: A Different Perspective on Spending. The article covered the idea of a spending ladder, and I’m going to quote the explanation of a spending ladder here:

One idea that really stuck with me, though, was his idea that one’s preferred level of spending constitutes a rung on a ladder. The idea of a “spending ladder” is easier shown by example than by explaining it, so let’s hop right to an example.

Join our Tweetchat this Thursday at 12:00 p.m. Pacific/ 3p.m. Eastern for lively conversation and a chance to win one of two $50 gift cards! Use #WBChat and #YoungMoney to participate.

This week's topic: Teaching Kids About Money During the Holidays!

Whether you’re already a parent or thinking of having children, the rising cost of a college education is cause for concern. Even a public, four-year university now costs $10,230 per year on average, and that price tag doesn’t include room and board. It’s hard to imagine how much prices might increase over the next decade or more, let alone how you could possibly save up the cash to cover tuition and fees, books and supplies, and living expenses — while also saving for your own retirement.

But college savings isn’t an “all or nothing” game. It’s better to have something saved than nothing at all, even if your college savings are only enough to pay for a single semester or a few years of school. Since anything you can save now is money your kids won’t have to borrow, every little bit will help.

Editor's Note: Congratulations to Lori, Christie, and Mary for winning this week's contest!

If your family celebrates any of the winter holidays, then you probably know all about the and bustle of decorating your home, getting gifts for friends and family, and planning a meal for kith and kin....

My name is Zach, and I write at Four Pillar Freedom, where I tend to tackle financial topics through data visualization. While J.D. is on vacation, I offered to explore one of his favorite topics: the effects of saving rate versus investment returns.

Albert Einstein supposedly once said that compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. But does data actually support this claim?

In this post, I explore the nature of compound interest, how long it takes to become an important factor in wealth accumulation, and whether or not it actually matters much for people who hope to achieve financial independence in a relatively short time.

What matters more: your saving rate or your investment returns?

The following is a guest post from Stephen from The Fire Lane.

Interest rates are rising.

At the end of 2018, it is still a good time to refinance for many. Nobody can predict the future, however, it's easy to visualize 6%+ mortgage rates in a couple of years.

If you are on the fence about a new home purchase, locking in a low rate now could save you thousands of dollars.

Wherever you are in your home ownership journey, there may be a lesson in our recent home purchase and the decision that we made.

Our Story

In the fall of 2016, we took out a $287,500 loan on our new home. My wife and I weighed our loan options. Choosing between a 15-year mortgage at 2.75% or a 30-year mortgage at 3.4%.
Ultimately, we decided on a 15-year fixed loan.

Holiday shopping wisdom says you should wait until after Christmas to buy Christmas lights, which is 100 percent true if your sole focus is on price. However, as my wife and I discover every year, that’s a great way to limit your selection to nearly nothing.

Christmas lights are about the only reason I’ll venture out to stores on Black Friday or Thanksgiving weekend. My wife and I are staunch defenders of our large outdoor C9 lights and our one indoor tree’s C7s. The majority of our Christmas tree lights are smaller, much more efficient lights, and my father in law has attempted to sway us toward LED lights for the rest. Yet as much as I love the idea of reducing the seasonal electric bill and not searing my hand while replacing a flickering C9, LED technology still hasn’t quite produced a faithful replica of our current bulbs.

Ilyce Glink joined us for our #WBChat on December 6th to share insights on questions first-time homebuyers should ask. Our #ThinkGlink #WBChat featured wonderful tips and Ilyce's expertise helped our chatters learn more about questions first-time homebuyers should ask.

If you're panicked because you still haven't thought of the perfect gift for the people on your Nice List, you'll be relieved to know you don't need to spend as much time as you might think looking for something thoughtful. You also don't need to run up your credit card bill.

Why? Because neither of these things is likely to be appreciated by the gift getter.

In fact, a 2008 study from Stanford University researchers found that spending a lot of time and money to select a gift doesn't make a bit of difference to the recipient. According to Francis J. Flynn, an organizational psychologist at Stanford, the price of a gift is more important to the giver than the getter. (Plus, most recipients actually prefer cash or something from a gift registry, such as their Amazon wish list.)