Money Tips Network

While the contractors were working to replace the siding on our new home last summer, they discovered a termite infestation outside the bathroom.

Further investigation revealed that the floor under the tub was not only wet and damp, but had actually completely rotted. So, we hired somebody to repair the damage. On the first day he was here, I went into the bathroom barefoot. Oops. I stepped on a shard of glass tile. That splinter was stuck in my foot for weeks.

At first, it didn’t really affect normal activity. If I wore sneakers and socks, I barely felt it. But if I wore sandals, I got a sharp stabbing pain in the side of my left foot. If I tried to run, the same thing happened. And forget about going to the gym!

Now, the obvious response here is, “Why didn’t you remove the sliver from your foot?” Great question!

The following is a guest post from The Financial Journeyman.

Do you earn a high salary or a high combined high household income and feel like you cannot get ahead? The average household income in 2017 was $59,000 for Americans. There are many households who earn $150,000, $250,000, or much more and feel like they cannot get ahead of their spending habits.

When I hear about these households, one thing comes to mind. They do not know how to budget. The salary amount that a family earns is only part of the equation. Without having a well-planned budget as part of your financial plan, it does not matter if your household income exceeds $1,000,000.

Earnings are finite. If you spend what you earn, you will always feel poor. If you spend more than you earn, you will be poor.

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When investing, we are faced with an overwhelming menu of things to choose from. There are tens of thousands of stocks, a mind-boggling number of mutual funds and ETFs, plus a dizzying array of bonds.

Rainy day keeping you stuck inside the house? Take advantage of the down time by being productive with your finances. Start with these easy money moves.
1.

I consider myself lucky to have grown up in a family of readers, and a community with an outstanding public library system. Some of my earliest memories are of story times in the children’s department and checking out bags full of picture books to take home at least once a week.

This library love has continued into my adulthood. I still drop by my local branch on a weekly basis, and I’ve made a habit of visiting libraries across the world whenever I travel. (If you’re also a library nut, make sure to put the Halifax Central Library in Nova Scotia on your must-stop list. The new building, with its green rooftop terrace, vibrant contemporary architecture, and five-story central atrium is absolutely stunning.)

Bringing home a stack of books to dig into is always a thrill, but I’ve also become quite fond of the technology that allows me to access even more free resources with just my library card and phone or computer.

One of the financial numbers I’ve come to value a lot lately is savings rate; in fact, savings rate was at the center of my recent post on the “spectrum” of personal finance.

Let’s step back a bit and look at what exactly a savings rate is, and why it’s so important. Let’s start with a good definition, like this one from Investopedia:

A savings rate is the amount of money, expressed as a percentage or ratio, that a person deducts from his disposable personal income to set aside as a nest egg or for retirement.

In other words, your savings rate is the amount of money you’re saving each year for very long term goals for yourself (usually retirement) divided by your total disposable income for the year.

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For long-haul international travel, flying is usually the only way to go. But in Europe or within many countries, train travel is a viable alternative to flights. In many cases it’s cheaper and more comfortable than flying, and sometimes it’s even faster.