Money Tips Network

You know how important it is to build an emergency fund while you're working. But here's what you might not know: You need to keep that emergency fund well-stocked with savings even after you retire.

An emergency fund might be even more important once you leave the working world.

Like many American households, we dealt with some seriously cold weather over the last week or two. We had multiple school delays and closings primarily due to the cold weather and it wasn’t uncommon to see temperatures far below -10 F, even during the midday.

Cold weather can be a challenge. The simple solution, of course, is to just crank up the heat and not worry about it. That certainly works, of course, but then the huge energy bill comes in a month later, leaving you with a drained checking account and frustration about the expensive energy costs.

Clearly, there is great value in figuring out ways to combat the cold without turning up the heat. How can you keep the chill away without spending lots of money on energy bills?

Here are 18 things that our family does to keep energy costs low, even during the coldest months.

According to a survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, three in 10 workers report that preparing for retirement causes them emotional distress. Why?

While culture shock has long been a widely acknowledged experience, reverse culture shock has taken a little more time to gain the same understanding.

Setting goals, and having an action plan to achieve those goals, can help you make big changes to any part of your life — including your finances.

What are your financial goals for 2018? Why did you set these goals in particular?

They say money is the root of all evil. That’s debatable, but it can certainly be at the center of a lot of problems. You want to get out more, but your money says no. You want to retire someday, but your money gives you the finger.

Our Costco receipts used to be downright scary. Now, not so much! Here's how we did it …

Our monthly Costco trips used to be in the $500-$600 range pretty regularly. This used to contribute to groceries and household spending in the $1300+ range, which was way too much.

Now that we've begun budgeting in earnest, and tracking our spending carefully, those monthly Costco bills are now $200-$300, which is far more reasonable and helps us to get by with something like half of what we used to spend on groceries and household.

It’s a brand new year, and with it comes a brand new opportunity to get your investments on track.

And here’s the good news: You don’t necessarily have to make big changes in order to have a big impact. In fact, the sooner you start taking action, the less you’ll actually have to do, since each action will have more time for its benefits to compound.

The flip side is that procrastinating will only put more pressure on you later on to make even bigger changes. All the more reason to start now!

With that in mind, here are five practical steps you can take to improve your investments in 2018.

1. Get specific about your goals.

The standard investment goal is “retirement.” You know, that thing you’ll finally get to do when you’re old and gray and no longer have to drag yourself to a job you hate.

Exciting, huh?

As a meditation teacher, a lot of people say to me, "Oh I'd love to meditate. I just can't. My mind won't let me." The purpose of meditation is to get control of your mind, because what you think and the way you think have direct impacts on the quality of your life.