Money Tips Network

This article is by staff writer Holly Johnson.

Americans might be more responsible now than they were in the early 2000s when it comes to the use of credit. At least, that’s what the evidence from a Gallup poll taken earlier this year seems to suggest.

The Gallup poll, which was based on random telephone interviews with 1,026 adults, shows that a full 48 percent claim to pay their credit card balances in full when the bill comes due. Not surprisingly, the opposite group, those who carried a balance each month, came in at a record low percentage since Gallup began recording this metric in 2001.

Take a stroll through any big box retailer and you'll find that part of the store has already been transformed into a winter wonderland. Elaborate displays house inflatable lawn decorations, tree ornaments, and holiday cards.

Link for teaser title: 

http://www.wisebread.com/bestdeals/today

Levi's Friends and Family coupon: Extra 30% off sitewide, Hoover Friends & Family Factory Sale: Up to 80% off,...

You can get a college-level education online, often for free — you just won’t get a degree. Photo: Coursera

Online learning is revolutionizing education. Most of us take for granted that we have access to an incredible array of learning resources right at our fingertips.

But what’s the point?

Unfortunately, we live with a slightly distorted view of what education is and how it works. We go to college not to learn, but to get a degree. We get a degree to get a job.

We’re forgetting to embrace learning itself and the actual education.

The online options below don’t offer traditional college degrees, but they do come with great benefits you’d be foolish to ignore. Here are some of the ways you can benefit from these online learning resources:

Kitchens can easily become cluttered with less-than-useful gadgets, tools, and food items, but it's important to keep your kitchen tidy and organized for the health of your family and for your sanity. Stop fighting rarely used kitchen items for counter space.

Laying out a few hundred dollars for a financial advisor can seem like money down the drain if everything is going smoothly. (See also: 9 Signs You Need to Fire Your Financial Planner)

Until it isn't.

This article is by staff writer Lisa Aberle.

While it wasn’t a dark and stormy night yet, an ice storm was coming. The last time we’d had an ice storm, we were kidless, and we lost power for five days. The romance of sleeping in front of the fireplace quickly cooled off along with the temperature in the house. If we lost power again, 39 degrees just wasn’t going to be acceptable with two kids.

That’s why my husband took a trip out to the shed to get our generator ready to combat a potential loss of power.

Except he couldn’t find the generator. After a few minutes of brainstorming (Did I put it somewhere else?), he called someone who frequently borrows our stuff.

“Your generator?” said The Borrower, “Yeah, when you were out of the country last year, I let somebody borrow it. I’ll give him a call.”

Is your freezer a mess? Do you frequently find old food rotting in the back of your fridge? I used to lose so much money this way. Now I take time to regularly clean and organize my refrigerator and freezer spaces, and it has made a huge difference. Even a few simple hacks are helpful here.

Quite a few parents choose to stay home because their entire salary would go to daycare if they went back to work full time after the birth of their child. If you are one of the stay-at-home parents who loves kids and wants to make money from home while taking care of your own kid, have you thought about starting your own home daycare? I have. I did some research and interviewed a mother of two who did exactly that. Unfortunately, she burned out and closed her daycare even though it was popular among the parents. I believe this is what will happen to me as well; so after giving it some serious consideration, I decided not to pursue it. Still, I thought it would be interesting to share the interview I had with the mother, in the hopes that it will be beneficial to other stay-at-home parents who are interested to earn income while they stay at home with their children.