Money Tips Network

There's just no two ways about it: asking for help is hard.

Whether you're at work, at home, or with your friends. Even when you know that it's normal, that everyone has to do it, and that a highly-touted business skill (delegation) is only asking for help in disguise.

Today I had the pleasure of paying a visit to the dentist to have him look at a tooth that failed last night.  These kinds of visits will be regular occurrences for the rest of my life, because I’m a dental cripple.

The dental office graciously made room in their schedule for me, and built up the tooth in preparation for having a crown put on.  Since my appointment was short-notice, it took a bit longer to get in and out than if I had scheduled it a few weeks in advance.  When they called me this morning, they asked me to be patient as they fit me in, so I knew going in that it would take a bit.  Overall, though, they really did bend over backwards (and have for years!)

Networks come and go

Boo! Yes, it's that time of year again (as I get older, and my kiddos do too, I feel it creeping up on me more quickly every year). Halloween is here. That means Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, Hanukkah, Kwanza, and Diwali, are all approaching. With them come things to buy.

Welcome to Wise Bread's Best Money Tips Roundup!

Buses are making a comeback. The number of inter-city bus departures has been rising since 2006, according to a study by the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development at DePaul University.

And it's no wonder why.

You know those moments that happen in life where you wish you had the right words at that moment, but instead they come to you days later? I’m about to tell you about one of those times.

An old friend of mine – we’ll call him Jeffrey – has struggled throughout his adulthood with, well, many aspects of adult life. He’s struggled with maintaining a steady job. He’s struggled with alcohol dependence and substance abuse. He’s struggled with parenthood, too.

He has an older sibling – we’ll call him Will – that has done reasonably well with his life. This older sibling has a challenging but well-paying job and two children that are on solid professional tracks.

Whenever Jeffrey is feeling down on his luck, he’ll often go on a drinking binge and find someplace to hide out for a while. If you try to talk to him, you’ll hear the same few refrains over and over.

“Will gets all of the breaks in life. He gets all of the luck and I get nothing.”

This article is by staff writer Kristin Wong.

It seems like everybody’s goal lately is to leave their job and become a freelancer. And that’s great! Freelancing gives you flexibility and control — and, plus, you get to work from home in your yoga pants.

But as someone who has transitioned into that role full-time, there are certain things I do miss about having an employer:

• 401(k) match

• Insurance benefits

• Free coffee

• Office buddies

• Income stability

One of my favorite weeknight meals includes the homemade veggie burger. Sure, you can buy burgers in the freezer section of your local grocery store — but have you seen their ingredients lists? Plus, homemade just tastes better.

My family and I have been living on a budget for nearly 10 years.  Over that time, we’ve made our share of mistakes – and we’ve adopted some valuable habits.  When making your budget, consider the following –

Do not wait until the last minute to make your budget.  Our budget begins on the first of each month, so we sit down and write ours out a week or more before then.  This gives us a chance to discuss the upcoming month – and it also gives us plenty of time to tweak the budget before the new month begins.

Do not use an unmanageable number of budget categories.  It’s easy to get too complex – or too basic – when creating a budget.  Use enough categories to “tell your money what to do”, but not so many that you are overwhelmed.