Money Tips Network

What would you do with an extra $50 this month?

That extra Grant could go towards bumping up a credit card payment or contributing to next month's electricity bill. Or maybe a nice night out with your partner. The list of possibilities is endless. (See also: 25 Ways to Save $5 This Week)

Stop daydreaming and make that extra $50 a reality this month with these 9 tips.

1. Harry's or Dollar Shave Club

Shaving is a necessity for most men. As blades evolve and newer, better shaving technologies appear, the prices of shaving blade refills have skyrocketed. Unless you plan ahead you are very likely to end up paying around $20 for a 4-pack of blades at most retailers. That's a crazy $5 per blade!

When Sarah and I were first married in 2003, we moved into a pretty small apartment. According to what I could find online about it, it measured in at about 550 square feet.

We viewed it as a temporary solution. It was okay for just the two of us, but we wanted a family and an apartment like that wasn’t going to work with children.

Or so we thought.

In 2005, our first child arrived. We didn’t have the financial resources at the time to buy a house, so we stayed in that little apartment. We took one of the rooms and converted roughly half of it into a nursery for the baby.

And it worked. The two years where we lived as a “dual income no kid” family had taught us some tricks about living in a tight space, and adding a baby to the picture taught us some more tricks.

This article is by staff writer Sam. Sam spent 13 years working in Equities on Wall Street and discusses financial independence strategies on Financial Samurai. Sam is also the founder of the Yakezie Network, the largest personal finance blog network on the web.

If you want to know how to get the best deal possible, learn this simple acronym: BATNA. “BATNA” stands for “Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement.” Often times the bulk of money made or lost is in the initial agreement. Negotiating a real estate sale, buying a car, and fighting for a raise or a promotion all require the proper usage of BATNA to get you the highest return.

The Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement is broken down as follows:

* What is your best alternative to a negotiated agreement if you do not purchase or sell?

* What is their best alternative to a negotiated agreement if they do not purchase or sell?

The days of tangled, messy cables are becoming a thing of the past.

Wireless technology is now a part of reality instead of just science fiction. While not all electronics have cut the cord just yet, audio aficionados may be happy to hear that great wireless speakers now exist, with many options utilizing the latest Bluetooth technology to free up the way you can enjoy your music.

Wisebread is here to help find the perfect cord-free boombox for you with our top 5 list of the best Bluetooth speakers.

"The rich and the poor are alike; they both worry about taxes." — Anon

There is perhaps no entity disliked more than the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It feels the brunt of our disdain during the late winter and early spring each year and — for some unfortunate souls — far beyond into the future. The IRS has become the punchline to many jokes in the years since its inception. (See also: 15 Surprising Facts About Taxes)

However, there are secrets that the IRS doesn't want everyone to know. These secrets may make your life a little easier and alleviate some of that anxiety that occurs every year around April 15.

Is it really wise to pinch pennies in every area? Is it smart to hoard your money without ever putting it to work for you? I'm not talking about investments or risky stock-market schemes. I'm simply addressing the realistic question of whether or not there are situations where you should loosen the grip on your wallet. After all, fiat currency (our money) isn't really worth anything in and of itself. We want it — money, that is — because of what we can obtain with it: Property, health, insurance, or whatever else you can think of.

So when is it right and sensible to give in and pay for something instead of being "frugal"?

I write for a living, mostly for websites. It’s not surprising that I have a great deal of use for a number of electronic items. I have a smartphone, a reasonably modern computer, a laptop, and an iPad Mini.

Almost since the day I graduated from college, using computers and other electronic devices has been an essential part of my professional life and a useful part of my personal life. I’ve been buying and upgrading electronic items of all kinds for more than a decade.

Of course, in the middle of that period, my financial life took a painful turn, forcing me to start making real changes to how I spent my money and my time. This led not only to serious changes in our family’s spending, but also to a career change for myself. We had three kids and bought a house on top of that.

This article is by staff writer Holly Johnson.

In late 2004, Kim Parr and her family upgraded their lifestyle with a brand new home in a rural area. As an optometrist with a higher-than-average salary, it seemed like the natural thing to do. After all, Kim’s husband had a secure (albeit lower-paying) job in education and their combined household income was finally in the six-figure range. They had earned it.

Unfortunately, the Parrs soon found that their new home needed much more than a roof and four walls. In fact, it desperately needed landscaping — things like sod, trees, a sprinkler system, and fencing. Of course, their new yard required a certain amount of upkeep so they had to buy all kinds of lawn-care equipment, including a John Deere riding mower.

Here's an enmail I recently received from a reader:

I'm 28 making ~$115,000 total compensation ($85k in salary). Working at a tech company and missed the last cycle of promotions (1.5 years into the role) the next role would be to manager. I would try to negotiate ~50% total comp increase.

I got a high score and at continued pace would be promoted in the fall (never guaranteed but will perform). What is your recommendation on staying versus leaving? I am still learning, but at a slower pace than I would like and management is giving me more responsibility. I like the team. I know I could, with some time and work, get a job at ~$150-200k total comp. at various other companies.

Most career situations are circumstantially based but wanted a discussion on: