Money Tips Network

This article is by staff writer April Dykman.

Over a year ago, I bought my first home. And while I’d been warned about the extra expenses that come with homeownership, there were still some surprises.

I don’t mean the “unexpected” costs of property taxes and repairs — expenses that are often covered in articles about new homeownership. “Surprise! There’s no landlord to come fix your garbage disposal.” Is that really a surprise to anyone, though?

No, what I’m talking about are the less obvious expenses — the ones that new homeowners probably aren’t thinking about when they sign the closing documents and get the keys to their new home. Here are some of those less obvious expenses that took me by surprise in the last year.

How much will you spend on your wedding ring? Jewelers recommend you spend 2-3 months of your salary on a wedding ring. Back in the day, when I was a single college student in love, I remember asking myself this question. I was all set to propose to my now wife but I needed to […]

The post How Much Should You Spend on an Engagement Ring? first appeared on Gen X Finance.

The post How Much Should You Spend on an Engagement Ring? appeared first on Gen X Finance.

I recently stumbled onto the BiggerPockets Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Real Estate Investing, a free PDF on how to get started investing in real estate. It was a decent read, even for someone like me who's been in real estate a bit, but it mostly reinforced what I already knew -- I didn't learn a bunch. It also spent a lot of time on areas of real estate investing I'm not interested in, so I skipped those sections. That said, I thought I'd share it with you because the price was certainly right. It was FREE! :)

The book listed three "rules" of investing in real estate that I thought I'd share with you. Then in a later post, I'll share my "rules" (or at least how I evaluate a property). BTW, I don't use any of their rules. Not to say theirs are wrong and mine are right, just letting you know this upfront. I'll let you decide what you like and don't.

Here's their first rule:

Mitch Strohm

We often hear people say things like, “I’d be able to save more, if I lived in a cheaper city.” But a lower cost of living usually means lower paying jobs, too. So here’s the question you should be asking yourself: Which cities have the best balance of high pay and low cost of living? [...]

Where to find the highest pay, lowest cost of living from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

This blog was posted by Mitch Strohm

This reader story comes from Brandon. Some reader stories contain general advice; others are examples of how a GRS reader achieved financial success or failure. These stories feature folks with all levels of financial maturity and income. Want to submit your own reader story? Here’s how.

Buying a brand new 2010 Chevrolet Silverado was the best and worst financial decision my wife and I ever made. I had just received orders for Germany at the time, and we were preparing for the move. The Army would pay to ship one vehicle, but we had two. I had an F-150 and my wife had her Jeep Compass. We both loved the vehicles we had, but we compromised on a “family friendly” truck. (We didn’t, and still don’t, have kids by the way.) It was a crew cab, 4-wheel drive, Z-71 and all the other goodies I could want.

Whenever I face a problem in my life, I want to solve it. Now. The sooner the better.

When Sarah and I first started to face up to our financial troubles in 2006, I wanted a solution. Now. The sooner the better.

I went to the library and checked out a mountain of books. I buried myself deep into the pages. I went crazy with frugality, counting every single penny. I cleaned out my closet and sold everything I could reasonably sell.

And it wasn’t enough.

It took the majority of a decade to get things straightened out. During that decade, I spent two years essentially working two full time jobs and launched a small business while my wife continued to work full time and we also dug deep into frugality, finding many, many ways to save a buck.

I spent those years – and the years since – looking into virtually every entrepreneurship and debt repayment and frugality idea and system that I could find.

What did I learn?

This article is by staff writer April Dykman.

When I was in college, I dated a guy with money problems.

For instance, six months into the relationship, I found out that he owed a few people money. Like his ex-girlfriend. And then his dad, who gave him the money to pay the ex-girlfriend. And then he still owed the ex-girlfriend, since he spent the money his dad gave him on who knows what.

On Tuesday, I woke up, got the kids ready for school, spread organic fertilizer over our back yard, got in contact with a local Congressional campaign about volunteering for them, spent two hours at the library doing research, wrote three articles, read a few chapters of a challenging book, played with my children for a good hour, made a frittata for supper, walked two miles, spent thirty minutes creating an elaborate bedtime story with my kids, and finally passed out from exhaustion. I was genuinely tired – physically and mentally – at the end of the day.

My Wednesday wasn’t that much different, except with a few different activities involved. I attended a school play. I helped my daughter with her piano practice. I worked on a great plan for a future project.

This article is by staff writer Kristin Wong.

Frugality isn’t very sexy. I’ll admit that.

For most people, the concept of thrift probably conjures images of coupon clipping, stock photos of piggy banks, and Benjamin Franklin — none of which are terribly glamorous.

Frugality, is, however, in line with the concept of getting rich slowly. We’ve learned that building wealth has much to do with living below your means. You have to increase your income, yes. But in the process of looking for ways to earn more — whether it’s negotiating, switching careers, picking up side gigs — frugality is your friend.