Money Tips Network

Recently, I read Dave Eggers’ wonderful novel The Circle, which, like every great novel, manages to simultaneously work as a page-turner and as a thought-provoker.

The big ideas behind The Circle focus on privacy in the era of the internet and big data and branch out into the meaning of social networks like Twitter and Facebook and the intrusion and lack of privacy brought on by data collection.

The part that really stuck with me was the question of having to live our lives fully in public. Imagine if every single thing you did was broadcast to the world and anyone could watch it. How would that change your behavior? Would you choose to lay on the couch and watch trash television? Would you eat junk food? Would it improve you… or drive you insane?

Money magazine recently asked its readers what their retirement ages were. The responses:

This article first appeared at U.S. News and World Report Money.

Bonnaroo. CMA. Firefly. Lollapalooza. The summer calendar is filled with amazing festivals for music fans, where attendees have the opportunity to hear live performances from dozens of great musical acts in just a few days.

Unfortunately, attending concerts and festivals can really add up. A three day stint at a big music festival can quickly drain your pocketbook and leave you broke for the rest of the summer (and beyond).

Thankfully, taking just a few simple steps can drastically reduce the expenses without taking away any of the fun. Here are six options you can take to save yourself money at summer music events.

Over seven years ago, I joined The Compact out of green guilt (and because everything I do in my life has to be a dare).

In brief, The Compact is an environmental movement that challenges members to step away from the consumer grid and take as few new resources out of the planet as possible for one calendar year. Compactors pledge to buy only used goods for twelve months, with obvious exceptions for things like food and health care products.

Shopping malls used to be most everyone's one-drive retail stop; you can spend a whole afternoon shopping at a dozen stores, and you only need to park once. But with the popularity of online shopping and other changes in the way we shop — buying second-hand, cutting back on purchases, opting for homemade or DIY goods — your local mall may not be the bustling retail center it used to be.

Do you still shop at the local mall? If not, where do you do your shopping now? What do you usually buy when you do go to a shopping mall?

Tell us whether you shop at the local mall and we'll enter you in a drawing to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card!

Win 1 of 3 $20 Amazon Gift Cards

We're doing three giveaways — here's how you can win!

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