Money Tips Network

Establishing a Difficult but Rewarding Habit

The process of moving from spending all that you earn (or more) to spending significantly less than you earn is an absolutely essential part of gaining control over your finances – and it’s not easy. It involves upsetting a lot of the habits that you’ve established in your life. At the same time, you also have to establish new routines as well. Some of them seem difficult at the start, but it’s easy to see the long term rewards.

If you stop spending money on non-essential things, you’re going to have money left for more important things, but establishing new routines with less spending can be really hard, especially at first.

Best Balance Transfer Credit Cards for 2015

The best balance transfer credit cards will save you money on your current credit card debt. If getting out of debt is a top priority in 2015, you’ll want to make the move to one of the cards below.

How can you cure your credit card debt with another credit card? Well, the main reason is that when you transfer a balance to one of these 0% balance transfer credit cards you will pay no interest for at least 12 months. It pretty simple really, why pay 7%, 10%, 15% when you could pay 0% for a year or more?

A 0% balance transfer offer and a solid plan are two critical tools to ridding yourself of your high balance.

The Greater Implications of Frugality

Maria writes in:

Do you ever write about the political and social implications of frugality? When you choose not to spend and instead invest your money, you’re either supporting the banking industry or brokerages. Every dollar you have makes some sort of statement, even when you choose to save it.

Maria makes a good point. As long as we live in a society where money is used for goods and services, our dollars are going to have an impact. Every dollar we spend affects the products that are available, because products that do sell will take up more of the marketplace and products that don’t sell shrivel away. Even when you invest, you’re still buying a product, one that theoretically has the ability to return money to you.

It’s worth asking ourselves what that actually means.

4 Ways to Eat Less Salt Without Losing Flavor

Whether you're a foodie or just eating to live, the amount of salt we all use in cooking can easily creep higher and higher over the years. And with so many varieties from which to choose, it can be hard to limit sodium whether for certain health conditions, like hypertension, or just as a preventative measure. This isn't new information, but it's an issue many of us, if we're honest, choose to let slide. (See also: Healthy Changes You Can Make Today)

8 Ways to Help Your Clothes Last Longer

If you've gone shopping for clothes lately, you know that making a few new additions to your wardrobe can involve dropping some serious cash. I mean, who decided that regular button-up oxford shirts are worth $45 each? And on what remote mist-covered island are monks weaving denim that makes jeans worth $155 a pair? (See also: Refresh Your Wardrobe for Under $25)

Best Money Tips: Most Common Job Interview Questions

Welcome to Wise Bread's Best Money Tips Roundup! Today we found some awesome articles on the most common job interview questions, car maintenance services you can get for free, and affordable ways to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

Top 5 Articles

The 25 Most Common Job Interview Questions Asked — "Tell me about yourself" and "what kind of person would you refuse to work with" are two common job interview questions you may be asked in an interview. [Christian PF]

Financing your bucket list

This is a guest post from Mitch Anthony. Mitch is a sought-after financial services consultant, popular speaker, and host of The Daily Dose radio program. His RetireMentors column appears regularly on CBS marketwatch.com. Mitch earned Financial Planning Magazine’s “Mover & Shaker” award for his pioneering retirement and financial planning work. He has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, and The New York Times. His book Storyselling for Financial Advisors was acclaimed by Financial Planning magazine as its No. 1 essential read.

The 6 Most Important Health Appointments You Must Stop Avoiding

Between work, family, and every other personal obligation, you might forget to take good care of yourself. Too many unhealthy foods may creep into your diet; workouts might become few and far between; and doctor visits might be the furthest thing from your mind — at least until you start to feel sick. (See also: How to Feel Better Fast)

However, the time to think about your health isn't after you suspect a problem. Just about every medical condition has an early stage, and an early diagnosis can be the key to long-term health and longevity. Not that you should obsess about healthcare or schedule needless doctor visits; but there are appointments that you should make every year.

8 Ways to Improve Your Career, Get Ahead, and Become Upwardly Mobile

A recent research study shows that the odds of a child moving to a higher socioeconomic bracket as an adult have remained relatively stable over the past 20 years. But the study also showed that a significant factor determining where a child winds up on the earnings ladder is where they start. Rich kids are more likely to wind up rich than poor kids are. We have to be careful when we hear this kind of headline because by nature these studies with very large samples sizes are looking for trends in broad strokes.

2013 Net Worth Review

Each year on FMF I post a review of my net worth and detail the ups and downs of the previous year. Here are my 2013 net worth highlights:

Which fitness band is best for you?

This post comes from Stephanie Koske at our partner site Zing.

I find myself face to face with all sorts of life-changing decisions these days.

Hit the snooze button? Or rise early for a morning workout?

Hop in the elevator? Or take the stairs?

Binge-watch “Breaking Bad” on Netflix until the crack of dawn? Or hit the hay before 10:00 p.m.?

Order the beer-battered fish tacos? Or opt for the grilled salmon with vegetables?

You’re right: these aren’t life-changing decisions, per se. (Though I have had some fish tacos I’d consider COMPLETELY life changing.) But when you consider that making healthier and smarter choices truly can make a difference in your well-being – and even add years to your life – picking the stairs over the elevator seems much more sensible.

The Hows and Whys of a Target Retirement Fund

You’ve finally decided that you need to start saving for retirement. You’ve taken that first step of signing up for a 401(k) or a 403(b) or a Roth IRA.

The next step is a doozy, tough. You see tons and tons of investment options. How do you know which one to choose?

You turn to guides for retirement and see lots of advice. Many suggest a Target Retirement Fund. Why? What’s so good about a Target Retirement Fund?

That’s what I hope to explain today. I personally use a Target Retirement Fund for much of my retirement savings, as everything in my retirement plans is in a Target Retirement Fund or something similar. I believe they’re incredibly valuable tools for retirement planning.

The Basics of Retirement Savings

Reader Mailbag: The Discarded Dreams

What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to five word summaries. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question.
1. Starting a business
2. Spreading hobby costs socially
3. General life insurance question
4. Making major financial decisions
5. St. Patrick’s Day frugality
6. Buy it for life?
7. Using Roth for child’s education
8. Durable containers?
9. Why am I saving?

5 Ways to Make More Money in Under 10 Hours a Week

Money may not buy you love or happiness, but it sure does make life easier, doesn't it?

Besides ensuring you have access to all the basic necessities, money also gives you a certain freedom that you might not have had otherwise. Freedom to travel, freedom to pursue more education, freedom to be a little picky about how you earn your living and yes, freedom to enjoy yourself just a bit more. (See also: Money Really Can Buy Happiness)

Unfortunately with the economy still dragging its feet, making some extra cash isn't always an easy thing to do… or is it? Here are five ways to make more money in under 10 hours a week.

10 Surprisingly Dangerous Things You Have in Your Home

We all know our homes are full of dangerous items — cleaning products with poisonous chemicals, candles left unattended, hot water temperatures set too high — but many of these dangers can be avoided with common sense. Other dangers in your home, however, may take more finesse to avoid and still others completely fly under the radar. What are they? Take a look at 10 dangerous things you probably have in your home, and then add your own to this list in the comments below. (See also: How to Eat Fewer Pesticides)

The opportunity fund: How to be prepared for lucky breaks

Note: This article is from J.D. Roth, who founded Get Rich Slowly in 2006. J.D.’s non-financial writing can be found at More Than Money, where he recently wrote about how to retire early.

The first step on the road to financial freedom is to eliminate debt. The second is to save for emergencies. Your emergency fund acts as self-insurance, cushioning you from small disasters.

Life is full of unexpected surprises, many of which cost money — a thief smashes the windshield of your car, your son gets sick, your water heater overflows. When people live paycheck to paycheck without any savings, they’re at the mercy of these small crises. Sometimes a tiny problem becomes a huge one because the victim didn’t prepare for possible trouble.

Best Money Tips: Commonly Overlooked Tax Deductions

Welcome to Wise Bread's Best Money Tips Roundup! Today we found some stellar articles on commonly overlooked tax deductions, where you can learn home improvement skills, and tips for escalating your productivity.

Top 5 Articles

10 Commonly Overlooked Tax Deductions for 2014 — Don't overlook the tax deductions of state sales tax and jury duty pay. [PT Money]

Where Can I Learn Home Improvement Skills? — You can learn home improvement skills at your local hardware store or via technology. [Lifehacker]

The Simple Way to Make Multitasking Actually Work

At the moment, as I am working on this article, I am also watching television, checking Twitter and Facebook, texting with my daughter, checking on dinner, and chatting with a colleague on G+ chat. I am attempting to multitask, but judging by how long it has taken me to write these first few lines of text, I don't think I'm all that successful at it. (See also: "Life Hacks" You Shouldn't Bother With)

The 5 Best Bluetooth Headsets

Bluetooth headsets sometimes get a bad rap for their sci-fi aesthetic and the way they can confuse the people around you into thinking you're talking to them. But for those who live on-the-go and on their phones, it can be an essential accessory. To help you sift through the features that are actually important and the ones that aren't, we've brought you the list of our top five picks for Bluetooth headsets.

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