Money Tips Network

It is easy to become comfortable and complacent.

You get a job. You work there for a few years. You get to know the people there and the routine. You earn a few perks for being there for a while, such as a bit of additional vacation. It’s easy to just settle in and ride.

You wake up to your financial situation. You make a bunch of moves to pay down debt and establish some new routines that aren’t as costly. Eventually, you start to simply enjoy the lower bills and it all seems to come easily. You just settle in and ride.

Settling in is the easy thing to do. Usually, it’s the path of least resistance, so unless you’re consciously making other choices, you’ll probably wind up doing just that.

The problem is that “settling in and riding” is more dangerous than you think. Settling in assumes that the thing that comes easy today will last forever.

This post comes from Sean T. Johnston at our partner site Zing.

If you’re like most Americans, you probably don’t pay much attention to creating impenetrable passwords for your online accounts. According to Splashdata, an online password provider, the list of the top online passwords are just terrible from a security standpoint.

The good news is that “password” is no longer the number one password online (it’s now number two!). The bad news is that “123456” took the top spot; “abc123” and “111111” were also among the top 10.

C’mon people, really? Your financial information, emails and personal data are online, and the only thing protecting your information from people with nefarious intentions is “123456”?

Claes Bell

You probably know someone (or multiple people if you’re particularly unlucky) who has tried to sell you so-called “multilevel marketing” products such as Herbalife, Amway, Juice Plus, Avon, Mona Vie, Vemma or Arbonne. If you’re even more unlucky, they’ve tried to recruit you to sell the product, too, waxing poetic about the amazing quality of [...]

‘Multilevel marketing’ schemes like Herbalife, Amway and Juice Plus are bullshit and here’s why from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

This blog was posted by Claes Bell

A few years ago, I wrote about how to lend money to friends without letting it ruin the friendship. To quickly recap, a friend needed help paying the rent. She had never asked me for money in all the years we’d been friends, so I knew she had to be in a pretty desperate situation. In fact, she was even on medical leave and tried to return to work early, but her doctor (and therefore her employer) refused to sign off on it.

You may eagerly anticipate a getaway or a weeklong escape, but traveling isn't always a bargain. The cost of airfare, hotels, transportation, food, and entertainment can hit your pocket hard. And if you don't plan well, you can easily overspend in these areas. (See also: Get Your Travel Rewards on the Ground)

Here's a look at 10 things you're probably paying too much for when traveling, plus tips on how to pay less.

Here's the latest in my series of millionaire interviews, discussions with everyday people who have practical tips and insights into growing and managing wealth.

My questions are in bold italics and their responses follow in black.

Let's get started...

How old are you (and spouse if applicable, plus how long you've been married)?

I’m 49 and my wife is 42.  We’ve been married for 10 years.

Do you have kids/family (if so, how old are they)?

No

What area of the country do you live in (and urban or rural)?

Fairly high-cost Midwestern suburban area

What is your current net worth?

$1.9M

I’ll start off this post with a couple of questions:  What comes easy to you?  What comes hard to you?

Hopefully you have a good answer to these questions.  Or several good answers to these questions.  Pretty much everyone has things they do well, and things that they screw up royally when they try them.  Usually they know what these things are.

This may be a harder question, though:  Have you admitted to yourself what comes hard to you?

This is a different question entirely.  Knowing what you’re not that good at is one thing.  Fully embracing that fact and writing it off is another.  Doing that takes more time and more soul-searching, and is a bit more painful perhaps, but it can freeing to do this.

Math always will be hard for some people

Starting with a net worth of less then zero to having a net worth over a million before I was 30, this series will show you how my family and I did it. This is the first of the series of my journey to becoming a millionaire in eight years, or should I say how I acquired a […]

The post How I Became A Millionaire Yearly Update 2002 first appeared on Gen X Finance.

The post How I Became A Millionaire Yearly Update 2002 appeared first on Gen X Finance.

Real estate often seems to be the "ugly stepchild" of the personal finance community.

Most individuals understand that there is something there, but don't talk about it because it appears mysterious, complicated, and only for the super rich. However, I believe real estate investing can be used by anyone looking to broaden their financial outlook and can add significant potential for building wealth to their plans. (See also: 5 Investing Basics)