Articles on Personal Finance

Book Review: The Trap

For more than two years now writing at Wise Bread, my whole thesis has been that frugality leads to freedom—if you can live cheaply enough, you can choose whatever work calls you,

Financial IQ Test: How Healthy Are Your Bank Accounts?

Following is a Financial IQ Test, designed to help you determine how healthy your bank accounts –- and your interaction with them -– are. Tally up your score and see how you fare.

Flying With Valuables? Keep Them Safe And Carry A Gun!

Worried about the safety of your valuables when you fly? Carry a gun and you'll keep them safe.

Best of Personal Finance Roundup: 20+ Amazing Fitness Blogs to Inspire You

Welcome to Wise Bread's Best of Personal Finance roundup. Today, we look at some amazing blogs that can help you get back on the fitness track, the best way to get out of a parking

Five Tips to Sell Any Home Fast

No matter the market, if you use these five steps, you'll sell your home fast.

Book Review: Complicit - How Greed and Collusion Made the Credit Crisis Unstoppable

This week a government committee is investigating the cause of the financial crisis by interrogating bank titans what exactly went wrong. Complicit: How Greed and Collusion Made th

How to Prepare for a Home Purchase in 2010

The housing and mortgage industries took a giant leap backwards last year. Read about what you need to do if you are finally ready to buy the home you've been looking for.

Home Loans

Getting a home loan is a necessary part of the process of buying a home for most people. It can take extra work to get a good loan, but if you're familiar with the process and know

Best of Personal Finance Roundup: Make Sure Your Haiti Donation goes to Quake Aid

Welcome to Wise Bread's Best of Personal Finance roundup. Today, we tell you tips for making sure that your Haiti relief donations are getting where they need to go, 8 great movie

How Cleaning Your Wallet Benefits You Financially

It is not quite time for spring cleaning, but if you are a slightly disorganized person like me you may benefit financially by cleaning your wallet or purse. Here are some reasons

Best of Personal Finance Roundup: How to Make Homemade Poptarts

Welcome to Wise Bread's Best of Personal Finance roundup. Today, we share a recipe for homemade poptarts, the right way to rock a t-shirt, and frugal ways to train for a marathon (

When It's Time to Destroy Debt, Start With a Goal

I'm doing a 90-day series on air and online to help people destroy debt. My first installment concerns the single most important thing you can do: establish goals. Read and watch f

Best Money Tips: 5 Beloved Tax Perks with Ugly Downsides

Welcome to Wise Bread's Best Money Tips roundup. We look at five yummy tax breaks that could have dire consequences, how to make the most scrumptious Italian beef stew, and how

How Debt Fools People

People who have a natural aversion to debt often wonder how some people get themselves into such terrible problems with debt. Don't they know how much it costs? Don't they understa

2010 Predictions from Wall Street and Main Street: Who's Smarter?

Every December for the last five years Money Talks News has hooked up with David Wyss, the chief economist for giant research firm Standard & Poors. We sit him down in a studio and

Learn to Invest in 2010: 4 Steps to Educating Yourself

Interested in learning to invest this year but not sure how to accomplish that? By following 4 steps, you can take your knowledge to the next level (and the next, and the next) and

Contributing to a Roth Versus Paying Down Debt

This post was prompted by a reader question, but it's an issue that many people face—we see versions of it all the time in the forums.

Best of Personal Finance Roundup: 5 Ways to Reduce How Much You Need to Retire by $300,000

Welcome to Wise Bread's Best of Personal Finance roundup. Today, we look at how you can reduce your necessary retirement bill by $300,000, 12 tips for being the best thrift store s

5 Reasons Not to Apply for a Loan Modification in the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP)

The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) rolled out last year currently has over 700,000 people in trial modifications and a little over 30,000 in "permanent" modifications.

Credit Scores

Maintaining a good credit score is important, no matter what your financial goals are.