Articles on Personal Finance

Can you Travel Light? Great! Fly Internationally for Free

Can you travel with carry on luggage only? Do you fly solo? And can you fly last minute? Great! Now you can fly for drastically discounted rates, and sometimes even for free.

Help! My Money Scares Me!: Tips for Educating Yourself Without Feeling Overwhelmed

Do you feel lost at the very idea of having a budget, let alone a comprehensive financial plan? Does it make your head hurt to think about how much you make and how much you spend?

Best Money Tips: WaMu Go Bye-Bye?

Welcome to Wise Bread's Best Money Tips roundup. Is WaMu on the way out? Also, learn to control your ego as a means to control your spending, find out how to bargain the right w

How does the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bailout affect you?

Yesterday Henry Paulson decided to use the power given to him by the housing bailout bill to officially take over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This is a decision that has a huge im

To change the bulb, just remove the bumper. Wait, what? - UPDATED.

I was warned. I had been a loyal Honda owner for my entire driving life. But, after realizing that my Honda Civic Coupe was just too awkward for my growing family, I started lookin

Seller concessions and buyer bargains - What to ask for in the current real estate market.

It is currently a buyer's market for real estate in most of the United States and there are many ways a buyer could negotiate for a deal beyond getting a great price. Here are som

Dealing with Financial Drought: A Recovery Plan

You know how it goes. One minute, you have extra money sitting in the bank just waiting for you to play with it. The next, your car needs repaired, or the cat gets sick, or the roo

6 Random Things I Have Taught My Kids About Money

I’d like to say that I have taught my kids everything they need to know about personal finance, from the basics of banking to the complexities of investing and portfolio management

Health insurance: Two other numbers to look at

Most people, of course, have almost no control over their health insurance: They get what their employer provides (if they have a good job) or else they get nothing. Whether they

How Much Does it Cost Every Time you Get Into Your Car?

I was horrified when I discovered exactly how much it costs me to drive into town for groceries. Do you know exactly how much it costs you?

My Purchase Rang Up Wrong! Could the Law Be on My Side?

Nothing is more irritating that hunting for a bargain, waiting in line, and making that painful purchase -- Nothing except for getting overcharged, that is. While it is all too c

Divining Your Home’s Value, The Quick-and-Dirty Way

It’s the American Nightmare: your neighbor, in an effort to avoid foreclosure, sells his house for thousands less than he paid two years ago, causing your home to plummet in value.

Real Estate Appraisals - Ten things most people just don't understand about them

The homeowner wants to make the sale. The broker wants to make the commission. The lender wants to make the loan. It'd be nice to see all these folks made happy, but first... th

Once Bitten Twice Shy: What is Credit Security Worth to You?

If you have had your identity stolen, you're prepared to bring out the big guns to protect it. Even if you haven't been once bitten, you may be shy. Here are some (arguable but eff

How good writing skills save and earn money

A while ago an article on Wise Bread talked about how complaining via a letter works much more effectively than complaining with phone calls. This made me think about all the othe

Watching ads could be your ticket to a fortune.

Unless it’s Superbowl Sunday, most people don’t sit around watching ads (well, I do, it’s part of my job). But what if watching ads was turned into a lottery ticket? That’s the pre

We Are Our Own Worst Enemy

Today my friend sent me an article titled "We Have Met the Enemy" by Knight Kiplinger, the Editor in Chief of Kiplinger publications. It is a blunt article pointing out that Americ

A Million Bucks By 30: A Book Review

This digestible escapade from Alan Corey details his journey from fed-up college grad to self-made millionaire. But is it practical advice for you?

Think you can afford more house in the exurbs? Think again.

Many people who live in the far-out suburbs move there because they can buy more house for the money than they can in town. As an example from where I live, a house in Champaign-U

Are $1 homes worth buying?

This week a story from The Detroit News reported that homes are being listed in Detroit for $1. One particular $1 home sold for cash after being on the market for 19 days. The buye