Articles on Personal Finance

3 Step Strategy To Airfare Deals

I am going to come out and say it: there are no secrets to finding a bargain ticket every time you fly. However, by understanding how the system works, you can develop a deal findi

Wills: The Basics

It's not all about money and cash grabs in making a will: issues like guardians for your children, protection of assets and belongings, and saving income tax are things that ca

25 Things I Don't Want to Regret Once I Retire...

I met with an elderly couple today in their home to execute some planning documents. While neither of them ever had jobs as professionals and neither inherited any money from fa

More than just inflation

With prices up, price statistics that look preposterous to anyone who shops, and the Fed trying to thread the needle of preventing a recession without letting inflation run out of

Farecast your Flights for Big Savings

Does searching for the cheapest flight online sap away at your will to live? Are you as confused as I am by the numerous discrepancies found among all the "guaranteed cheapest

Debunking Common Estate Planning Myths

Given the tens of millions of Americans nearing the Golden Years, the fields of retirement and estate planning are expanding by leaps and bounds. Along with the growth of work f

How to live with inflation

Of the various ills the economy can face, inflation is simultaneously the worst for society as a whole, and yet the easiest for individuals to deal with successfully. The strategi

Why “PayDay” Loans from Uncle Sam Just Aren’t Worth It

Many of you may remember my recent admission to being a former p

Maximize Your Car's Efficiency With 'Hypermiling'

'Hypermiling,' a set of driving techniques for maximizing a car's fuel efficiency, received a lot of attention this summer. However, the idea of driving 50 mph, rolling

Estate Planning: Why Me?

What is an estate, what makes up an estate plan, why do I need one, and how do I go about planning? These and more questions are answered in this matter-of-fact article.

How often do you get your paycheck?

One of the BlogHer featured posts talked about a mis-match between pay dates and credit card due dates. It reminded me of just how much I used to agonize over this issue, back bef

Marketing Messes With Your Head

A new study out today in PNAS confirms what we always suspected was true. The higher the price you pay for a product, the greater your subjective experience of pleasure in the prod

How the Banks Were Fleeced -- A Primer to Mortgage Fraud

Have you seen homes in your neighborhood sell for unreasonable prices and quickly end up in foreclosure? If this is a common occurence then perhaps there is a ring of thieves commi

The line between frugal and crazy

You don't have to go very far down the path of being frugal to reach the point where people start questioning your sanity. (You bicycle to work? Even though you have a perfec

Cross your fingers and hope you’re not caught by Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) this year.

If you don’t know what the AMT is, you may well be in for a shock this year. And if your household income is around $75,000 or more, gross, then AMT could very well take a big bite

How to Travel in Style...For Free

How would you like to travel in style for the cost of the most basic economy option? All you have to do is ask.

How much do I need to retire? How much can I spend?

Especially for people hoping to retire early, but also those just hoping they can retire at all, there's the question, "How much money do I need?" People who are alr

Save up to 20% on Gas

Find out how to get cheap gas, energy-saving driving tips, maps, and more...

MIB: The Big Brother for Insurance Companies

MIB. No, it's not the alien-hunting agency Men In Black; it's the illness-hunting agency Medical Information Bureau. And you may not know it, but they could

Unauthorized Video Game Hack May Net Consumers Up to $35

Discussion over the original version of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas might have ended with its recall in 2005. A recent class-a