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The Christmas shopping season is upon us, and if you decide to indulge in the shopping frenzy, be careful. Not just of your health, but of your wallet. Buying at bargain prices is a worthy thing, but once you start shopping it can be tough to stop. This isn’t just an urban myth, either. Research from [...]
I just returned from a six-week vacation to Bolivia and Peru. Since the beginning of October, I’ve been climbing mountains, exploring ancient ruins, and sipping pisco sours. Many folks dream of taking trips like this, but few people make it happen. (Well, except for Australians it seems. In Peru, I met dozens of Australians who had [...]
I’ve been on the road for the past two months, mostly in Bolivia and Peru, where I was pretty off the grid and didn’t keep up with the news. So I arrived home to find a strange phenomenon: Protesters “occupying” Wall Street. And Oakland. And Portland. And many other places as well.
Most folks understand that buying a new car is — on paper at least — a poor financial decision. Buying a used car generally provides substantial long-term savings. But did you know there’s a growing number of folks who try to buy everything used? Or if not everything, then at least as much as possible.
When I was younger, I carried more than $20,000 in credit card debt, and it took a long time to recover. While credit cards aren’t evil, they can be very dangerous. So if you’re planning to cancel one of your cards, make sure you do it wisely.
As tends to happen, yesterday’s dramatic stock market decline has put some investors on edge. The other day, I talked with my friend who is a financial planner, and he told me that after the market dropped by 15% in early August, he couldn’t keep certain clients from selling. They were scared to be caught [...]
When you’re in debt, one of the toughest problems is knowing where to start. It’s not that you have just one debt. You have several. Or dozens. Which debt should you pay off first?
Just as daily exercise and a sensible diet keep your body healthy and help you avoid costly medical bills, regular home maintenance keeps normal wear-and-tear from developing into emergency repairs.
When a friend or a family members asks to borrow money, your first inclination is probably to help out. You can save yourself a lot of grief by knowing in advance how you'll handle these situations.
You make financial decisions when you’re younger, but it’s your future self that has to pay for them.
A few years ago, the personal saving rate had dwindled to barely one percent. Americans were spending nearly all of their disposable incomes. Now, however, the personal saving rate hovers at about five percent. With all this saving going on, many folks are faced with a burning question: How much should we save, anyhow? How much is enough to survive a financial emergency?
