All Entries in the "Personal Finance" Category
Should You Buy or Lease a Car?
Tweet For most Americans, the cost of owning a car (or cars) falls second only to maintaining housing expenses. Generally, you’re left with either buying a vehicle (new or used) or leasing. While leasing is often considered the most expensive decision over time, there are many happy drivers who wouldn’t think of buying a car. [...]
10 Ways Keeping a Budget Can Improve Your Finances
Tweet In simplest terms, a personal monthly budget is a way to account for your money that compares your bills and expenses with your income. Some people create detailed spreadsheets to track every dollar that comes in and goes out while others keep a very high level budget that doesn’t go into as much detail. [...]
What New College Students Need to Know About Money
Tweet Most new college students enter into higher education with their eyes wide open. It’s a milestone in life and for most, it’s the first time to really set out on their own. Unfortunately, there isn’t much financial education to go along with this transition into adulthood and that can spell trouble. There are a [...]
Handling Finances During a Lawsuit Settlement
Tweet When you file a lawsuit against another person or a company, you may stand to receive a large settlement at some point in the future. If you are in line to get a settlement, figuring out how to handle your finances can be a challenge. There are various fees that you have to be [...]
What is Really Making You Poor?
Tweet If you’re a regular reader of topics related to personal finance, you’re probably quite familiar with seeing statements that suggest people are poor, or at best living paycheck to paycheck because of their choice to buy coffee, watch cable television, or buy books instead of borrowing them from the library. To validate this point [...]
How to Buy a New Car the Right Way
Tweet Next to buying a home, buying a new car is right up there as one of the largest and more stressful financial decisions you’ll make. After all, buying a vehicle is a commitment and your decision will likely stick with you for a few years and become an integral part of your life. That’s [...]
Five Unique Ways to Make Money
Tweet Ok, that’s it. There’s hardly nothing I won’t do to make a buck. That is if it’s legal and moral. Let me rephrase that statement. There’s nothing that I won’t do within reason to make a buck. I’ve been known to sign up for studies and surveys and clinical trials. I’ve been a merchandiser [...]
Build an Emergency Fund, Pay Off Debt, or Save for Retirement? Three Competing Goals That All Need Your Attention Today
Tweet Should You Save for Retirement or Build Up Savings? And What About Debt? What does building up an emergency fund, paying off debt, and saving for retirement all have in common? They all need to be done, and sooner rather than later. The problem is that for many people, all three of these issues [...]
How to Find and Claim Unclaimed Money and Property
Tweet unclaimed property is money, financial accounts, or items that a business or government entity cannot find the owner of. This most often happens when the owner moves and does not provide a forwarding address, or when the owner dies and the heirs are unaware of the property. The exact amount of time it takes [...]
How Does Your Money Measure Up Compared to Other Generation Xers?
Tweet Have you ever wondered how you compare to others like you when it comes to money? That’s to say, how your income and investing goals measure up. It’s an interesting question. Obviously, you can’t change what other people are doing, but sometimes it’s just nice to know where you fit in the puzzle. And [...]
College Perks Students Won’t Want to Miss
Tweet From free bicycles to laptop computers, colleges around the country are sweetening their amenity packages in an attempt to lure new students to their campuses. State-of-the-art gyms, smoothie bars and luxury housing facilities are just a few services offered by schools looking to increase enrollment. Competitive scholarship packages, revamped dining plans and tickets to [...]
If You Have to Think About If You Can Afford It, You Can’t
Tweet Take a moment and think back to the last time you picked up a coffee on your way to work or stood in front of a vending machine deciding on a snack. Were you asking yourself if you could afford this purchase? Of course not. Sure, dropping a couple bucks on a fancy coffee [...]
Avoid Financial Paralysis by Analysis
Tweet Let me guess. You want to do something to better your financial situation, but you haven’t taken action yet because you’re still researching your options? You are not alone. When it comes to money, we are notoriously meticulous and want to make sure we’re making the right decision. It only makes sense because we’ve [...]
Can You Afford to Have Kids in This Economy?
Tweet Having children is a thought many couples are thrilled to share. They picture their wonderful family, fully equipped with 2.5 children and a Labrador or Golden retriever, and a nice home in a quiet neighborhood. Unfortunately, that aspect of the American dream isn’t as picture-perfect as it once was ‒ nor is it as [...]
Money as a Relationship Builder
Tweet You’ve probably heard it before but I’m here to say it again.  Bickering over money is ranked as the number one reason the majority of couples fight within their relationships and marriage.  To be honest, this statistic does not surprise me at all.  Whether it’s fighting over how to spend money or how to manage personal [...]
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