Recently, I made an “extra” $1,000 off a one-time gig. The earnings were completely unexpected and in addition to my regular, average income, which is why I’m considering it extra cash. If you’re anything like me, whenever you have extra money on hand the ways you could spend that cash quickly add up to more […]
Would You Try These Extreme Ways to Save?
I may enjoy living a frugal lifestyle and saving money where I can, but I don’t live like the people featured on the TLC show Extreme Cheapskates. Honestly, I’ve never even watched an episode of the show after hearing about it from friends and family. I just don’t think I could handle it. But apparently, the show’s […]
Millennials Know They Should Save, So Why Aren’t They Saving?
A recent survey conducted by Wells Fargo showed that 80% of Millennials say they understand the importance of saving. They believe in living below their means and they claim coming of age in the Great Recession has taught them how to survive tough financial times. This is great news, right? Seems like those media outlets […]
Good Investments Can Go Beyond Stocks and Bonds
If someone were to ask me, “what would you consider a good investment?” my immediate response would be something along the lines of, a contribution to a portfolio that contains a mix of total market stock and bond index funds.” That’s it; it really is that simple. Sure, you could get a little fancy by […]
How to Talk to Your Family About Money
Many people consider money a tabooed subject. Along with politics and religion, it’s just not something you talk about in polite conversation. But we do need to be more comfortable when it comes to talking about our finances with our families. No, we don’t need to disclose every little detail about what we make or […]
Why We Chose Not to Purchase Life Insurance
Insurance is a tricky topic. On one hand, I really appreciate the fact that our insurance is there for us should I or my spouse get sick, in a car accident, or have something happen to our home. On the other hand, I really hate the fact that our monthly bills for all this coverage […]
Do You REALLY Know How Much You Need for Retirement?
Do you know how much you really need for retirement? Is it 8 times your ending salary? Is it 25 times your annual expenses at the age you’re leaving work for good? Or is it simply whatever saving 10% of your income for 40 years happens to be? Determining a specific number for retirement is tricky. […]
6 Habits of Financially Successful People
What sets the financially successful apart from others? Is there some secret to being good with money, or developing smart financial skills? Did they just get lucky — were they born rich or did they have a wealthy family member provide financial assistance? Those that have hefty bank accounts and even more impressive investment balance […]
Bad Money Habits and the Excuses We Make for Them
We all have them: our own personal finance vices, our bad money habits. No one can be perfect all the time, and we’re all subject to giving in and spending a little more when we know we shouldn’t, or getting a little lax with tracking our spending and budgeting down to the last cent. Some […]
Earn More Money: Self-Taught Skills to Turn into Profitable Side Hustles
Working full-time in a decent-paying job and still coming up short financially every month? Have you cut expenses where you can, lowered costs where they couldn’t be completely eliminated, and cut back on your spending – but still don’t have enough cash left over to save or invest? It’s time to look at earning more. […]
Can You Distinguish Between Needs and Wants?
Innocent words have a tendency to take on a life of their own. This happens in many ways. One of the most common is when the more repeat something, the more we believe it – even if it’s not necessarily true. Take the example of needs versus wants. We’re typically so flippant about declaring things […]
Where We Can Save Money and Cut Expenses (But Won’t)
I have a small financial confession to make. While I believe in being frugal, while I shun consumerism and I believe in saving more than you spend, and while I frequently preach that we live in a country of abundance and we can all find some place to cut our expenses.. There are some areas of our […]
How to Negotiate to Get What You Want
Even if you’re not a corporate salesperson with strict numbers to hit, or a big-time lawyer with clients to get out of tight spots, you can benefit from becoming a better negotiator. We negotiate all the time in our day to day lives. We work to secure better prices and terms when we make big […]
5 Things You Need to Know Before Becoming a Landlord
Many people view real estate as an excellent source of passive income. Once you put up your initial investment – in other words, once you buy your rental property – all the rest is just gravy when your tenants start writing you a rent check every month. While some people have had significant financial success […]
Millennials in the Workplace: 5 Etiquette Tips for Success
Along with courses in personal finance, our education system seems to be largely lacking in a general course that teaches working Millennials about professional office etiquette. While business majors may get this information, the rest of us typically have to pick up on what’s appropriate and what’s not from our experiences. As Millennials, we’re probably […]
The Great Debate: Save Money or Make Money?
When it comes to building real wealth and dramatically improving your net worth, investing is usually the way to go. And the best way to successfully invest is to start early. This way, you allow your money to compound over time – and compound interest is a far more powerful factor than even throwing tons […]
Living on a Budget: The Difference Between Frugal and Cheap
If you’re living on a budget, you’re doing a great thing for your finances. Tracking your spending and cutting frivolous purchases or excessive expenses is the first step to building wealth. After all, you can’t manage your money properly to see your net worth grow if you have no idea what you’re actually doing with […]
Prioritizing Your Cash Allocations When You’re Paying Off Debt
If you have student loan debt, credit card debt, or a balance on a personal loan, the smart thing to do is pay those debts off as quickly as possible. But as anyone who is currently dealing with debt knows, just because you that obligation to repay doesn’t mean you don’t have other financial priorities. […]
High Cost of Living vs. Low Cost of Living Areas
It’s amazing how much the prices of items and commodities can vary depending on the region in which you live. The cost of groceries, gasoline, and rent and utilities is highly dependent on geographical location, even within the same country. Knowing that living expenses exist on a scale of least expensive to most expensive begs […]
Financial Checklist: 25 Things to Take Care of Before You Turn 25
It’s never too soon to start thinking about money, and more importantly, your own personal finances. But the financial world is huge, and it can be overwhelming to know where to start. To make it a little easier, we’ve compiled a checklist that every twenty-something should be able to use. There are some money matters […]