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If You’re Getting a Refund, You’re Doing Something Wrong
2007-04-14 00:00:00 For a lot of people, tax season is all about getting that nice fat refund check from the Federal Government and, to a lesser extend, from your state as well. While it’s certainly nice to get this “unexpected” sum of money each and every year, it’s probably not the best way to go. By getting a big refund check, ... More About: Fun , Methi , Fund , Wrong , Something
Why Corn is Making Everything More Expensive
2007-04-11 00:00:00 In case you haven’t noticed, the price of groceries has started to slowly inch higher, thanks in large part to the huge increase in demand for corn. So, does this mean that corn is driving up the price of corn?!? Sounds like quite the paradox. Anyway, the reason corn is in such high demand (thus driving up the price ... More About: Corn , Everything , Pens , King , Ever
Confessions of a Miser
2007-04-11 00:00:00 I have a confession to make - I love money more than almost anything. Don’t get me wrong, my family and friends come first, but I don’t know if I can think of anything else that would be ahead of money on my list. And because I’m this way, I’ve been called miserly, stingy, tightfisted, penny ... More About: Confessions , Confession , Sion , Miser , Fess
Where Were These Financial Pundits When Housing Was Booming?
2007-04-11 00:00:00 Thanks to the recent down turn in the housing market and the increase in mortgage defaults, it seems like the popular thing for personal finance gurus to write about is how we all should have seen this coming or what you should look for if you’re shopping for a mortgage. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think ... More About: Financial , Housing , Sing , When , Here
Why Corn is Making Corn More Expensive
2007-04-09 00:00:00 In case you haven’t noticed, the price of groceries has started to slowly inch higher, thanks in large part to the huge increase in demand for corn. So, does this mean that corn is driving up the price of corn?!? Sounds like quite the paradox. Anyway, the reason corn is in such high demand (thus driving up the ... More About: Corn , Pens , King , More , Maki
Take it Easy on the Alcohol
2007-04-02 00:00:00 A while back I wrote about how much money smokers could save (and gain) by simply giving up the cancer sticks.?? At the time, I meant to continue with the “series” and talk about alcohol, but I got busy writing about other topics and just never got around to it. So, I figured it was ... More About: Take , Alcohol , Easy , The A
Money Rule #1 - Be Accountable for Your Actions
2007-03-29 00:00:00 Look, I know I reference MSN Money and Yahoo! Finance on here all the time, and I’m always talking about good articles that I find on the sites - but today, I seriously found the single greatest money managing article of all time. I’m not kidding. A while back, I wrote about how personal responsibility (living ... More About: Action , Your , Tabl , Table
Do You Know What Type of Mortgage You Have?
2007-03-28 00:00:00 If you’re someone who is fiscally responsible and has to make sure that every I is dotted and every T is crossed, this post is going to make your blood boil. If you’re someone who has no idea about your finances, this post will hopefully be a wake up call. According to an article published ... More About: What , Mortgage , Hat , Now What , Type
What is the Alternative Minimum Tax and Why Should You Be Worried?
2007-03-27 00:00:00 With April 15th (okay, this year your taxes are due April 17th) right around the corner, it’s time to go ahead and take a look at a relatively obscure tax law that could ultimately force you to pay a lot of money to good old Uncle Sam. The Alternative Mini mum Tax (AMT) was introduced in the ... More About: What , Hat
The Top 10 Reasons Why You Aren’t Rich (Yet)
2007-03-27 00:00:00 Because my life essentially revolves around finding interesting articles on the internet, I think I came across a pretty insightful article surrounding the reasons that most of us never become rich. The article, written by Jeffrey Strain and published on TheStreet.com - a site dedicated to personal finance, but is mostly about stocks and mutual ... More About: Rich , Top 10 , Reason , Reasons , Sons
Does $1 Million Still Get it Done?
2007-03-24 00:00:00 Remember when you used to think $1 million meant you could afford anything? When it meant that you’d have a gigantic house with the nicest cars and essentially you’d be able to do whatever you felt like doing whenever you felt like doing it? It turns out that if you asked many of the people that ... More About: Lion , Stil , Still , Million , Done
The Biggest Cost of Car Ownership
2007-03-24 00:00:00 Aside from buying a home, the second largest purchase most of us will make in our lives is when we buy a car. And because cars have seemingly become more status symbols than modes of transportation, it feels like the cost of buying a car continues to shoot up. After we buy the car, we’re still ... More About: Cost , Owner , Ship , Owners
How Much Does March Madness Really Cost?
2007-03-21 00:00:00 Today I came across a pretty interesting article on MSN Money, which was about the amount of money employers lose thanks to the Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament. When you look at the numbers, it really is pretty staggering, and it may explain why your boss always seems to get pretty grumpy around this time of ... More About: March Madness , Cost , Real , March , Much
Dealigg.com - Great Source for Online Deals
2007-03-20 00:00:00 It’s amazing the things you can find on the internet, even when you’re not really looking for anything in particular. Lately a buddy and I have been working on a Pligg based website - Pligg is an opensource program that allows people to set up user driven sites like Digg - and as part of ... More About: Great , Source , Online , Deal , Line
Why Isn’t Personal Finance Taught in School?
2007-03-16 00:00:00 Lately I’ve been reading a lot about personal finance articles on Yahoo! Finance and MSN Money - stuff by Suze Orman, David Bach, Liz Pulliam Weston, people like that - and I kept thinking the same thing after reading each of the articles: this stuff is actually pretty simple. Despite the relative simplicity of personal ... More About: Personal , Personal Finance , School , Person
Why Isn’t Personal Finance Emphasized in School?
2007-03-16 00:00:00 Lately I’ve been reading a lot about personal finance articles on Yahoo! Finance and MSN Money - stuff by Suze Orman, David Bach, Liz Pulliam Weston, people like that - and I kept thinking the same thing after reading each of the articles: this stuff is actually pretty simple. Despite the relative simplicity of personal ... More About: Personal , Personal Finance , School , Size
American Households Are Wealthier, More in Debt Than Ever
2007-03-14 03:09:00 If you’re an America n and you’re reading this, congratulations, according to an article published on MSN, the Federal Reserve says you’re probably richer now than you were at this point last year. Unfortunately, that might be the last piece of good news you read in this article. So, here comes the double shot of bad news - the average household debt continued to grow and because most of the increase in household wealth can be attributed to a rise in the stock market, much of that new wealth has been erased in the recent market swoon. According to the data published in the MSN article, the total American household worth was $55.6 trillion at the end of 2006, which was up roughly $1.4 trillion from the same point in 2007. Unfortunately though, the total American household debt grew by 8.6%. Despite that relatively high figure, debt grew less than the 11.7% recorded in 2005. I guess I was wrong; there was some additional good news in here after all. Anyway, tho... More About: House , Wealth , Household
How to Blow Through a Large Windfall
2007-03-13 00:00:00 I decided to write this post the Friday of the huge Mega Millions lotto drawing, when the jackpot had reached a record $370 million. Unfortunately, I just never got around to publishing it, so you’ll have to excuse the tardiness of everything. That being said, some lotto somewhere is going to increase in size ... More About: How To , Wind , Through , Fall , Large
Bargain Shopping at its Best
2007-03-10 02:52:03 I came across a very interesting and helpful article the other day at MSN Money that I’ve sent to practically everyone I know, and I figured it was about time that I shared it on Saving Without A Budget. Essentially, the article talks about how easy it is to save a lot of money on your every day purchases if you’re willing to do a little bit of research and wait for the deals to happen In reading the article, it seems to me that the best way for you to save money on anything you purchase is to combine coupons with rebates. Whether it’s a bottle of mustard at the grocery store or tax software at Staples or Office Depot, there are plenty of ways for you combine these great money saving items so that you end up paying nothing for your purchases. For example, here’s what the author had to say about how she’s been able to save lots of money over the years using coupons and rebates: “For nearly three years I haven’t paid a dime for shampoo, tooth... More About: Shopping , Shop , Bargain , Best , Ping
Money = Time, Spend Them With Care
2007-03-10 02:52:03 I’m sure you’ve heard of the expression “time equals money,” or some derivative of it, but have you actually thought about how true that statement really is? I think after you read this you’ll have a better appreciation for both how you earn your money and what you ultimately spend that money on. Think about it; for us working stiffs that have to go out each and every day and earn our money, we are essentially trading our time (the eight or however many hours you work in a given day) for a day’s pay. So, when you spend that money, you’re trading your time (bits and pieces of your life) for whatever it is that you’re buying. To put things in perspective, let’s take a hypothetical person - Ralph, who makes roughly $25 per hour - and see how much of his time he’s giving up to make some run of the mill purchases. After all taxes, health insurance, etc., are taken out of his paycheck, Ralph’s take home pay is $16 per ho... More About: Money , Time , With , Care , Them
Trick Yourself Into Thinking You’re Poor and End Up Rich
2007-03-10 02:52:03 While enjoying my President’s Day today I came across an interesting article on Yahoo! Finance that listed ways that you can trick yourself into saving large sums of money (over time of course). All things considered, it was a pretty interesting article that had a very non-conventional way for you to build up a nest egg. Essentially, what the article was advocating was that you do your best to trick yourself into thinking that you’re poor and that you need to save every dollar possible. If, heaven forbid, you actually think each purchase through and are able to convince yourself that you can’t afford it (even if you can), you’re more than likely going to walk away from the item and keep more of your money! To me, this pretty much equates to what I had previously written about regarding practicing some good old self restraint while trying to determine whether your purchase is a need or a want. Unfortunately though, it doesn’t appear that this is advic... More About: Rich , Rick , Yourself , Self , Your
Switch to Compact Fluorescent Bulbs
2007-03-10 02:52:03 Okay, first off, let me preface this article by saying that I just watched An Inconvenient Truth and, in some small part, this is my very feeble attempt at trying to do my part to help the environment. In that same vein, if this article can help you save a couple of bucks at the same time, then I definitely feel like I’ve done my job! Anyway, today I’m going to encourage you to go ahead and switch from your regular incandescent light bulbs. Lately, a lot has been made of these relatively new bulbs - so much so, that the California State Legislature is looking to pass a bill that would outlaw the sale of regular incandescent light bulbs within the next decade. So why all the fuss? Well, according to Energystar.gov: “If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR [compact fluorescent bulb], we would save enough energy to light more than 2.5 million homes for a year and prevent greenhouse gasses equivalent to the emissions of nearly 800,000 ... More About: Comp , Cent , Fluor , Switch , Compact
Environmentally Friendly Investing
2007-03-10 02:52:03 It looks like investing for green now has a double meaning. A couple of years ago, if you would have asked someone about “green investing” they probably would have told you that you were just trying to make some cash. Today, “green investing” not only means investing to make money, but to invest your money in an environmentally friendly way. So, how can you get in on this type of investing? Aside from investing in mutual funds that specialize in these sorts of companies, it seems like there’s really one of two ways for you to invest your hard earned money “greenly”: Invest in companies whose sole purpose is to be environmentally friendly - i.e. companies that focus on recycling, research and development of renewable/alternative fuels, etc. Invest in companies who have put significant resources into making sure they do business in the most environmentally friendly way possible - i.e. making their offices more energy efficient, encourage th... More About: Environment , Mental , Environmental , Men , Investing
Analyze Your “Bad Habits” And Save Lots of Money
2007-03-10 02:52:03 Despite the fact that we’re well into the new year, I’m sure all of us are keeping true to New Year’s Resolutions and are working extremely hard to kick our bad habits. However, if you may have slipped a bit, hopefully this article will help find a financial reason to get back on track. Our bad habits - drinking, smoking, overeating, over spending, etc. - cost us hundreds, if not thousands of dollars each year. We know we shouldn’t do what we’re doing (or at least not to the excess that we do it), yet for some reason we keep on keepin’ on. Now’s as good a time as any to put a stop to that. Kick your bad habits and save a lot of money! First off, let’s “set the mood” and examine what a “bad habit” really is. We’re going to get very elementary with this examination, so please bear with me. Let’s look at the words that make up the term “bad habit.” First off, we have the word “ba... More About: Money , Habits , Your , Save , Bad Habits
Personal Savings Fall to Lowest Levels Since the 1930s
2007-03-10 02:52:03 In what could ultimately end up being terrible news for both those who are trying to save for retirement as well as the American economy in general, the personal savings rate was negative during 2006 and dropped to a 74 year low. During 2006 the personal savings rate for Americans fell to negative 1% - the second year in a row the savings rate was negative. The last time the personal savings rate was this low was when the rate dropped to negative 1.5% during 1933 - when the United States was midst of The Great Depression. So what does this really mean? Essentially it means that Americans spent more money than they earned during 2006. For every $1 that Americans earned during the year, they ended up spending $1.01. 74 years ago, when the personal savings rate was at negative 1.5%, the United States was in the fourth year of The Great Depression - the worst economic period in the country’s history - when people had to borrow money to pay for life’s essentials. Obviously... More About: Personal , West , Person , Lowes , Saving
The Easiest AND Hardest Way to Save Lots of Money
2007-03-10 02:52:03 Turns out one of the easiest ways (theoretically) to save money may simply come down to you asking yourself one single question: “Is this something I NEED or just something I WANT?” If you can ask yourself this question each time you make a purchase, you’re going to set yourself up to save a lot of money over time. A common misperception regarding this question/form of self restraint is that it should only be practiced when you’re purchasing big ticket items - a new video game system, a TV, designer jeans, a car, etc. - and not during your day to day purchases. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. You should be willing to ask yourself on each and every item you purchase whether or not you are fulfilling a need or indulging a want. Even though you might see the most one time savings on big ticket items, over time you’re probably going to net the biggest savings by reducing your impulse buying of smaller, every day items. Here are so... More About: Money , Hard , Save
Federal Reserve Now Worried About Falling Oil Prices
2007-03-10 02:52:03 It looks like that no matter what happens with oil prices, whether they’re rising or falling, it’s going to be a lose/lose situation. According to an article published on CNN.com last Wednesday, the United States Federal Reserve is now concerned that falling oil prices will cause the economy to grow at a more robust pace, which would cause any possible interest rate cuts to be pushed to the wayside. Considering oil related products drive many of the expenses in the United States - the obvious ones being gasoline and heating oils, the not so obvious being airfare, products transported by the trucking industry, etc. - it appears that falling oil and gasoline prices could leave many consumers with lots of extra discretionary income to throw back into the economy. Although oil prices alone wouldn’t be able to justify increasing or decreasing key interest rates, the commodity will be a significant factor regarding where the rates end up. According to the referenced art... More About: Oil , Rice , About , Alli
Should You Take Out A Loan From Mom and Dad?
More articles from this author:2007-03-10 02:52:03 This post is about something near and dear to my heart - hitting up your parents for some of their hard earned cash when you need a little help making a big purchase, or to get through the month. I know, I know, you promise that you’ll pay it back. Anyway, what got me thinking about this was an article by Laura Rowley that I read today on Yahoo! Finance. Her main topic throughout the article was whether or not it’s a good idea to ask your parents for money when you’re attempting to purchase your first home. Rowley hits on a lot of interesting points and essentially says parents should be very cautious when loaning out money to their children. I actually agree that parents shouldn’t whimsically hand out money to their grown children. This may seem like a surprising stance for a 25 year old, quasi-recent college grad to take, but hear me out. I don’t think parents should haphazardly hand out large sums of cash, but I do think that parents should be th... More About: Loan , Take , Should , Mom and Dad 1, 2 |
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