Poor spending habits can snuff out your savings, just like the moon snuffs out the sun in a solar eclipse. The sun comes back out, but will your savings? Today many of us in the US got a celestial treat: the first total solar eclipse in nearly a century. At the place where I work … Read more
Impulse purchases can break budgets. Here are some tips to arm yourself with to avoid the urge … Unplanned purchases can derail the best of budget intentions. Retailers have brought the art of getting you to open your wallet into a science, with visually-appealing end-cap displays, buy-one-get-one offers, and small, high-markup items right at checkout. … Read more
Processing fees of all kinds nickel and dime us all the time. Here’s how to reduce them … Let’s start off with something we can all agree on: Fees suck. Late fees. Overdraft fees. ICANN fees. Service fees. Fees, fees, fees. Credit card companies forbid merchants from passing on merchant fees to their customers. Charging fees makes … Read more
What makes a bookkeeping system work? It’s not what you think! I’ve spent the past few days visiting family, including my aunt. (I’ve got but one aunt now, so she’s definitely my favorite!) During my visit, she got out her ledger books of sorts so she could balance out her finances. She prefaced this by … Read more
Payday loan arrangements are awful for the borrower, in case you didn’t know. But if they’re legislated out of existence, who will pick it up? Payday loans (also called check loans) are extremely high-interest loans for people who have few other options. Just about anything else is better than a payday loan. Ironically, the people … Read more
Do you have written financial goals? If you have well thought-out goals, and have written them down, then you’ve already set yourself up favorably to meet them. Perhaps you’ve heard of SMART goals — goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Or … is it Strategic, Meaningful, Ambitious, Results-Based, and Timely? It can … Read more
Track expenses diligently for a whole year, and your time at taxes will be much, much less unhappy … We are a week into the new year. It’s alarming how quickly time flies by, isn’t it? The beginning of a new calendar year is a great time to start tracking your personal finances carefully (though … Read more
If you have the option of paying for something in full, or paying for it in installments, which method do you choose? A number of factors play into making a wise decision.