Credit cards expire. Then they don’t work anymore. Here are actions you should take to keep things running smoothly … My business credit card expires at the end of this month. I had had my brand-spanking-new one on my desk for over a month, and finally activated the card this month. Credit cards expire (and … Read more
When making a big purchase, or even a not-so-big purchase, do you pay in installments? Here’s how to find out … “Pay on the installment plan. Don’t pay now; pay later. Five easy payments of $39.95.” When businesses offer to split up the payments in a large purchase, it usually brings them more business. If … Read more
There is no shortage of personal finance advice available. I’ve been known to produce a bit myself here and there. There are recurring themes like “buy vs. rent,” “spend less than you earn,” “the magic of compounding,” and so forth which are the cornerstones of personal finance, saving, and retirement planning. They’re cornerstones because there’s … Read more
Personal finance boils down to recognizing, and acting on, good deals in their proper context. What’s a wise finance decision for one person could easily be a foolish decision for another. In deciding whether something is a good deal, it’s often useful to quantify its cost in terms of something familiar. While raw amounts like … Read more
A high school friend posted a link to this Mother Jones commentary on an Economist article dealing with education in personal finance. The main point brought out is that “courses in personal finance do not appear to have an impact on adult behaviour.” The article specifically mentions that financial education had no impact on degree … Read more
Free Money Finance was one of the first personal finance blogs I commented on. This was in 2005, so nearly … TEN years ago?! Yikes. FMF is very successful, and I’ve had the pleasure of meeting him in real life. I can attribute what I know of his success to a number of things, and … Read more
As humans, we’re very good at putting on appearances, even when they don’t match our reality. If we have a lot of money, we can appear as if we don’t. If we are just scraping by, we can “put on a good show” and try to appear more affluent than we are. Unless your neighbor … Read more
Personal finance, and the difference between good and bad deals, are always a matter of context. What could be a great deal in one context could be a lousy deal in another. Sometimes spending more money is better than spending less; other times, it’s the opposite. When I read this article on Money Talk News … Read more