Budgeting Tips to Keep Your Finances Healthy

Consider if you will, the concept of a budget. It's one of those things that, like a diet or exercise regimen, is a good thing to follow, will do you a world of good, but is quite frankly a fun-murdering pain in the rear end. (more…)

Finding Freedom on A Fixed Income

If retirement is looming on the horizon and you're concerned about your financial capacity, here are some tips to help ease your mind. Anyone can stretch their budget and still enjoy those golden years. First thing's first: Sit down with your spouse or significant other and make a list of your combined expenses along with examining your income. If you see something that can be cut from your list of expenses, then get rid of it. Some things many people cut right off the bat include premiu...

Fiscal Fasting, Trimming Your Budget, and Other Creative Financial Tactics

Trying to manage your finances can be hard. Just figuring out a budget is difficult and then comes the hard part – sticking to it. Here are some actionable effective and creative tips to get your finances organized and start thinking about how your career path fits in with these goals. To be creative, we usually have to step outside of our work-a-day world and look at our lives and those around us with a fresh perspective. When I set out to tackle my financial problems, like not being able t...

Your Ideas Will Fail if You Don’t Emphasize Them

Many people out there in the world have great ideas about what could make quite a bit of money. Unfortunately, most of them put in a halfhearted effort in order to make their dreams come true. The result is absolute failure. It's difficult to be in the right place at the right time in order to have financial security dropped onto your lap without putting in the effort to make it happen. If you don't put in the work it takes to make the project become a success, then you've already failed before ...

7 Places to Cut Corners with Your Household Budget

We all wish we could stretch our household budgets at least a little bit further. Unfortunately, for most of us, at first glance, it seems like every penny is already spoken for - sometimes by multiple expenses! It's so easy to get bummed out and think that the only way to make our money go further is to win the lottery or for some monetary miracle to drop into our laps. Here's the truth: There are ways to stretch your budget. There are ways to pay down your debt and pay in to your savings a...

Should You Join a Members-Only Warehouse Club?

For some people, the only way to shop is big. There are stores that cater only to people who want to buy big and store big without spending big. Called warehouse clubs, wholesale clubs, or members-only clubs, the three major American stores that sell wholesale to regular people are BJ's, Costco, and Sam's Club. All three offer similar products, atmosphere, and prices. All come with upsides as well as negatives, and all three have loyal customer bases that wouldn't shop anywhere else. Here's ...

Get a Handle on Your Budget with Personal Finance Software

Take control of your financial future by getting your bills and bank accounts in order with personal finance software. The programs - which range from free to low-cost to the type with all sorts of bells and whistles - help you get a handle on where your money is being spent and stick to a budget. You might think you're doing a good job at saving money, but financial software - which comes either online or as a desktop program - can show you those everyday lunches out of the office and weekly m...

Why You Should Perform a Personal Audit

Learning how to responsibly handle personal finance often comes from observing others – both examples of good and bad money management. One example that should be ignored is demonstrated in the daily news - Uncle Sam. The U.S. government continues to live on the edge of default while owing trillions of dollars of debt amidst a stream of never-ending requests for more resources to pay the bills... demonstrating exactly what you shouldn’t do. How Washington handles the largest economy in the world...

Going Back to School? Follow These Tips for Saving Money on Tuition

There are a lot of reasons to choose to go back to school. Maybe you're ready for a career change. Perhaps you've been forced into having a career change (quite common given the economy). Maybe you're finally ready to finish your degree. Whatever the reason, one thing is universal: College is expensive, and figuring out how to afford it is a challenge. Most people approach college tuition the same: They focus on trying to earn or save money to help them afford the astronomical cost of sch...

9 Pointers for Building Up Your Savings Account

In an uncertain economy, having a meaty savings account is critically important. You never know when you might lose your job or when some other economically taxing situation will befall you, so you want to be prepared for such times. Fortunately, there are many simple methods that can be employed in order to build up a savings account. Here, we'll discuss the top nine ways to do so. Make a budget and stick to it. Identify how much money you need every month for basic living expenses -...