Personal Finance Articles & News
The World is Not Enough Calling for a More Ethical Approach to Personal Finance
At a time when the entire world’s attention is focused on the problems of world debt, with the Live 8 concerts, the G8 summit in Scotland, the Make Poverty History Campaign (MPH) and the various anti-poverty marches, it seems that everyone wants the world’s governments to behave more ethically towards the manner in which international finance is conducted. This is obviously a laudable attitude to take, and has gained immense momentum with such a groundswell of public opinion that even the ...
Saving Money The Magic 20 Percent
Saving money is not easy and is made more difficult if you have a short-term outlook regarding your personal finances. If, like many people, you are living from one pay cheque to the next, it is difficult to put some money aside for a rainy day or for a summer holiday. But what if you were to change your financial outlook into a medium to long-term one? You might believe that you cannot afford to think ahead and make plans, but in most cases you would be wrong. Most people should be able ...
Planning Ahead with Your Finances
If you, like most people, have not seriously considered what steps you should take for planning your finances and are now planning on buying a house, getting married or having children, you will do well to read David Chilton's book 'The Wealthy Barber'.
What Are We Teaching our 2005 Graduates about Money?
Now that we are in the month of June I can’t help but wonder if we have prepared our new graduates for the responsibility of managing and budgeting their money.
Chex Systems – Why Every American Needs To Guard His Checking Account With His Life
Budgeting is Bothersome
It doesn’t take much for you to get behind on monthly bills, but it sure takes some time to catch up. The comparison in my mind is to weight gain. A one-week vacation can easily pack on 5 to 7 pounds. Losing that weight however, can take a good month of cardio. That’s no fun, and neither is trying to find the extra cash to pay last month’s credit card payment.
Learning the Basics of Handling Money
With prices increasing all the time, saving money can be harder and harder to do. Here are some solutions for saving a little so that you can still meet your needs and still find ways to trim off a little for the future.
Affording a Home
Can you really afford a house? If so, how much house can you afford? To determine this answer will take serious financial planning, and the best time to start is at least six months before buying the home.
Exotic/Luxury Cars = Exotic/Luxury Maintenance and Upkeep
Human emotion puts a lot of people into a bad financial heartache. Especially when it comes to buying a car! Well first of all Exotic/Luxury cars require Exotic/Luxury maintenance and upkeep cost. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines "Luxury" as something that is adding to pleasure or comfort but not absolutely necessary. Luxury cars are not really a need or necessity. It's ok to buy one if you have the excessive cash to buy it and to be able to maintain ...
Understanding Your Finances Can Give You Power And Choice
What is finance and what do you need to know? Finance can mean different things. It may refer to your personal financial situation. It could refer to your investments or a business's investments. It could refer to a credit or loan purchase.
Creating A Household Budget
Creating a budget can be a very difficult task. Although we as consumers know that we need to pay our bills, buy our necessities, and put money away for savings, we don’t really know how to start.
Make or Break Your Retirement!
The Prudential has dubbed those who refuse to leave home as "kippers" or "kids in parents' pockets eroding retirement savings". Recent research concludes 6.8m over-18s live with their parents. Less than half pay rent, and many parents provide cash to spend.
Financial Readiness: Preparing for BRAC (Base Realignment And Closing)
The recommendations for military base closings have been released and the news is not good. If the recommendations are accepted, you will lose your job. So what do you do? Hope for the best, and prepare for the worst.
How To Reap The Rewards With Rewards Programs
Recently, many of these loyalty rewards programs have come to the realization that they must change how they put these programs together if they are going to increase their share of the market.
Saving Money Are You Doing Enough?
It is estimated that we, as consumers, waste an average of 30% of our paychecks on items we don't need or pay way too much for the items we buy. Since 1990, spending is up 30% and debt is up an astounding 80%. What this tells us is, the average consumer is not only buying more but putting much more of a strain on their parcheck, forcing most to overextend themselves with their credit cards.
Financial Fitness Are You Exercising the Right Muscles to become Financially Fit?
Are your financial muscles well toned and healthy or flabby and weak? Do you want to change your relationship with money so you can have control over your financial future or do you want to continue to complain that you don't have enough? Exercise these 10 muscles to achieve Financial Fitness.
How To Survive The Grocery Shopping Blues
If you are the normal consumer, then you've probably experienced the Grocery Shopping Blues. Most supermarkets use this trick to their advantage to squeeze more money out of their customers and turn a tidy little profit for themselves.
Save Money on Gas
Gas prices have soared to unimaginable heights of late. Since most of us are not likely to turn to bikes or horse-drawn buggies we will have to learn to get the most from our gas dollars. Try a few of the following tips to make your gas go farther.
5 Steps to Healthy Spending Habits
Next to our physical health most of us are primarily concerned with our financial health, and with good reason. Although our intentions are usually great our follow-through and discipline generally isn’t. Mere mention of the word budget or cutback sends us into fits.
The Benefits of Banking Online
How many drawers did you have to look through to find a bank statement the last time you needed one? Chances are you did not lay your hands on it as readily as you would have liked. If that is a familiar scenario in your home, help has arrived in the form of online banking. Even if you are among the most organized, online banking offers convenience you can’t beat.
Eight Ways To Sink Yourself Financially
1. Don’t focus on your finances. The reason most people get into debt is because they don’t spend enough time focusing on their finances. You need to get a grasp of where you’re at financially, keep track of your income in relation to expenses and spending habits. 2. Failure to develop a good financial plan No one would imagine going on vacation without planning for it. Yet when finances are concerned, many people don’t plan. A good financial plan can be the difference ...