It’s not any secret that my husband and I are vying to be homeowners. Home ownership has always been a goal of ours, but it has often taken the back burner to more pressing things, like graduate school, job training requirements, and paying down the last $14,000 of our student loan debt.
We’ve been able to get through most of these financial hurdles by downsizing and also building up a side hustle income, such as freelancing, that has allowed us to pay down debt and save.
But now, we’ve added...
There are hundreds of personal finance books out there. There are so many to choose from that it can be overwhelming. However, if you’re looking for a straightforward guide who speaks in plain English and wants to help you become a financial success, look no further than Barbara Friedberg.
Barbara Friedberg is a portfolio manager and finance instructor. She is also the author of the blog, Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance. We can now add to her credentials, author of How to Get Rich: ...
Last week, I decided to have a big splurge. I bought an international plane ticket last minute to go home and visit my family.
I had some time off of work, it was Mother’s Day, and it was also a few days before my birthday.
While I hadn’t planned on seeing my family until the holiday season, I really missed them, and I wanted to go.
Plane tickets to my hometown are pretty expensive, and there are always other costs involved in seeing my family, including meals in the airports, gas, etc....
Frugality gets a bad rap. I’m guessing that it’s because being frugal is often confused with being a miser. You know, those people who won’t spend money on anything. Those people who drive 5 miles out of their way to get gas for 3 cents less per gallon. Those people who take their dates to a restaurant during half price happy hour and will only let the date order appetizers. You know the ones.
Then, there is also the misconception that frugality doesn’t matter. ...
The temptation to spend is all around us. In fact, I would argue that it’s almost inevitable that we want to spend something at least once every day and that it takes self control and forethought to have a “no spend” day.
So, why do we feel the need to spend every day, and what can we do to try to avoid this temptation altogether?
Well, below are 5 ideas that can help anyone, regardless of your age and financial status.
Turn Off The TV
When we watch TV, we are bombarded with mass marketing...
When in the process of paying off debt, you’ll find that you’ll do pretty much anything to try and make more money to pay off that debt a lot faster. Let’s face it—being poor sucks, and watching your hard-earned money go toward debt repayments is a total downer. For this reason, garage sales are often touted as a great way to give your debt repayment morale a boost when you need it most.
If the idea of throwing a garage sale is just too daunting, break it up in these simple to-do chunks to...
Australians have become better savers, with the household savings rate recently climbing to around 10 per cent of disposable income. Yet with the 2012 RaboDirect National Savings Barometer finding nearly half of all working Australians have only a month’s worth of savings in the bank, there is still plenty of room for improvement.
While doing a budget, putting money aside regularly and saving for a rainy day are all sound policies, there are many innovative ways to save money.
Change spending habits
Impulse...
My husband and I recently went on a vacation to New York and we learned some tips for saving money on our New York City vacation. While we’ve been saving for the trip for four months, technically you could say we started saving up for the trip two years ago. Here are our tips for saving money while on a trip in New York:
Book Free Flights
Living in California, the cross-country flight to New York was one of the largest expenses of our trip. New York was definitely on our list of must-do trips since...
The average age of first time home ownership in the United States in the last 10 years has varied from 30 to 32 years of age, depending on the economy (Economists Outlook). My guess is that it might also depend on the area of the country people reside in. Certainly buying a house in rural Iowa is much more affordable than buying a home in the suburbs of Chicago or New York City.
My husband and I are well above the average age for first time home ownership, but we’re finally starting to...
Sometimes it seems that most money tips are just aimed at the pros, so below I’ve included several tips that will work for absolutely anyone. Enjoy!
Track What You Buy So You Don’t Overspend
It sounds hard, but really tracking what you spend doesn’t take much time or effort. All you need is a little notebook or a handy iPhone app that keeps you in check. I personally kick it old school and write down my expenses in my planner, but you have to do what works for you.
Use Credit Cards...