Gift cards are this year’s most requested holiday gift, topping the wish lists of nearly 60 percent of adults, according to the National Retail Federation. The good news, as reported by Walletpop, is that recent laws have made gift cards more user-friendly than ever. For example, all cards must now be valid for five years […]
Author Archive | Matt Bell
Now Trending on Twitter: Deals and More Deals
As you search for the best bargains on holiday gifts this year, Mainstreet.com has compiled its picks for great deal sources to follow on Twitter, including: @TweetCheap is a Twitter deal aggregator, searching Twitter to find and tell you about the best coupon codes and other deals it finds. @HeyItsFree finds, you guessed it, stuff […]
Is it Smarter to Pinch Pennies or Dollars?
MSNBC recently compared the benefits of sweating the small financial stuff versus the big stuff. Their conclusion? Both ways work. Penny pinching – clipping coupons, buying store brands, etc. – helped one couple profiled in the story knock out $50,000 of non-mortgage debt and build a healthy emergency fund in less than three years. It’s […]
A Degree in Debt
College seniors who graduated last year owed an average of $24,000 in student loans. That figure, as reported by CNNMoney.com, comes from The Project on Student Debt, which analyzed student loan debt at more than 1,000 public and private four-year schools. Using some common assumptions, paying off $24,000 in student loan debt over 10 years […]
Keeping Your Kids Safe From ID Theft
Many of today’s kids are online even before they’re born, debuting with their sonogram pictures posted on their parents Facebook pages or blogs. Is there a danger to sending too much of your kids’ info into cyberspace? Internet security experts say yes. According to an article on Consumer Reports’ Money Blog, posting your kids’ birth […]
Driving Down the Cost of a Car
When buying a car, the sticker price tells only part of its financial story. A recent ABCNews.com article about luxury cars noted that at first glance the price of an Infinity EX 35 seems comparable to that of a Mercedes GLK. The average sticker price of each one is a little south of $34,000. However, […]
Are You Committing Financial Infidelity?
I’m sure you know that money is a frequent topic of dispute between husbands and wives. And new research shows that the issue is not exactly going away. The Star Tribune reported on an American Express survey in which 50 percent of married people acknowledged making a purchase their spouse was against, and 30 percent […]
You – in 30 Seconds
If you own your own business or work in sales, you’ve probably been encouraged to come up with an “elevator speech,” a short, compelling description of what you have to offer. It’s also a great tool for anyone looking for a new job. Mashable recently offered solid advice about nailing your elevator speech. Its focus […]
Going the Extra Mile
I just came back from a weekend trip to Phoenix where I had a chance to do what I love to do: teach a workshop on the practical application of the timeless truths about money. While I went there to teach, I ended up learning quite a bit as well, including some lessons about going […]
Money and Marriage: Living With Financial Freedom
For many couples, money is a tough topic. That’s why, for the past couple of months, I’ve been using the first post of the month to focus on ideas for making money work in marriage. It’s also why I created a financial workshop to help engaged and newly married couples get their relationship started in […]