Despite proclamations that the recession is over, most people are planning to keep a tight rein on their wallets this holiday season. And when they do pry their wallets open, fewer people will reach for their credit cards. Those are among the findings of surveys by the National Retail Federation and USAA. Using cash instead […]
Author Archive | Matt Bell
What I Believe
By Matt Bell on November 18, 2009 in Faith & Finances, Budgeting/Planning, Generosity, Saving, Credit/Debt, Spending Smart, Money & Marriage
I am very excited about the launch of this new web site and blog. Switching from the eNewsletters I’ve been writing for the past three years to a blog will allow for more of a two-way dialogue with readers and will free me to write about more money-related topics. Since this marks the beginning of […]
Help With Your Gift List
A new Consumer Reports survey offers helpful tips on what holiday gifts to buy and what to avoid. Gift cards are a common choice, and they still head the list of items people want (tied this year with electronics). However, since 25 percent of last year’s gift card recipients still haven’t used the cards, the […]
The Fragile State of Our Finances
If you faced an unexpected $2,000 expense, how confident are you that you’d be able to come up with the money? According to a recent survey from the market research firm TNS, less than half of us believe we could find the funds. Of those who said they could, about half said they would tap […]
Text to Save
Texting is usually seen as a high cost item, with teens sending their families off the financial cliff with their constant missives about what to wear and who said what. However, a new study reported on by the Wall Street Journal found that texting can be an effective way to foster increased savings. In three […]
Smart Shopping at the Grocery Store
For most families, the grocery store is one of the most frequently visited retail stores. That’s why it’s so important to be proactive in spending wisely when doing what can feel like a routine chore. As pointed out on MSNBC recently, “Marketers have put more thought into grocery stores than any other type of store […]
Christmas Sanity
December is right around the corner, and if you don’t plan ahead one of the most meaningful holidays could easily turn into one of the most stressful and costly times of year. Fortunately, lots of holiday-smart articles are filling the blogosphere these days, offering good reminders like the importance of setting and sticking to a […]
Clutter is Money
Clutter can either cost us money in the form of wasted time spent searching for stuff or it can generate money when we put some of our unused stuff up for sale. A helpful article on Mainstreet.com offered several good ideas and web sites for organizing, repurposing, or selling our stuff. Among the recommended sites […]
One-Stop Deal Shopping
An ever-expanding number of web sites offer coupons, coupons codes, and other ways to get the best deals. Now, the company behind the Ask.com search engine has rolled out a deal aggregator called Ask Deals. The one-stop shop for deal seekers taps 40 coupon sites, online promotions, store circulars, message boards, blogs, and more. To […]
Your Life is an Open Book
It sounds like a horrific scene out of some sci-fi movie set decades down the road – lots of computer databases filled with lots of information about…you! But it’s not some fictionalized account of the future; it’s today’s reality. As described in Consumer Reports, information about your use of credit, insurance claims, medical history, and […]