Weekly roundup of interesting and helpful personal finance articles from around the web. Why do we buy what we buy? (VOX). One of my favorite writers on our competitive, comparative spending. Why we struggle (Humble Dollar). The challenge to manage money well “isn’t complicated—and yet it isn’t so simple.” How to make a debt reduction […]
Imagine you’re in a store thinking about buying a calculator that normally sells for $15 when a salesperson informs you the company’s other store, located 20 minutes away, has the same calculator available with a $5 discount. Would you make the drive? Now imagine the same situation with one exception: the calculator you’re considering normally […]
CNNMoney.com recently posed that question among a random sample of people and financial advisors. Most people based their answer on an overarching objective of having enough money so that they would not have to work. Individuals said that would require anywhere from a couple thousand dollars a month to a billion dollars. Advisors put the […]
An Internet connection. An annual vacation. The financial freedom to shop for birthdays and other special occasions. Are these essentials or luxuries? For many of today’s baby boomers, they are essentials. According to a survey conducted by MainStay Investments and reported by MarketWatch, 84 percent of boomers consider an Internet connection a necessity, 66 percent […]
Do you find it tough to save money? Money Magazine and CNN recently profiled some super savers, and they offer great lessons for all of us. Ed Haskell and Debbie Chasteen save a whopping 50 percent of their after-tax income. How do they do it? They have a clear, compelling goal of retiring before age […]
Americans are paying down their debt, but that hasn’t eased their stress. Some 46 percent of American adults say they are stressed about their debts, according to a new Associated Press-GfK survey. That’s about the same as last year. Those feeling the most stress are women, married couples, people age 30-44, and the poor. Key […]
Recessions have a way of helping people distinguish needs from wants. However, analysis from U.S. News & World Report has resulted in a somewhat surprising list of products and services where sales over the past few years have either grown or at least have not declined, including: Notebook computers. Sales have skyrocketed over the last […]
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 […]
Outlet malls may not be the money-savers they appear to be. As noted on Consumerist.com, the new book, Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture, describes manufacturers’ suggested retail prices, against which the outlet store prices are compared, as “often fabricated to give consumers the impression that they are getting bargains.” The book also notes […]
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” – Philippians 4:8 Right after our five-year-old watches a DVD, he’s often eager to act out whatever he saw. If there was singing on the DVD, he […]
