From the category archives:
This article is presented by Kelly Whalen, Consumerism Commentary staff writer, who hosts a weekly internet show called the ¢entsible show. Unexpected income is a problem many people would love to have, but it happens more frequently than people realize. Whether it’s a $20 birthday check from your eighty-something grandmother or a raise, there are ... Continue reading this article…
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Before I got married, I was never really vocal about problems I had with companies. If the food I ordered at a restaurant was the wrong order, I usually wouldn’t say anything. If I had extra fees in my checking account at the end of the month, I’d chalk it up to coincidence and think ... Continue reading this article…
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CNN is featuring a short survey to help you determine your level of financial health. The result is presented in a form of a grade from F to A+. My result was an A; I lost points for not having any life insurance. The survey does not ask if there are any dependents. Right now, ... Continue reading this article…
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About the author: Jeff Rose is a Certified Financial Planner™ and co-founder of Alliance Investment Planning Group. He is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, having served in the National Guard. His blog, Good Financial Cents, covers financial planning and investment related topics. As a kid, there’s no greater comfort in having your parents there ... Continue reading this article…
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Many of us are going to be faced with tough decisions this year, and probably next year. We might even have to grapple with “how do I get these creditors to stop calling me?” or “well, where do I live now?” If owning a home is the American Dream, then being homeless is surely the ... Continue reading this article…
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Last week, I wrote about the importance of setting real life goals in order to take and maintain control of one’s own financial condition. It’s important to break past the idea that a life goal is based on money. For example, entering retirement with $4,000,000 is a good target, but it’s not a major goal. ... Continue reading this article…
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This is the next installment in a series at Consumerism Commentary about taking control of your finances. Please consider subscribing to the Consumerism Commentary RSS feed for updates. It’s no secret that budgeting is a chore. Although this piece of personal finance carries an ugly reputation, even a simple form of budgeting will help you ... Continue reading this article…
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Welcome, visitors from The Dallas Morning News! This is the next installment in a series at Consumerism Commentary about taking control of your finances. Please consider subscribing to the Consumerism Commentary RSS feed for updates. If you’re on your way to spending less than you earn, then you’re going to need a good place to ... Continue reading this article…
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This should come as no surprise to Consumerism Commentary readers or anyone who has spent time reading anything relating to basic money management advice. Once you’ve decided to improve your financial condition and spent some time tracking your spending, you may have come to the conclusion that your situation declines each month because you’re allowing ... Continue reading this article…
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After deciding that it’s time to get a handle on your finances, find a way to accurately track the way you handle everything involving money. Before deciding to take action, you may have estimated your income and expenses, but now the details matter. Here is how to get to the details. Every cent is important ... Continue reading this article…
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After viewing yesterday’s income and expense report for an imaginary person, Dan observed astutely: … The one area that I don’t see is for a persons IRA, 401K, or ESPP. When is that money taken out or where/how is it assigned? It isn’t like you can say that you had a net income so you ... Continue reading this article…
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Now that you’ve taken an inventory of your finances and determined your net worth, I can tell you that the number is meaningless. Well, there is a point to your net worth, but it’s not the most important number to your finances. Your net worth tells a very small part of the story that defines ... Continue reading this article…
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An acquaintance of mine formerly owned a store that sells “country” products like hand-crafted wood furniture, candles, and decor inspired by rural living. Twice a year, she recruited family members and friends to help take an inventory of the entire store. This process involved many hours of walking throughout the building and counting items on ... Continue reading this article…
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Who are you? For any one human being, the number of answers to this question approaches infinity. There are many aspects that are included in the definition of self. The most common response is to answer with the collection of sounds used to nominally identify yourself: “I am Joe.” Our names, generally given to us ... Continue reading this article…
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One of the most important metrics for tracking financial progress is net worth. I write about my net worth, or a modified form of it, every month when I report my balances. By watching my net worth change over time — usually increasing from month to month but occasionally decreasing — I can get a ... Continue reading this article…
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When first attempting to gain some control over your finances, it’s particularly helpful to micromanage. If your money is in a state of disarray due to spending more than you’re earning, then it’s helpful to look at every little expense, at least for a time. This will help give you a more accurate picture of ... Continue reading this article…
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When it comes to tracking my daily spending, I’m not as diligent as I used to be. That’s due in part to laziness and part to the lack of necessity. Let me explain. First, this topic was inspired by a recent email I received from a Consumerism Commentary reader. Nat asked: How do you keep ... Continue reading this article…
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Ethanol: a study of unintended consequences As recently as two years ago, ethanol was considered by many to be the solution for this country’s reliance on imported oil. Ethanol can be produced domestically, and it costs no more to make a car that runs on ethanol than it does to make a car that runs ... Continue reading this article…
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Almost 3 million children in the United States have learning disability (LDs). Different types of LDs have different effects on a child’s ability to perceive, comprehend, and interpret information, and these effects can last into adulthood. For example, dyslexia and dysnumeria can make financial calculations difficult, and temporal problems can lead to a tendency to ... Continue reading this article…
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How are you feeling today? According to a psychologist from the U.K., January 24 is the most depressing day of the year. There’s an actual scientific formula that has been used to determined this fact. Some of the conditions that have led to this conclusion are specific to Britain, but there are seasonal cycles that ... Continue reading this article…
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