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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 few ... Continue reading this article…
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This article is presented by Kelly Whalen, Consumerism Commentary staff writer. The costs of health care rose dramatically in the past year for many Americans. Hewitt Associates, a global human resources consulting firm, measured an increase in group insurance premiums of 6 percent percent in 2009, and that’s only part of the full health care picture. While ... Continue reading this article…
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When you were growing up, you probably became accustomed to hearing some typical thoughts about money from your parents. These parents are the ones who told you that money doesn’t grow on trees. If it weren’t for your parents, you wouldn’t know that children are starving in Africa and therefore you should eat your entire ... Continue reading this article…
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I suggest reading these articles gathered from around the web. Emergency Fund Is For Emergencies ONLY – 6 Ways To Leave It Alone. Matt Jabs suggests keeping your hands out of the emergency savings account except when the need is due to a true emergency, not just when you have unplanned expenses. I’ve also explored what ... Continue reading this article…
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My wife and I went way over our budget in a couple of categories during June. Part of it was to be expected because I’m commuting to a new internship, and part of it was planned, but unfortunately, most of the over-spending can be chalked up to a simple fact: we made some spending mistakes. Any ... 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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I’m not a financial planner, adviser, guru or anything of the sort. The reason I’m writing here today is because I screwed up big time. Fortunately for you, I think I’ve figured out where the mistake began. Recently I’ve been taking an informal poll of some of the people I would consider to be relatively young ... Continue reading this article…
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Starting today, Mint will begin beta testing some significant new features. Mint, a web application that helps you track your financial transactions, account balances, debt and budget, is branching into financial advice. For a few weeks, beta testers will have exclusive access to these new features described below. I have 200 invitations to share with ... 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 to ... Continue reading this article…
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As of Tuesday, March 10 at 10:00 am ET, the giveaway of the free Quicken Home and Business 2009 is closed and no more entrants will be accepted. I’ve been using Intuit Quicken for the last few years to keep track of my savings, investments and expenses. After trying Moneydance, GNU Cash, and Microsoft Money ... 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 put ... 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 placed ... 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 ... 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 ... 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 ... 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 ... 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 ... Continue reading this article…
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