Master your money. Get organized. Take back your time.
Think having poor credit is only a problem if you need a loan? Think again.
You know that bad credit can often translate to high interest rates, unfavorable payment terms, and few options when you’re looking to get a loan or apply for a credit card. But, your credit score can also affect so much more than that.
Here are five surprising ways that your credit score may be influencing your everyday life . . . [Read more…]
The holiday season is here! But while the kids are dreaming of dancing sugarplums, you may find yourself searching for gifts and making the world’s longest holiday to-do list.
Had enough of your annual, end-of-year expenses and hair-pulling? If you want to maximize your holiday cheer this year, try these nine tips for spending and stressing less, so you can enjoy the season instead. [Read more…]
Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read my policy here.
Not too long ago, popular financial site Student Loan Hero interviewed me and 7 other personal finance bloggers. And they wanted me to share with their readers one of my all-time favorite money books. [Read more…]
You’ve seen those exotic creatures on TV – the extreme couponers.
Their basements or dining rooms look like fully-stocked convenience stores. And everything they have they’ve gotten for next to nothing or even for free. It sounds incredible. But when you hear their stories, you learn that some extreme couponers often spend more time couponing per week than most people spend working at a full-time job.
What if it were possible to land amazing deals without devoting endless hours every week to the pursuit of saving money? What if you could tap into the strategies of experienced extreme couponers while dialing the effort required way, way down?
Here are five powerful secrets of diehard couponers that you can easily tweak and implement in your everyday life: [Read more…]
First, the bad news: It doesn’t matter how old you are.
There’s always a new way for you to make big money mistakes. To mess up the financial balance you’ve worked so hard to create in your life.
Don’t worry – there’s good news too: With a little knowledge and a bit of planning, you can demolish the financial obstacles that stand in your way.
If you’re fresh out of college and you’ve landed a full-time job, you’ve been dropped into a foreign environment. All of a sudden you probably have . . .
It’s a lot of financial change – and responsibility – all at once. And it can make you freak out or stumble your way into bad money decisions. [Read more…]
You’re drooling over the idea of a tropical vacation. You’re weighing options for your kid’s education. Maybe you just hate everything in your closet.
Before you buy, figure out whether it’s time to splurge or save with these six questions. [Read more…]
Are you suffering under the weight of your cell phone bill?
According to data collected by the Pew Research Center, 95% of U.S. adults own a cell phone. At the same time, Aaron Smith, Associate Director of Research at Pew, has some sobering news. Smith reports that “nearly half (48%) of smartphone-dependent Americans have had to cancel or shut off their cell phone service for a period of time, because the cost of maintaining that service was a financial hardship.”
However, if you think there’s nothing you can do about that painfully large chunk of change each month, think again. [Read more…]
On the day of our big move, the very first thing I did was throw up.
Nine weeks pregnant and overcome with morning sickness, I had the keys to our new place and a lease on the old one that told me it was time to get out. On that day, my husband handed me my Saltines and a barf bag, eased me into the car, drove us to our new home, and deposited me on the floor (since the furniture hadn’t yet arrived) of our new home with my trusty crackers.
Undertaking a move is a chore for anyone, but doing it while you’re pregnant is a special kind of challenge. It’s possible however to survive and even conquer the process by following a few rules . . .
How often does this happen to you? You cash your paycheck only to have it disappear. After paying your landlord, insurance guy, utility company, and everyone else, you’re left with next to nothing.
But what if you could hold on to more of your heard-earned money? Pocket some extra in case of emergency? Save hundreds or even thousands a year with these easy-to-implement tips. [Read more…]
Some days the life of a busy mom looks like this:
You cross the finish line of another non-stop day, and you are exhausted . . . but you honestly don’t know what you have to show for all your spent hours. Projects are piling up at work, the house and kids look like they need to be hosed down, and you can’t remember the last time you had uninterrupted quality time with your spouse.
And tomorrow it begins again.
Getting it all done while making the most of your time is possible. Try adopting these 15 practices for maximizing your productivity: [Read more…]