You’ve probably heard of ‘good’ debt and ‘bad’ debt. Good debt is when we borrow to buy something that generally goes up in value, like a home. Bad debt is when we borrow for anything else, like a car, a boat, a meal, a dress, a cruise, a wedding and so on.
Many teach [...]
This week I stumbled upon a really useful (and free) debt reduction calculator. It’s built using Excel, and it can be used with either Excel or Open Office (a free suite of office software). I’ve been using it all week, trying to figure out when we’ll be debt free. I can personally [...]
Last week I published an article called Dave Ramsey Unleashed. I learned long ago that any post about Dave Ramsey will receive a passionate response from readers. Those that follow his financial teachings do so with “gazelle like intensity,” as Dave would say. One response that I received in both comments and [...]
Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps to financial peace have become a popular way to get control of finances. In case you’re not familiar with the Dave Ramsey approach to money, here are the 7 Baby Steps:
$1,000 to start an Emergency Fund
Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball
3 to 6 months of expenses in savings
Invest [...]
It was the budget, with the spreadsheet, in the library–That’s who killed your finances.
The dictionary defines a budget as “an estimate, often itemized, of expected income and expense for a given period in the future.” Budgeting, the quintessential money management tool, should identify where we spend our money so that we can make better [...]
Bank overdraft protection programs, at first glance, seem like a great safety net to have in place. Should you overdraw your checking account, an overdraft protection plan can kick in to cover the shortage. And because the bank cleared the check, you avoid insufficient funds fees that can hit $35 and the embarrassment [...]
Lately I’ve become overwhelmed with clutter. Everything from my office to my home to my finances is filled with unnecessary stuff. And all this stuff creates stress and reduces efficiency. Just the other day my wife and I spent one hour searching for two bills that, as we eventually learned, were at [...]
Goolge just recently launched what it calls the Tip Jar. The Google Tip Jar is a collection of money saving tips that are ranked by the web community. You can submit your own tips and vote for your favorites.
This past December, before Tip Jar was launched, I received an email from a [...]
Government websites provide a wealth of information about money related topics. But finding what’s out there can be a chore. So this resource provides links to 70 government websites about everything from finding a job, to buying a home, to paying for college.
