budget
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Top Personal Finance Books: Expert Reviews & Recommendations
I’ve had the opportunity to read dozens of personal finance books through the years. Some of which had a profound impact on how I view topics such as saving, investing, and managing money. I sta
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Financial Transparency in Marriage: Is Hiding Money a Problem?
One of the quirks of my financial relationship with my husband was the fact that he wasn’t very interested in what was happening with our money. For the most part, he was just interested in whether or
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Boost Your Home's Value: 8 Affordable Improvements
If you are planning to sell your house in the near future you’ll naturally want to get the best price for it. You don’t have to break the bank to make this happen – here are eight inexpensive ways to
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Accelerate Mortgage Payoff: 4 Subtle Strategies for Early Freedom
If you’re a homeowner, and you have a long-term financial plan, you should include a strategy to pay your mortgage off early. If you can, you’ll have more money each month to pay off non-housing debt,
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Monthly Account Reconciliation: A Simple Guide for Financial Control
When I talk to my younger siblings, and to my younger cousins, as well as to fellow personal finance bloggers in their 20s, I notice something interesting: Most of the people I know don’t reconc
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Selling Your Home During Financial Hardship: 5 Key Reasons
People often defend their homes with every fiber of their being. No matter what’s happening, or how bad it gets, the homestead must be protected at all costs. I kind of understand that conviction. But
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Cutting Cable TV: Does It Actually Save You Money?
Talk about the need to cut living expenses, and the conversation will inevitably go toward eliminating cable TV. It’s a solid suggestion, but the problem is that it doesn’t always save money. Sure, yo
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Financial Health & Physical Well-being: A Strong Connection
No matter the time of year, it’s never a bad time to set new goals and work toward a better you. Two of the areas that most of us like to improve are our finances and health. If you are consider
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Buying a Used Car from a Rental Company: A Smart Alternative
If you want to buy a used car, you generally have two choices: either buy from an individual, or subject yourself to the pressure tactics of a used car dealership. Either way, it can be tough to know
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Navigating Challenges: Understanding the Millennial Generation
The Millennial Generation – the roughly 80 million people born between 1980 and 2000 – is looking to be something of a lost generation. They came too late to benefit from the Post World Wa
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Tax Diversification for Retirement: Protect Your Savings
While people consider the task of preparing for retirement – mostly saving and properly investing for it – they may overlook an important consideration. Retirement planning needs to include tax divers
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Renting vs. Buying: 5 Situations Where Renting is Financially Smarter
I think we can generally agree that for most people, owning a home is better than renting, especially from a financial standpoint. But are there times when renting makes more sense than owning a home?
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Missing the Tax Deadline? Penalties, Extensions & What to Do
Tax Day is right around the corner, and if you have already filed your taxes, that means you can relax – tax season is over until next year! But if you didn’t file your taxes or didn’
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Second Car Strategies: Why a Reliable, Affordable Beater Makes Sense
Many families subscribe to the belief that there should be at least one car for each adult member of every household. Often, that arrangement includes late-model cars. And with late-model cars, that m
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Affordability Crisis: Stories of Homebuyers Priced Out of Coastal Markets
Recently, I saw an article on CNN Money that looks at the stories of six people priced out of their housing markets. Many of these folks are looking in urban areas on the coasts. As you might imagine,
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Should You Remodel Your Home? Weighing the Costs & Benefits
My parents just finished remodeling their kitchen. They changed the layout, and installed new cabinets, countertops, and flooring. The result is a much more open kitchen, and one that looks updated an
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Protect Your Investment: 10 Ways to Preserve Your Car's Value
A lot of car owners become concerned with the value of their cars only when it comes time to sell them. But cars don’t lose value overnight, unless of course they undergo an accident. The value of you
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How to Cancel Your Cell Phone Contract Without Fees: Expert Strategies
The early termination fees that cell phone companies charge are outrageous! Most companies charge anywhere from $150-200 to cancel your contract before you fulfill the terms. In the past I got out of
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Effective Savings Strategies: Prioritize & Track Your Financial Progress
There is a famous quote attributed to Peter Williams that states, “You can have anything you want. You just can’t have everything you want.” There is a lot of wisdom in that statement. It exemp
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Manual vs. Automated Spending Tracking: Which is Right for You?
For many consumers, the rise of financial apps like Mint are exciting. These types of apps make it easy to track spending, and look for patterns. However, these types of apps that automatically track
budget
- Money-Making Ideas for Kids: Simple & Creative Ways to Earn
- Financial Stability for Tight Budgets: A Practical Guide
- Capital One 360: Create a Sub-Account for Budgeting & Savings
- Declutter Your Finances: How a No-Spend Month Can Reignite Your Savings
- Back-to-School Savings: Smart Shopping Strategies for Parents
- Monetize Your Passion: A Guide to Earning Income Blogging
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Puerto Rico Debt Crisis: Can the Island Avoid a Greek-Style Default?To almost no one’s surprise, Puerto Rico missed a US$422 million debt payment earlier this month, triggering fears among investors that additional defaults are ...
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Financial Freedom: 5 Steps to Maintain Debt-Free Status After Credit Card PayoffSo you’ve paid down your credit card debt? Great, now keep your financial momentum rolling with these savvy money moves. (iStock) Americans have a love/hate relationship with credit cards. W...
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Understanding the Average Directional Index (ADX) in TradingWhat Is the Average Directional Index (ADX)? The average directional index (ADX) is a technical analysis indicator used by some traders to determine the strength of a trend. The trend can be...
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5 Simple Savings Habits to Secure Your Financial FutureWhether you want to put money aside for emergencies, college or retirement - saving is one of the most basic pieces of financial advice. Despite the importance of saving, some of us are falling ...