break room

Over Christmas, my husband’s parents came to stay with us for two weeks. We have an extra bedroom, but no bed for it. While the air mattress is fine for a couple of nights, we didn’t want my in-laws to have to sleep on it for two weeks. We’re not quite ready to buy another [...]

During college, I stayed close to campus every summer in order to work. Plus, I liked living on my own. The second summer I stayed, I got a job as a waitress and rented a room in a house to get me by until the new school year, when I would have a free room [...]

Thanksgiving is only a few days away, and for some of us, financial concerns are more prominent this year than any other years in the past. However, that’s not what Thanksgiving is all about. Regardless of your financial means, you could have a wonderful and inexpensive Thanksgiving. In this article, I am going to cover [...]

With all of the media attention that real estate and mortgages have demanded in recent years, it’s important to not forget the fundamentals. Nothing real has changed. I know the mortgage meltdown problem is real, but real estate is still valuable and not as scary to jump into as the media leads often states. There [...]

One of the quickest ways to improve your finances is to reduce your expenses and find more ways to save money. This article is a compilation of various money saving articles that have been published over the years. A few tips are also highlighted from each article. Make sure you follow these links to see [...]

When you got your job offer, you probably thought to yourself: “Phew, I aced the interviews, got my job offer… I’m done! FINALLY!” Well, sorry to break it to you but the interview does NOT stop once you have been hired. That was just the preliminary interview, now it’s on to the real interview! The [...]

I am down right bad when it comes to budgeting. I’ve gotten used to a save first and automatic payments lifestyle that budgeting has become a foreign language to me. However, a recent unfortunate event may put this lifestyle to an end and force us to take budgeting seriously. I have been refreshing myself on [...]

Recently, Passive Dad asked me about free creative ideas to help friends facing foreclosure.  This is a timely topic since one factor that contributes to the current economic crisis is the rise in foreclosures. Basically, the teaser rate on many adjustable rate mortgages end, and homeowners found themselves unable to afford the new higher mortgage [...]

Last night, I was pondering the subject of cash flow (essentially how money flow through our hands) and about financial well being. I played around with various visualizations that consist of income, expenses, debt, and assets. What I came up with was the 5 stages of financial health below.
I believe that all of us go [...]

Hello everyone and welcome to 155th edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance. Initially, I had a plan to make this a more unique and interesting carnival, but my sister and her family came up from Virginia for a surprised visit. As a result, I opted to spend more time with my family and less [...]