finance tips

When someone is first enter the world of finances, they will need to learn some new basic finance skills.  Unfortunately, many teenagers and young adults get to college without having a clue about some basic personal finance tasks.  You might make a lot of bad money choices, but if you have some basic financial knowledge, [...]

I believe that cash flow is one of the most powerful concepts in personal finance. People tends to know how they feel about their personal finance — e.g., whether they are comfortable or are struggling. Unfortunately, not too many people truly understand cash flow and how important it is to your finances. When you understand [...]

A few weeks ago I received an email.  In the email I was asked to give a reference for two individuals who were applying for the same job.  That’s not really unusual, right? We’ll, here’s the kicker.  (I hope this doesn’t get too complicated …) One of the key decision maker’s daughter and I are [...]

If you read enough personal finance blogs, you’ll see a common theme and the number one answer to your financial dilemma — “Spend Less than You Earn”. Unfortunately, it’s easier said than done, otherwise, we wouldn’t have this rampant debt problem in our society. Fortunately, I went through this myself, and over the years, I’ve [...]

We in the personal finance blogosphere love to fill the internet with ideas on how to save money and discuss everything under the sun that you should not spend money on. Well, today, I’d like to discuss a few things that I believe are acceptable purchases.

There’s no shame in admitting it: It’s possible to make it through college and into the real world without having the first idea about investing, money management, or anything that deals even remotely with finances. But thanks to the growing number of Web sites and online tools devoted to fiscal responsibility, it’s easier than ever [...]

Sometimes you just need to stop spending money for a few days. Maybe you are already over budget, or close to it, and the month isn’t over. Maybe you have savings goals with attached deadlines, and need to kick a little extra towards one of those goals before the deadline comes and goes. Or maybe [...]

iPhones are often criticized as expensive and ostentatious. Why buy a smart phone when you can make calls from a $10 pay as you go phone? It may seem like a waste of money, but used properly an iPhone can be a powerful tool in your personal finance arsenal. Here is just a small sampling of [...]

To help you make the most of your 2009 taxes, here are some tax tips to help you organize, prepare, and take advantage of the available tax deductions and tax credits for 2009 tax year. Instead of trying to compile my own list, I reached out to a few personal finance bloggers to share their [...]

While random chance plays its role in tax audits (sometimes there is just no way to avoid some sort of an audit — no matter what you do), there are some red flags that may prompt a closer review of your paperwork. Here are some tips for avoiding a tax audit.