health care system

Just like a runner must run, I believe those who are financially fit must budget. Your budget might look different than another person’s budget.  Someone might have a complex computer system and another might use a simple pen and paper system.  But, to thrive financially you must have a sense of what you want to [...]

Welcome to the 76th edition of Money Hacks Carnival. In this edition, I’ll be presenting some interesting and fun facts about money along with the submissions. For editor’s picks, please look for entries noted with (EP).

Money Fact #1: $1 bills wear out in about 17 months. Bills of larger denomination last longer because they are [...]

One of my favorite financial websites is Credit Karma. I love the ability to get and track my credit score for free. Now they are expanding their services to provide you with credit report information. The new feature is called Credit Report Cards, and it is also free. I checked it out today and I [...]

“When should I take Social Security?” is the first question everyone faces when contemplating retirement. More than 50% of all men and women start taking benefits at 62. By age 66, well over 90% of all men and women are taking benefits according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
The Break Even Approach
The [...]

This was a rather interesting week for me.  For the first time ever, I had a life insurance agent cursed at me with an F word.  The story started last summer when I tried to purchase a term life insurance policy from this agent.  He helped my parents stop the monthly payments on their whole [...]

In this Ask The Expert With Larry Swedroe article, the reader (Larry) lost a lot of money in the stock market.  He detailed his plight and complained about his full service brokerage firm.  It’s 2009 and he only have half of what he did a few months ago.  What should he do?  Here’s the question [...]

Looks like another another miscue in the Carnival Land.  Sorry the carnival didn’t go out as planned this morning at the host site, so here’s an emergency edition of the Money Hacks Carnival #39.  Before I begin, just want to say thank you to everyone for your participation.

Photo by Meagen via Flickr
Credit and Debt

Five Ways [...]

When I listened to President Bush’s speech the other night, I noticed that my analysis of what caused the Financial Crisis of 2008 was right on target.  Too bad President Bush didn’t say anything about greed!  Personally, I don’t know if the $700 billion dollars bailout package will fix the problem, but the amount of [...]

My wife and I have been new parents for nearly five months now. Lucky for us, we got some good advices early on, including those from a guest post by Paidtwice: 10 “Preparing For Baby” Tips For the Frugal-Minded. However, I understand how easy it is to overspend on newborns. They are so precious to [...]

I have been listening to this crap about steroids in baseball, and how Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee are dueling it out in a Congressional committee hearing. Frankly, I want to puke. I understand that steroids use by these sport stars set bad examples for our younger generations, and I agree that the MLB should [...]