We are currently looking for an Official SelfGrowth.com Guide to "Personal Finance". If you have expertise in Personal Finance and your own website and/or product for this topic, please review this form for complete details. The Official Guide Position is part of our Premium Placement Package
It was one of those day when I was in the shower, thinking.... thinking how little I really need. I was listening to the news about how the hair solons are down business from 20-30 percent. They went on to explain that people, rather than going to get their hair 'done' every 4 weeks, are going ... Views: 589
After years of aggressive solicitations offering low balance transfer interest rates for the life of the loan, Chase recently sent thousands of its customers payment increase letters.
Here’s what it means on a monthly basis:
Balance: $10,000
Old Payment (2%): ... Views: 1576
Do you know where the 28/36 rule comes from? If you have ever applied for a mortgage, you may well have wondered about where that 28/36 debt-to-income ratio rule came from that the mortgage broker talked to you about. And whether it makes sense... Read on to discover some surprising ... Views: 1116
We are all fans of saving money and responsible spending, especially in this current recession. But are you being too cheap? Here are 12 warning signs.
1. You’ve been procrastinating on buying that new roll of duct tape to repair your boots--and your windows--and your car.
2. You ... Views: 1082
Put a person in the right situation, and he’ll do things so extreme that you wouldn’t think possible. The same idea applies to a person in a financial fix. If in desperate need for substantial amounts of cash, he’ll do almost anything to get his hands on it, like rob a bank. Not everybody has ... Views: 954
Question: I’ve been thinking about retiring for a few years now but I’m really concerned about how expensive everything is. I’m still working and wondering if I’ll ever have enough to retire. How do you help people cope with high inflation? Phillip, CT
Answer: I help my private clients ... Views: 1521
Having no control over your cash can be a very dangerous thing. Someone said money is the root of all evil, which is in some sense true, given the fact that the majority of criminal offenses happening have been brought about by the desire or need for cash. Now, the current financial situation ... Views: 1295
Everyone has seen the statistic of what the return of an average investor is and what the return for the S&P 500 has been. So why do we continue to let our emotions drive our investment decisions? It simply because we don’t know we are doing it most of the time. Here are some of our common ... Views: 1105
I hate paying taxes, and you should too. But no matter how much we detest it, no matter how many times we (the others) rally on the streets, or take matters to the court of law, paying taxes will always be part of our lives. Our cries for a break haven’t gone unnoticed though – true we can’t ... Views: 676
Want to make more money? Well, I’ve got the secret. And I’ll bet it’s not what you think. It sure wasn’t what I expected when I interviewed hundreds of high earners for my books Secrets of Six-Figure Women and Overcoming Underearning. Very few of these successful women were driven by money. Yet ... Views: 1634
If you want to create financial independence and one day lead the lifestyle you’ve always dreamed of then building your own assets is the only way to do this.
People mistakenly believe that their belongings are assets. But these are in fact liabilities because they cost you money. Your ... Views: 1183
Fear. It’s the four-letter word that infiltrates our families, our job market and even our economy.. And while few of us enjoy fear, it is actually a very powerful and beneficial emotion. Why? Fear shows us that we need protection, and it outlines a coming threat – be it real or imagined. The ... Views: 957
We’ve all seen those advertisements that promise auto financing for everyone. What you don’t see is the real truth behind these ads. No auto dealer is ever going to “refuse” a credit application, there’s a big difference between accepting and approving a credit application.
It might surprise ... Views: 3903
By Patricia Payne
If you are currently working, count yourself lucky. Though the present can give us false confidence in our ability to meet financial obligations for the unforeseeable future, anything can happen. Even tomorrow you may be faced with the real possibility of job loss. What can ... Views: 1321
1. Too-High Expectations. There's a big difference between setting goals that will require you to stretch yourself and goals that are simply unobtainable. While it is certainly noble and honorable to set lofty goals, expectations that are too high mean that you have set yourself up to fail. ... Views: 1010
Question: I’m a 57 year old clinical physician thinking about slowing down in the next few years. I don’t feel I have enough money to retire but maybe I do? How do you analyze a client’s finances to make this determination? Any thoughts you could provide would be greatly appreciated. Lia, ... Views: 2063
“Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations. …You can hear other people’s wisdom, but you’ve got to re-evaluate the world for yourself.”
--Mae Jemison, the first Black woman to travel space
If you are hoping to grow in the area of personal finance and organization, ... Views: 609
Did your tax bill go up dramatically this year, courtesy of the alternative minimum tax (AMT)? You're not alone. Every year, this happens to more and more people. That's because the single exemption allowed in the AMT has not kept pace with inflation. Read on for some things you can do to reduce ... Views: 912
Wouldn't it be nice to be debt-free? The American dream of homeownership has traditionally come with a 30-year mortgage. Add to that credit cards, car loans, college tuition, and the average consumer is drowning in debt. Over the last few decades this has become our way of life, buy now, pay ... Views: 1500
Credit Reports can seem like a very confusing and foreign piece of information, which carries with it a rather mystic sense of power. While this might seem like the case at first, credit reports are actually relatively simple and can be an excellent tool not only for creditors, but also for ... Views: 939
This article is about Money & Careers, Financial Freedom.
Recessions can either be a catastrophe or an opportunity to get wealthier. Il all depends on how well-equipped we are to handle them.
Let’s reveal what we must absolutely know to protect our purchasing power, our personal way of life ... Views: 922
1. Make Peace with your Financial Past
What is your money history? Take time to write about this in your journal. Write whatever comes to mind, no censoring. Make time to reflect on your past actions with money and make peace with it. No matter what it is. Where you see flaws, forgive yourself. ... Views: 3713
When it comes to money saving I see it as simply cutting down on the non-essential things in life.
However, there is one things that we can all cut out of our monthly expenditure's but it's still very much "essential":
- Our gym membership / exercise budget.
Ok, now here, I do need a favour ... Views: 722
If you talk with 10 different advisors, they’ll all have their own opinion as to what the best way to invest for retirement is. Some prefer actively managed investments. Some prefer passively managed investments. Some like to trade daily while other advisors like me prefer a combination of ... Views: 1505
The closer you are to retirement, the more concerned you will naturally be regarding the amount of money you have in your retirement savings. With every downturn of the economy, you watch your nest egg grow smaller. Here are some practical ways you can survive on less money during your golden ... Views: 1387
MYTH #1 "Credit repair doesn't work!" While it's true that credit repair is more "art" than "science" that's not to say it doesn't work. If you undertake to repair your bad credit score, there's never any guarantee you can restore it to "perfect" status. But sometimes you can, and in almost ... Views: 1230
A credit card can be an asset to your lifestyle, but if not handled carefully it can become a liability, especially if you find it so convenient and easy to use that you lose control of your spending.
This short guide will help you understand how you can use your credit card so it works to your ... Views: 1741
"Failure to recognize possibilities is the most dangerous and common mistake one can make." - Astronaut, Mae Jamison
You must admit that the title of this article is a little strange, because when you think of a budget you usually feel everything else but thriving. You see a budget as a tool ... Views: 1206
I have to say, this recession thing is taking me back to my youth. Growing up in the 70's, the era of inflation, oil embargo's and doing without was central to my foundation. We grew up in a middle class family, struggling to make ends meet. With both parents working, my brother and I grew up as ... Views: 919
Question: I'm looking for more details about retirement annuities. Do they all have fees? My sister says that hers cost her nothing and they "gave" her $5,000 for putting in about $50,000. Do they do that? I keep hearing about large fees and hidden costs, but she said that she started with ... Views: 1228
I remember my grandmother always telling me to watch my pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves. Have you ever heard of that expression? There are so many people today that don’t live by that philosophy. Why were people in the olden days more money conscious then they are today? ... Views: 1324
Credit repair companies or “specialists” are popping up all over the country in the last few years, so many in fact that Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) was passed in 1996 to protect and advise consumers of their rights when using a credit repair specialist. I strongly suggest that you ... Views: 1364
After your bankruptcy has finally been discharged the courts and you have your discharge papers in hand, what next? How do you begin to rebuild your credit? The first thing to remember is what led you to bankruptcy to begin with. You don't certainly don’t want to end up in the same financial ... Views: 1397
People experiencing problems with personal debt are not the only ones who could benefit from proper budgeting when it comes to household finances. Finding a long term solution to debt does involve learning to control spending, but budgeting is a process from which anyone can get real benefits. ... Views: 1327
There can be little doubt that budgeting is a really useful way to plan and control your expenditure, but the reality of actually putting it into practice is often so daunting that we just never even start. There is a tendency to think of budgeting as a painful kind of rationing, making ... Views: 1547
Long gone are the passive money-making opportunities. Even the Suzi Orman financial experts are touting saving money as the new key to financial success. Security is not locking in a year CD at 2.8%, The new ticket is frugality, watching your spending, “count your pennies”, as my Grandma would ... Views: 911
Did you know that almost 80 per cent of women recently said they would go on a spending spree to cheer themselves up? The survey, conducted by Professor Karen Pine, from the University of Hertfordshire, concludes that some women use shopping as an emotion regulator, “a way of anesthetizing ... Views: 993
Plenty of individuals prefer to pull out unsecured personal loans rather than secured personal loans, for numerous reasons, like the approval time. The fact that you can apply and receive the money you intend to borrow makes the service very desirable, preferable, suitable or whatever synonym ... Views: 1017
We are in a time of financial crisis. People are anxious. People are seeking solutions. People are scared. With all of this activity, tremendous bursts of energy are being expended, some positive but mostly negative.
But the energy that we project into the cosmos is not an isolated event. Your ... Views: 819
On May 22, 2009, President Obama signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act into law, which addresses some of the credit card related concerns of consumer advocates and offers a variety of protections for credit card users. In addition to the new regulations ... Views: 1088
Like many young couples do these days, my husband and I are planning a backpacking trip around the world. Saving up our money for two years has been a long and tedious process and really we’re still not done yet.
Our original timeframe would have been to leave between December of 2009 and March ... Views: 665
Understanding the nature of a revocable living trust is only as complicated as you think it to be, and how other people explain it to be. There are thousands of people, perhaps you’re one of them, confused with such explanations given by individuals having knowledge on the subject matter. So for ... Views: 1016
If you've been watching the news lately, you might have heard the media celebrating the fact that American job loss was lowest in April than it's been since October of last year. I caution all of you not to break open the champagne just yet, unfortunately. The stabilizing unemployment rate ... Views: 1138
There has been a lot of buzz lately about reviving the economy, and rightly so. People are losing their jobs by the thousands, causing unemployment in this country to soar higher every day.
If the government is successful at turning the U.S. economy around and ending the current credit ... Views: 1116
Did you know that the credit card companies are now reviewing credit lines and if your income is down, they can reduce your credit. You may think you are secure, but then get a letter in the mail telling you that the amount of credit available to you has been reduced. Or if you apply for ... Views: 589
“Women fake orgasms and men fake finances.” -- Suze Orman, Financial Consultant, California Governor’s Women’s Conference, 2008.
Do you use your career, your job, the work you do as a measuring tool to size up your worth? Though it’s a mistake to equate one’s worth solely with money, many of ... Views: 733
A discussion about finances in a book celebrating a woman’s worth may appear to put so much emphasis on monetary solvency that one could argue in favor of the money-equals-worth equation. But I sincerely hope you don’t reach this conclusion, because that is not the intent. Money doesn’t buy you ... Views: 571
Did you know that you can improve your credit score with the wise use of credit cards? Credit cards can help you build or restore your credit rating. As long as you pay your bills on time and use only a portion of your credit limit you are working hard at improving your credit scores. Using less ... Views: 1017
Today it has become impossible for many people to refinance a mortgage. And if you’ve got one of the interest-only loans that were so popular a few years ago, you may be faced with much higher payments, when your loan resets and you start paying off the loan. It will usually be higher because ... Views: 890
For all that I go on about how money is just energy, has no meaning other than what we attach to it, and how there is no shortage of it, I still find myself feeling a lot of anger towards the guys on Wall Street who took an average of $12 million each in bonuses.
The fact that they took the ... Views: 2305