This site is about your personal finance needs. Saving. Managing. Investing. Even DIY tips around the house. And especially making sure you’re doing all you can to have enough money for the life you want to live … now and in the future. [Continue]
Diversified Investing: Stocks Go Up & Down. Where’s My Profit?
Today I saw diversified investing in action. I own two tech stocks that have been fairly strong over the years. Well, today one of them had bad news and one had great earnings news beyond what was expected. … [Continue]
Banking Basics 101: Answers to Your Banking Questions
A friend recently asked me some pretty basic banking questions. Part of me was surprised, but I realized that a lot of people don't know much about banks. Mostly she wanted to know what to do with some money she saved. But she also worried about not … [Continue]
Retirement Far Away? Why Saving Money Now Matters!
Years ago I worked with a woman who didn't believe that saving money now matters. She had fabulous clothes. Designer furniture. Treated herself to dinner out most nights. And told me "I have time to save for retirement. It's stupid not to enjoy life … [Continue]
Credit 101: How To Make Credit Work For You
So what exactly is credit? Credit lets us make a promise to pay in the future for something we really want, but can't quite afford to pay for now. It's a gateway from wanting to actually having. But how do you make credit work for you without it … [Continue]
12 Basic Financial Terms
Ah ... financial market language. All those terms you hear finance folks toss around as if they actually meant something. Well, of course they do. Once you get clued into the lingo. I was raised in a small town with very little exposure to any … [Continue]
How Banks Make Money From Your Savings Accounts
While it's easy to rant and rave about how banks make money, I'd like to rant and rave a bit about how investors handle THEIR money. You do have choices for what to do with your "liquid" (easy to access without stock market worries) money. But I know … [Continue]
Why Does My Mutual Fund Pay a Dividend?
A friend of mine wrote to ask me why the value of his stock mutual fund is higher than the simple difference between what he paid for it a few weeks ago and the current price that he sees listed now. So I said the difference is the dividend. He … [Continue]
What If You Can’t Afford to Leave a Noisy Apartment?
I'm writing this for everyone who has ever lived in a noisy apartment -- and couldn't afford to move. Or for whatever wishful-thinking strategy kept waiting for it to magically stop. But it doesn't. And even a day feels like an eternity. If you've … [Continue]
Ally Review: Opening an Account with Ally Bank
I'll admit I was a little nervous about opening an account with Ally. First, I never worked with a bank that was online only. Second, I didn't know much about Ally bank, although I had heard of it. Could I trust it with my money? And I know I'm … [Continue]
Why Should I Invest? The Stock Market Is So Unreliable!
First let's be clear. The stock market really IS unreliable. At least at any given moment. And for some people that alone is enough reason to stay far away from investing in stocks. Or anything other than tucking it away in their good ole bank … [Continue]
Fixing Wood Scratches & Blemishes With Shoe Polish!
There are lots of products out there designed to help touch up wood scratches and blemishes. But if you have shoe polish lying around you might be amazed how well that works on your wood furniture or floors. At about half the price or even better … [Continue]
Should You Ever Borrow Money From Family?
Borrow money from family? Not something everyone would call a smart thing to do. But people do it all the time ... and I hear a good number of them manage to survive (mostly) unscathed. Unfortunately, that's not true for everyone. Things can go … [Continue]