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Dream Lists for Extra Cash
Tweet Share on Facebook May 30, 2008 Comment (4)This morning, I participated in a "Mind over Money" panel on Channel 9 in Washington, where I answered calls about life insurance, identity theft, and child support. In addition to those bread-and-butter topics of personal finance, I also got my favorite kind of question: one that focuses on the opportunities that money can bring us. A 57-year-old woman who recently accepted a $20,000 buyout at work wanted to know what she should do with the money.
First, I asked her about her retirement savings. Did she have enough built up to pay for her living expenses? She did. This $20,000, she explained, was just extra.
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Vote: How Is the Economy Affecting You?
Tweet Share on Facebook May 29, 2008 Comment (5)The verdict is in: Americans are worried about the economy. The latest evidence comes from an AARP nationwide survey that asked respondents ages 45 and over about how they have responded to the slowdown. Most participants said that the economy is in bad shape and that they have changed their own behavior to adapt. Among the findings:
- More than 1 in 4 respondents said they are having trouble paying their mortgage or rent.
- About a third said they stopped putting money into their retirement accounts.
- About a quarter said they postponed plans to retire.
Now it's your turn: vote in the poll below.
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6 Ways to Save Money on Vacation
Tweet Share on Facebook May 28, 2008 Comment (9)Even though I knew my vacation to Belize last week wouldn't be cheap, I tried to keep it from getting out of hand with money-saving travel techniques I've developed by trial and error. (Spending a dinner's worth of money on ATM fees isn't the kind of thing you easily forget.) Here are my top six frugal tips that won't interfere with any vacation fun:
• Rent. If you're going somewhere for more than a couple of days, look into renting an apartment instead of staying at a hotel. (Websites for specific destinations can be easily found through Internet searches.) When you have a kitchen, you can make breakfast and sometimes lunch and dinner on your own, which easily adds up to over $40 a day.
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Surviving a Layoff
Tweet Share on Facebook May 27, 2008 Comment (2)I am the kind of person who needs a back-up plan. That's why I'm a big fan of emergency funds and tend to make (probably overly) safe investments with my short-term savings.
So I was eager to read the National Foundation for Credit Counseling's ideas for surviving a layoff, a worst-case scenario that many people are worrying about now. Some of the suggestions include:
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Eat Better for Less
Tweet Share on Facebook May 27, 2008 Comment (2)I recently chatted with Fred Grandy at Retirement Living TV about how to save money at the grocery story. (Fred, a vegan, even makes his own hummus.) You can view the video below.
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Money Tips for New Moms
Tweet Share on Facebook May 23, 2008 Comment (5)Angie Wynne, author of Baby Cheapskate, guest blogs about saving money while preparing for the big day:
Have you heard the statistic that parents spend $10,000 on their kid during the first year alone? Get started early with these five tips from Baby Cheapskate, and cut that amount by thousands:
• Focus on the essentials. Fill your registry with practical items. Think car seats, bottles, a breast pump, a crib, etc. Diapers may not be as cute as a tiny pink dress, but you'll be glad to have them (and people will give you clothes anyway). Try to resist filling in the gaps until all the gifts are in. When you shop for gear, look for open-box items to save around 30 percent. When buying online, always check for a coupon code (do a Web search for the name of the store and "coupon"). Remember to consider the cost of shipping.
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A Pop Quiz on Your Spending
Tweet Share on Facebook May 22, 2008 Comment (3)Today's guest post is from Mike, creator of the blog Living the Cheap Life:
To begin with, I'd like to offer a big thanks to Kim for giving me the opportunity to write this guest post. My name is Mike, and I'm a cheapskate. I'm also the blogmaster over at Living the Cheap Life, where I discuss strategies for living frugally with the ultimate goal of financial freedom.
The disgustingly simple exercise I'm about to discuss will put you in the frame of mind to become a black belt cheapskate. Even if that's not your goal (it should be), the exercise will still improve your financial health and make you more conscious of your spending.
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A Grad Student's Spending—and Saving—Habits
Tweet Share on Facebook May 21, 2008 Comment (1)After I asked readers to share their own spending diaries, Veronica, a 24-year-old graduate student in Brooklyn, N.Y. (her last name is omitted to protect her privacy), offered to keep track of her expenditures. I was curious to learn about people's different saving strategies, and her diary did not disappoint. As you can see below, Veronica used a combination of comparison shopping, packing her lunches, and close relationships (you can't split a hot dog with a stranger, after all) to keep her spending in check. Veronica's diary:
Sunday
- 2 p.m.: $8 Pathmark (two Lean Cuisine pizzas, one double-stuffed Oreos, and bananas)
- 2:30 p.m.: $12 Key Foods (four boxes of pasta, four cans of tuna, and four boxes of frozen vegetables)
- 3 p.m.: $5.54 Associated Supermarket (half-gallon fruit punch, half-gallon lemonade, and half-gallon 2-percent milk)
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It's Hard to Stick With Stocks
Tweet Share on Facebook May 20, 2008 Comment (5)GBlogger from Can I Get Rich on Salary writes today's guest post:
I often wonder whether I'm being stupid. This is prompted by my long history of being stupid. But it's also human nature. We all have moments of self-doubt.
A 24-year-old reader named Kathy expressed this in a comment on my blog:
I worry that I am stupid for faithfully throwing money into my 401(k) plan only to see it decline by 10 percent because I put into stocks because I'm young and that's supposedly what young people should do. Is that typical for someone my age to worry about?
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5 Ways to Stop Wasting Food
Tweet Share on Facebook May 19, 2008 Comment (9)While I'm on vacation this week, other bloggers will be writing guest posts. Here is the first one, from Jonathan Bloom, who blogs at WastedFood.com.
OK, quick quiz:
Which purchase is likely to yield food waste?
a) Discount club—the 30-pack of hot dogs.
b) Supermarket—that bag of washed, cut spinach.
c) Organic grocer—the chayote squash you've always wanted to try.
d) All of the above.
