Recently, I wrote about my grandfather, the interesting life he led, and what lessons that life taught me. Mostly, I wrote about his past – things he did long ago during Prohibition and the like. I didn’t have the opportunity to know him until he was much older, a quiet old man living alone in
Continuing on our sub-theme this week of skills that complement strong personal finance management, I want to cover the topic of how to write an effective letter. In this electronic age, many people have forgotten the elements – and the value – of sending a letter via postal mail, but this skill is something important
Five Minute Finances is a series of tips on how you can save significant money or reorganize your financial life in just five minutes. These tips appear Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on The Simple Dollar. Tip #2: Call your credit card company According to CardWeb, the average American household has approximately $9,200 in credit card
Recently, I wrote an article about little things that immigrants to America might be surprised to know about money, consumerism, and human relations in the United States. It kicked up some interesting controversy in the comments, in which some immigrants basically stated that I shouldn’t be offering advice to them because I don’t understand their
The Money Book For The Young, Fabulous, and Broke is an attempt by Suze Orman to take personal finance ideas that traditionally appeal to older generations and make them palatable to Generation Y. The back states clearly that this isn’t your parents’ personal finance book, but is there anything really interesting or different about the
Take two whole wheat tortillas, sprinkle some leftover cheese between them, and microwave the sandwich for about thirty seconds. Put just a bit of salsa on top and slice it like a pizza. It’s a great snack for two and it costs almost nothing. Anyway, on with some personal finance posts. Taxes and Twenty Somethings:
I have a fifteen month old son, and in the past I’ve discussed in great detail some plans for providing a strong financial education for a child. In almost every case, I’ve basically started looking at solutions for when he is older, usually at least four years old. However, in the last few weeks, my
Thank God for poverty That makes and keeps us free, And lets us go our unobtrusive way, Glad of the sun and rain, Upright, serene, humane, Contented with the fortune of a day. – William Bliss Carman, The Word at Saint Kavin’s Every time I don’t buy something I don’t need, I buy something else
Recently, I was criticized by a friend of mine when I mentioned offhand that I had a significant amount of my retirement portfolio invested in international stocks. He claimed that by investing my money in international funds, I was being distinctly un-American and that I was helping out our international competitors by investing in their
Pop culture today continually urges us to be more environmentally conscious on an individual basis, something that everyone can agree is a good thing regardless of how you feel about climate change. However, most of the ways people mention to save the environment are expensive (Prius, I’m looking at you). What most people don’t think
The Money Book For The Young, Fabulous, and Broke is an attempt by Suze Orman to take personal finance ideas that traditionally appeal to older generations and make them palatable to Generation Y. The back states clearly that this isn’t your parents’ personal finance book, but is there anything really interesting or different about the
The only two television programs I watch are 24 and Lost, and last night on 24 they wrote back in my single favorite character, Charles Logan. I was like a giddy schoolgirl after getting a new My Little Pony, but it does sort of continue the theme of season six being a direct continuation of
Back before my financial armageddon, I used to splurge on unnecessary stuff almost every evening after work. I’d enjoy things by the armload that I simply didn’t need. Once I realized that I really needed to do something to get my spending in check, I sat down and took a serious look at my daily
My most recent issue of Money Magazine arrived in my mailbox late last week, but when I saw the cover, I almost cringed: it’s an issue devoted almost entirely to the baby boomers, and thus it has the “Oh my God retirement is coming I have nothing saved oh my GOD!” sentiment all over it.
Five Minute Finances is a series of tips on how you can save significant money or reorganize your financial life in just five minutes. These tips appear Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on The Simple Dollar. Tip #1: Clean your car’s air filter In general, most cars should have their air filter replaced every 15,000 miles.
Most career advice you receive focuses on the big picture: how to get ahead, how to “win,” and such things that are on a much larger scale than the daily grind that most of us face. In fact, it is that day to day grind that pulls down many of us – we go to
The Money Book For The Young, Fabulous, and Broke is an attempt by Suze Orman to take personal finance ideas that traditionally appeal to older generations and make them palatable to Generation Y. The back states clearly that this isn’t your parents’ personal finance book, but is there anything really interesting or different about the
Recently, several people have begun implementing ideas found on The Simple Dollar and writing about them on their own blogs. Here are a few I’ve particularly enjoyed. We’re In Debt took the one month challenge and wrote about the results (the one month challenge refers to the recording of all spending for one month and
Titan Ron Chernow Changed my life in January 1997 During my first semester in college, I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do with my life. Even worse, I felt completely as if I didn’t belong there. I grew up rather poor, no one in my family had ever attended college beyond a