You’ve heard the stereotype before – Americans are spendthrifts. All American children get smart phones on Christmas and no expense is spared on the holiday season. While it is true that Americans spend a great deal of money on Christmas, the gossip around the world is lacking in proof. Do Americans really spend more than other nationalities on Christmas gifts? The answer is probably going to surprise you.… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Budgeting
Free Trustworthy Resources for Investors
The internet completely changed the world for investors. There are now more free and accessible resources for investors than ever before. I’ve compiled a list of some of my favorite online resources for investors, and I hope you’ll help by adding any more in the comments.… Continue Reading
Where to Keep Your Savings: Factors to Help You Decide
As I have mentioned on my blog before, young adults struggle with handling their money because of inexperience. We often don’t want to admit it because we want to prove our independence, but there are so many times in my life that I feel like I could do better if I had someone to bounce ideas off of. Young adults struggle not only with earning money, but managing their money once they have it. Many will spend it thoughtlessly on iPhones or other technology, but there are some that have a priority to save. For those who are saving money, you might be asking yourself what the best place to keep your money is.… Continue Reading
Actual Cost of an iPhone 5
While I thought there would be more buzz about the increasing costs of an iPhone 5, there hasn’t been much discussion. A good friend of mine recently bought the iPhone 5 and was telling me that it is noticeable better than its predecessor. As he was showing it to me, I was jealous as I reached for my “dumb phone” in my pocket. While I wasn’t aware of it at the time, I was grabbing for my phone in order to instantaneously measure its worth. By touching it, I guess I was looking for a reminder on how my frugal lifestyle is ultimately worth it.… Continue Reading
Why do People Get in Debt? How to Get Out of it
Young adults have their entire future ahead of them. Unfortunately, this means that many of them take advantage of the time instead of doing everything they can to get ahead. Many of my friends talk about debt as if it were just another fact of life. I can’t help but wonder if we are desensitizing ourselves to the negative aspects of it. This may seem like an obvious question, but if the answer is so clear, why are so many people still struggling with their finances? … Continue Reading
Keeping Track of Your Expenses and Why It’s Important
Managing your finances often starts at college. Regardless of whether it is when you enroll for classes in your freshman semester or when you graduate, you are forced to take on the challenge of your finances as an adult. It’s often the balancing act of knowing how much you are earning in comparison to how… Continue Reading
Does the Cash Method Really Work?
One of the many ways that people try to curb their spending habits is to go to an all-cash budget. The reason for making the adjustment is that it helps you weigh the actual cost of each expense because it is actual bills leaving your pocket. It’s not a method that my wife and I use, but it has been helpful for some of our closest friends. Find out why it could help you.… Continue Reading
We Set Up a Fun Budget
I have previously talked about our jump in income over the past year. For those who don’t know, I started making a little money on the side from my new hobby and my wife got a promotion. We have been very diligent in saving and putting money towards retirement, but we never really gave in to some of our wants. Earlier we had been frugal by necessity, and now we have been faced with questioning what we want to do with our extra money. … Continue Reading
Enjoy Your Vacation – I Did!
As some of you may already know, a couple weeks ago my wife and I stepped away from our everyday lives to enjoy our annual vacation. We were celebrating our third anniversary (early because of other commitments at the actual time of our anniversary) and we enjoyed it 100 percent! Many of my readers were asking me about it, so I thought I would share a little bit more about how we did some simple things to keep the vacation affordable and yet still have an amazing vacation.… Continue Reading
How to Prosper
Hopefully, you sat down and created your spending plan that I outlined in the spending plan post last week. It doesn’t take a lot of work, but will go a long ways to helping you prosper. Let’s focus on a bigger picture now. Follow these three rules and you will be on your way to financial success.… Continue Reading
