Married couples with separate accounts might conjure up images of mistrust or deceit between husbands and wives, but there are certain situations where separate accounts can actually be a good idea. First, let me put forth a few disclaimers. I think deliberately hiding money or debt from your spouse or partner is a horrible idea. There is a difference between …
When you are purchasing a large item, like a car, furniture, etc. you usually have more room to haggle. Keep in mind that the person with the most information and patience is going to get the best deal. If you’re shopping for a large ticket item, be sure to do your homework and know what the going rate …
Most Americans think that negotiating is something reserved for car purchases, job offers, and garage sales. You won’t hear a lot of people say, “I love to negotiate and haggle over prices!” This makes me sad, because we’re leaving a good amount of money on the table when we don’t negotiate. If you’ve traveled to other countries, you’ll know that …
Last week, in Part One of this article, I talked about how to prioritize your spending when you don’t have enough money to pay all of the bills. If you got nothing else out that, I hope you remembered to be sure to take care of your necessities first: Food, Shelter, Transportation, and Clothing. Of course, you’ll take a hard look at …
I hope that you are never in the position where there’s not enough money to pay all of the bills, but sometimes the unthinkable happens. It may be the result of a job layoff, a period of disability or illness, divorce, or just poor financial choices. If you’re about to tune me out because you don’t think this applies to …
Your credit score is not the best measure of financial success! In the past few weeks, I have been saying this over and over. I’ve said this to my coaching clients, my social media fans, investment advisors, bankers, and mortgage brokers. I think I shocked the investment advisor when I told him that I don’t know off the top of …
I probably don’t have to tell you this if you’ve been in a grocery store or restaurant lately, but food prices are on the rise! This can be especially hard on single parents, retired folks on fixed incomes, and those who are between jobs. With the average family spending in excess of $500 on food every month, we could …
The Cure – Start moving in the right direction. The first step to getting out of debt is to STOP BORROWING MORE MONEY! As Dave Ramsey says, “You can’t get out of a hole by digging out the bottom!” It’s time for plastic surgery – cut up those credit cards! The second step to getting out …
Debt can be deadly to your finances! It’s so dangerous to your financial health, that I believe it’s not being too dramatic to say debt is like financial cancer. However, the banking industry has done such a fantastic job marketing their product – debt – to the American people that we can scarcely imagine not having a car without …