Finances

Taxes ... there's nothing fun about them.  They are complicated, tedious, and can take up your time. But more importantly, they can also take up your money if you're not careful.  On one hand they cost you way more than is necessary if you've got a pretty simple return to file.  Or on the other hand they can turn into a costly nightmare if you make a mistake or file them incorrectly.  It can be a scary fine line. Luckily, there have been a lot of advances in tax preparation over the years … [Read more...] about 24 Tips for Saving Money While Preparing Your Tax Return

Knowing how to shop for life insurance can make all the difference between paying exactly what you should be and getting completely ripped off! Believe me!  I was unfortunately doing the latter of those two options for a number of years ( ... more on that story below ...).  But eventually I wised up, did my research, and figured out how to get exactly what I needed for the right price. Now I'm much happier and secure knowing that my family is fully taken care of without having to spend a … [Read more...] about How to Shop for Life Insurance the Easy Way – 14 Helpful Tips

When it comes to the act of retirement planning, believe it or not this is one place where you can actually "save even more money" while "saving money"! (Yes, you read that correctly.) What am I talking about? The IRS likes it when we take it upon ourselves to save money for retirement. As a result, they give you a lot of advantages that you wouldn't normally get with other savings goals. In addition to saving for retirement, these advantages can also be useful in making the right … [Read more...] about 21 Ways to Save and Invest Better for Retirement

Have you ever wondered how being responsible with credit cards can save you money? Sure ... there's the obvious answer of not spending too much and getting yourself into debt. But HOW you use your credit cards can affect you in so many other ways - some you might not even be aware of. Your use of credit cards as well as other loans are the “tests” you undertake to see how creditable you are with your money.  In other words, the bank or financial institution is taking a risk by giving … [Read more...] about 21 Ways Being Responsible With Credit Cards Saves You Money

Everyone always says that the first step to getting on track financially is to create a budget. But how does budgeting help save money exactly?  After-all, isn't it just creating a list of your expenses and income? On the surface, yes, it is.  But there's a lot more to budgeting than just a list. Budgeting is all about getting your finances organized and operating with a plan.  I can't think of a professional business in the world that doesn't operate with some sort of financial plan. … [Read more...] about 13 Ways That Budgeting Will Make You a Financial Rock-Star

In the olden days, they used to call cars "lady killers" for two reasons: 1) Because of how stylish and cool they looked, and 2) because of how many accidents they caused. Hence, this is why we all are required to carry auto insurance.  You never know where and when something is going to happen to you out on the road.  It could be your fault, or it could be the other guy's.  Regardless, there will always be a price to paid at every accident. Like most forms of insurance, sometimes what … [Read more...] about 18 Simple Ways to Lower Your Auto Insurance Costs

Banks are funny places ... When you're young, you're taught that its a safe place to take your money and save it for a rainy day. But when you get older, you find out that a bank is just like any other business - they're there to make money off of you! Every time you walk in to one, you're bombarded by advertisements for new accounts, loans, and a bunch of other services that you probably would never normally use. Even if you don't go inside one, they want you to meet certain … [Read more...] about 15 Ways to Save Money on Your Banking Fees

Owning a house will be easily one of the biggest purchases of your life. But your mortgage payments don't have to stay huge for the rest of your life. When the opportunity strikes, you can easily shave hundreds of dollars off your monthly payments. This could translate into few years and thousands of dollars saved over the lifetime of your loan. Here are 17 clever ways you can lower your mortgage payments and save more money.   1. Don't live in a high status area. The house … [Read more...] about 17 Smart Ways to Lower Your Mortgage Payments