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• How much money would it take to change your life?

  Posted Jun 27 2008, 08:48 PM by Karen Datko
  Filed under: Debt, Retirement, Emergency, Karen Datko
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  Most of us have lottery dreams. If we won the big one, we'd quit our job(s), pay off the house, live abroad. But consider this: The amount of money it would take to change your life might actually be much more modest -- and a lot more attainable.

  "Paidtwice" at I've Paid For This Twice Already calls that amount your "life-changing money." She used to think it was hundreds of thousands of dollars. "But then I realized -- at this point, life-changing money for me really means simply getting out of debt and establishing an adequate emergency fund," she wrote. With $40,000, she wouldn't have to think so much about money with every decision she makes. Many of her readers said they feel the same way.   Read More...

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• Han Solo has a debt problem: More PF advice from Star Wars

  Posted Mar 11 2008, 12:06 PM by Karen Datko
  Filed under: Debt, Retirement, Saving, Karen Datko
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  Han Solo has too much debt. Darth Vader "wants it all, now!" Yoda didn't save for a rainy day and certainly didn't anticipate that he'd live to be 900. Why else, Monevator asks, would he be dining on pulped vines in a leaky hut?

  Monevator goes where another personal-finance blogger we've featured has gone before -- wait, that's another space opera, but you catch our drift -- and writes about personal-finance lessons to be gained from Star Wars.

  In "Who's your Star Wars money hero?" Monevator examines the financial blunders of our favorite second-trilogy characters, gives them directions for success, and also recommends PF blogs and books to read. (Monevator rightly, we believe, stays away from what he calls "the Trilogy of Shame.")   Read More...

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• Personal-finance lessons learned from 'The Office'

  Posted Jan 09 2008, 05:34 PM by Karen Datko
  Filed under: Debt, Retirement, Spending, Karen Datko
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  Have you seen this episode of "The Office"? Michael, worried about his money (or lack thereof), tells officemates he's declaring bankruptcy. Oscar schools Michael on money, using a three-column spreadsheet to illustrate Michael's spending. One column is for necessities, one is for wants, and the third and largest is what he has spent on things he doesn't need. We can learn a lot from this, writes RacerX of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Money. "In other words," RacerX writes, "a trip to Europe is a desire, contributing to my IRA so I don't eat dog food when I am 70 is a want, much less making sure I have my own shelter (a need)."   Read More...

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