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Posted
Aug 05 2008, 05:13 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog Blueprint for Financial Prosperity: I've never liked having debt because I've always felt uncomfortable owing someone money. When it comes to major purchases like a home, it's usually unavoidable; but for smaller- ticket items, I avoid debt like the plague because I know it's a slippery slope. You start owing a little here, a little there, and the next thing you know you're making large monthly payments with little to show for it. But we've all been there; we all slip up. Whether it's eating too much at a meal, spending too much when you're out with friends, or something else, stuff happens and you deal. Well, if debt happened and you're looking for some tips on how to get it unhappened, I'd like you to check out these 10 steps I've learned over the years.
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Posted
Aug 01 2008, 01:11 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Gas is expensive and food is going higher and higher. I'm not talking about today -- I'm flashing back to my teenage years. Times were tight between 1974 and 1976, when I ran the household for my father and younger brother. I remember how quickly the grocery money evaporated even though I made all our meals, desserts and snacks from scratch. Gasoline was not only costly but rationed during what was widely referred to as the "energy crisis."
People combined errands and stayed home a lot more. They cut back on nonessential foodstuffs, did without entertainment and new clothes, and generally tried to make their dollars go further. But this austerity didn't last. The age of conspicuous consumption cranked up in the 1980s, and cars seemed to get bigger each year. More than a few times I've said to myself, or to others, "Have we learned nothing from the '70s?"
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Posted
Jul 15 2008, 11:02 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
We like the new blogger who posts at Sallie's Niece. She "went to school thanks to my Aunt Sallie Mae," her site says. "Now watch me struggle to pay and pay." She owes $72,735 to Sallie Mae, and that's not including a nearly equal amount in private loans. Sometimes it is a struggle. She has done battle with the "Evil Overdraft Monster" and payday loans. Her latest nemesis -- now vanquished after two years -- was the gyros truck outside her workplace. "At five days a week for three months each year, I am just now realizing that I spent $900, a whole emergency fund's worth of George Washingtons, on very thinly cut lamb rolled in pita bread with some tomatoes and onions!" Our foodie heart goes out to you, Sallie's Niece.
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Posted
Jun 20 2008, 05:40 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
"DogAteMyFinances" didn't report a success story when she recently updated her finances for her reading public. When she started her blog, also called Dog Ate My Finances, she had a net worth of $8,000 and $30,000 of debt, she wrote. Fast forward six months. The net worth is now $3,000 and the debt has grown to $45,000. "That's just embarrassing when you make over 150K," she admitted. But, she's being an adult about it. She's blaming no one but herself. In a reversal of roles, her readers offered sound advice to the personal-finance blogger.
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Posted
May 09 2008, 06:52 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Trent Hamm at partner blog The Simple Dollar. When I first went through my financial meltdown, I was almost obsessive about my various accounts. I checked my credit card and bank balances daily, kept careful notes on every penny I spent, and planned and plotted every single expense. The giant budgets and debt snowballs and investing plans I created were amazing in their detail. I spent hours with Excel, calculating my financial life and seeing the implications of every little move I might make. Over time, though, something fascinating happened.
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