Browse by Tags
-
Posted
Jul 16 2008, 02:27 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Would you rather eliminate your debt with a snowball, or smack it down with an avalanche? "Flexo" at Consumerism Commentary says, "By choosing the debt avalanche method, you will pay off your total debt faster, you will pay less interest, and you are mathematically efficient." We're all for being mathematically efficient.
Read More...
-
Posted
Jul 16 2008, 12:44 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Catherine at Frugal Homemaker Plus and Crystal at Money Saving Mom have heard this comment from others: "You and your husband make good money. Why don't you spend more on a nicer home/car/vacation/TV?" Why? Because they have different -- and impressive -- priorities for their money, if you really must know. As Crystal said -- in response to a rude comment apparently questioning her sanity for repairing her old van rather than buying a new one -- "We're living like no one else so that someday we can live and give like no one else." (Yes, she is a fan of Dave Ramsey.)
Read More...
-
Posted
Jun 17 2008, 11:19 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Here's a little snapshot of reality we never thought we'd see: MP Dunleavey owns fewer pairs of jeans than we do. (She has one; we have two.) That factlet about the often loved, sometimes maligned New York Times and MSN Money personal-finance writer was contained in an e-mail interview she did with U.S. News & World Report. We've been among those who have sometimes wondered about MP's spending choices, particularly when she bought a larger house, but that wardrobe confession compelled us to give her another look.
Read More...
-
Posted
Jun 11 2008, 03:03 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Sometimes a good way to learn is to examine other people's mistakes. Lately, personal-finance bloggers have written about two doozies. "Mrs. Accountability" at Out of Debt Again tells the story of Nancy, a woman she met about six years ago when both were poor and living in a trailer park. Nancy's life changed when her mother died. The will specified that some of the estate be used to buy Nancy a condo free and clear.
Read More...
-
Posted
Jun 09 2008, 02:53 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Those who are serious about paying down debt have crafted their own little devices and mind games. For instance, we use the money we earn from our pet-sitting business to make extra payments on our mortgage principal. FloridaChic was born with a shopping gene, but she's learned to channel that impulse to pay off credit card debt. She explains her mind game in a post at Debt Smack called "The lazy girl's guide to snowflaking." This blogger might think she's lazy, but she has serious mind control.
Read More...
-
Posted
May 30 2008, 01:34 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Tell us, Kristy, what do you really think of Dave Ramsey and his debt snowball? "My opinion of Dave Ramsey is that he's horrible with math and probably not so good at psychology, either," Kristy writes at Master Your Card. Wow. Strong words about many people's favorite financial guru. Of the snowball, she says, "I don't think it makes good financial sense to teach people a method that costs them more money just because it may make them feel better." (In some parts, them's probably fightin' words.)
Read More...
-
Posted
May 13 2008, 01:30 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Choosing to eliminate debt isn't simply a matter of spending less, "Finally Frugal" has found. You may have to deal with a lack of support from loved ones. We're sorry to hear that her family's response to her new goal "was one of ridicule and disbelief." You also have to identify and confront the demons that have made you spend more than you earn. In her case, the demon is envy. In a thoughtful essay, Finally Frugal provides some detailed solutions for overcoming her insecurity.
Read More...
-
Posted
Apr 24 2008, 06:46 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
"Frugal Babe" is thinking about quitting her part-time job at the library when her baby is born. That would decrease the family income by $20,000. But through hard work and good planning, she and her husband will continue to run their insurance business, put money in retirement and emergency accounts, pay for health and life insurance, make extra payments on their home, and will set up a college education fund for their child -- all after the baby arrives. "Life is all about choices," she says in this excellent post. "Lucky people tend to make their own luck by the choices they make."
Read More...
-
Posted
Apr 22 2008, 01:44 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Some people are financially sidelined by circumstances beyond their control, while others just poor-mouth -- making excuses for their circumstances with phrases like "The poor man just can't get ahead" or "We struggle just to make ends meet" or "I work hard so I deserve it." "Frugal Dad" calls these folks the "perpetual poor" and explains how you can identify them in this biting and humorous post. For instance, he writes, those who use the "poor man" rant referenced above "can recite the last five winners of American Idle (that's not a typo) from memory, haven't picked up a book since high school," and "never stretched to learn a new skill at work, but complain about being passed over for promotions."
Read More...
-
Posted
Mar 26 2008, 05:01 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Fed up with the government's bailout du jour? You'll find a kindred spirit in Randall at Credit Withdrawal. He's been on an extended rant lately about the causes of economic gloom and the supposed solutions to fix them. His starship goes where a lot of other personal-finance bloggers hesitate to travel. Bailout plans provoke this reaction: "Rewarding stupidity isn't going to make anyone learn from their mistakes. America is the land of opportunity, but that opportunity also includes the opportunity to fail." Why does the government want us to blow our tax rebate money on stuff? He writes: "If everyone were to spend their checks only on debt reduction, the only 'stimulus' that would happen would be for the bankers and lenders, and they already have lots of money coming to them from the Fed in the form of reduced prime rates and now direct loans to nonbanking businesses." Randall doesn't stop there. He foretells the future -- it ain't pretty -- and proposes what regulars folks should do, just in case his predictions are spot on.
Read More...
More Posts Next page »
|
