A Personal Finance Blog for Regular Folks
When a couple gets married, one of the first things that have to decide is who will pay the bills and make financial decisions.
Ideally, both people in the relationship would make joint decisions and have open discussions about their finances, but unfortunately, this seems to rarely happen. Instead, they may talk out large purchases, but the day to day household spending, budgeting and bill paying seems to fall on one partner.
This is generally a bad idea for both parties.
Every new year, people resolve to lose weight and get in shape.
One of the ways they often try to do this is to join the gym.
If you go to any gym around the country in January, you will notice that it is packed with well-intentioned people; however, come March, what does that same gym look like?
Suddenly it is much easier to use the equipment because there are fewer people waiting in line.
Resolving to lose weight and/or get in shape is an excellent goal for the new year.
Not only will you feel better, but you could likely save your future self money by proactively taking care of your health and avoiding high medical costs in the future related to excess weight.
However, joining the gym and spending a great deal of money upfront is not necessary as there are many other, more frugal, ways to lose weight and get in shape.
Unfortunately, it happens almost every year — well meaning friends and relatives give you Holiday gifts that you have no need or desire for.
Of course, when you open the presents, you pretend to be delighted with the gift, but secretly you may be wondering what to do with the additional clutter. Unless you have a very open relationship with the gift giver, asking for a receipt to return the item is very difficult to do and not recommended.
The car dealership makes leasing sound so appealing.
You can drive a new car every three years, the majority of your car maintenance is covered under the lease, your monthly payments will be lower than if you were buying, and at the end of your lease term, turn the keys back in and start the process all over again.
As many as 25% of people driving choose to lease cars.
Leasing does sound like a can’t lose proposition, until you crunch the numbers, which leads us to ask — What is the true cost of leasing a car? [Read more…] about What Is the True Cost of Leasing a Car
Millions of Americans find themselves in credit card debt, and many of them complain that they don’t know how the debt got so unmanageable.
While there may be reasons for accruing debt such as a medical ailment or job loss, often it is just the result of poor judgement and overspending.
Yet many people rationalize their spending and do not see themselves as the problem.
