13 Better Money Habits You Need to Get Out of Debt

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13 Better Money Habits You Need to Get Out of Debt

Developing better money habits that lead to getting out of debt is one of those things everybody knows they should do, but sadly most don’t.  I know Angie and I struggled for years with nagging debt that never seemed to go away.  It wasn’t until we changed our money habits and our mindset about money that we were truly able to make a full effort at getting out of debt. We Had to Change Our Money Habits We spent a lot of time putting band-aids on our finances, but never fixed the underlying problem.  When it came down to it, […] Read more »

18 Smart Ways to Save Money on Your Utility Bills

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18 Smart Ways to Save Money on Your Utility Bills

I’m all about saving money wherever I can.  Especially when it comes to saving money on utility bills and other recurring expenses that can get out of hand very quickly if you’re not paying attention. So I thought I would share with you all the ways I’ve found to save money on your utility bills. Saving Money on Utility Bills is Easy! It’s really not that hard to save big bucks on utilities when you know what to do.  Sometimes saving money simply comes down to changing one or two habits, and sometimes it entails making an investment now that […] Read more »

Applying Agile Principles To Your Finances

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I spent three days last week in a workshop learning advanced concepts of the Agile Methodology. If you’re in software or project management you may have heard of Agile as a methodology in which the requirements to achieve a goal are constantly reevaluated, and course corrections made through incremental and iterative work segments. One of the workshop facilitators stated that she found Agile practices spilling over into her personal life.  As she made that statement, I could feel my eyes roll back into my head. The thought that a project management technique used for complex software development being applied to […] Read more »

The Newest Finance Podcasts You’ve Never Heard

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Hitting the search button on Google is a great way to find the answer to your questions about money, but how do you know the advice fits your specific situation? Maybe you have two teenage daughters and the author of the article is a single guy fresh out of college. It is likely the advice is technically correct, but it would be nice to have some more context than a little box at the bottom of the post or link to their About page. Personal finance is personal and you want to know the knowledge you are obtaining fits your […] Read more »

What Does Your Refrigerator Tell You About Your Finances?

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I view life as being made up of many strands, all interconnected and affecting each other. Each strand represent some aspect of a person’s personality or a stream of experiences. They are separate, but intertwined, each affecting the other. I looked in my fridge over the weekend, and noticed how cluttered it was. I was reminded of how I had been feeling about our finances lately. Let me show you what I mean: Pizza : I found a container of leftovers from our favorite local pizza place. We got back to town late Saturday evening after being at a lake […] Read more »

Four Ways To Take A Load Off Your Money Management Chores

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Looking back at almost a decade of debt-elimination and investing, I can see that one thing has contributed to our financial success: Automation. Not only has automation made things easier, it has also forced us to be diligent. Here are four ways to automate your finances and take a load off your money management chores: Bill-pay Our bank offers free bill-pay. It allows us to set up regularly occurring bills like cable, cell phone, and city utilities. In the old days we would have to write a check, lick a stamp, and send it off in the mail. Now, when the […] Read more »

9 Tips For Creating Discipline With Money

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9 Tips For Creating Discipline With Money

I frequently get questions from my readers about how to resolve their various financial problems.  The questions range from not being able to save enough, to tackling huge amounts of debt, to how to stop living paycheck to paycheck. One of the common themes I’ve discovered in the hundreds of emails I’ve received, is that most of those readers tell me the root of their problem is a lack of discipline. Lack of Money is Not the Problem Learning discipline when it comes to money is not always easy, but it’s necessary if you want to get ahead financially.  Many […] Read more »

Are You Lying To Yourself About Your Finances?

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Today’s post is one of a network of posts throughout the personal finance blogosphere taking part in the Financial Literacy Awareness Carnival.  The Carnival is being hosted by Shannon at The Heavy Purse honoring April as Financial Literacy Month. Once you finish this post, head over there to check out other great articles linked to by the carnival. Enjoy! Are you lying to yourself about your finances? Don’t be so quick to answer that question, maybe you should think about it a little harder. You will never reach your full financial potential if you’re lying to yourself about your finances, […] Read more »

13 Ways You Can Save Money On A Low Income

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save money low income limited income

I get a lot of questions from readers wanting to know how they can save money on a low income, so I thought I would write a post about some of the suggestions I’ve been giving out that can help you put money in the bank, even when you’re living on a limited income.  I’ve also included some great resources along with the suggestions that will help you get started putting money in the bank right now!   You Can Still Save Money On A Low Income When you’re living on a small income, it can be especially hard to […] Read more »

7 Awesome Ways to Accelerate Your Savings and Build Wealth

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Seven Awesome Ways to Accelerate Savings and Build Wealth

Most Americans are saving very little money, if any at all.  I know my savings have been harder to come by in recent years. Over the last few years my income was cut almost in half due to several factors.  On top of that, we were also paying cash for my wife’s bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Things got pretty tight there for a while. Saving money was not an easy thing to do, but we did manage to save a little periodically even though we were under the gun financially. Now my income is now returning to a much more […] Read more »

Small Victories- Getting Out of Debt One Small Step At a Time

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small victories get out of debt one step at a time

Getting out of debt can seem like a daunting task.  When you finally decide to take the step of getting yourself out of debt, it’s easy to be intimidated by the huge goal you’ve presented for yourself. And when you realize what you’re up against, you’re ready to give up on getting out of debt before you even get started. So how do you overcome that overwhelming feeling when you want to achieve your goal, but you’re so intimidated by all the work you know it will take to get it done? You have to chill out, take a step […] Read more »

Bad Debt Collectors and What You Can Do About Them

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Dealing with bad debt is no fun. Dealing with a bad debt collector can be downright terrifying. When you have a bad debt that has gone to a collection agency it can be very easy to want to avoid the pain of the situation or even totally ignore it when you know you can’t possibly pay it.  That’s why some collectors of overdue debt will do everything they can to get your attention, even if it’s illegal. Most debt collection agencies are legit and strictly follow the rules set forth by the FTC  (Federal Trade Commission). However, there are plenty […] Read more »

7 Ways You Can Stay Motivated to Get Out of Debt

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7 ways to stay motivated to get out of debt resources

Over the years I’ve seen plenty of people get motivated to get out of debt, but they never end up following through with the process.  They are usually pretty fired up about getting out of debt and start out very motivated.  But not long after they start the process, their energy flags and it’s not long before they lose their motivation. I’ve seen a lot of other people make decent progress in paying down debt, but for whatever reason, they end up losing their focus and go back to their old habits, never finishing the get out of debt process.   How to […] Read more »

Why Cash Is King: Security Breach Edition

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I’ve never received a thin envelope from my bank and had it contain good news. I’ve opened up similar thin mailings in the past from my financial institution and been greeted by a loan decline letter, or an overdraft notice. It’s never been a positive experience, so when I found just such a thin envelope in my mailbox last week I knew I should brace myself for bad news.   I slowly opened the letter to discover that my debit card may have been compromised due to the recent security breach at Home Depot. A new debit card and a new […] Read more »