Don’t Turn Old Bills Into Zombie Debt
The zombie apocalypse is real and they\'re out to get your money! Find out how a mistake can make an old, noncollectable debt collectable again. More »
Fooling My Family Into Saving Money On Groceries
In 2012 I stated that food prices would rise, and unfortunately, they have. Now, I\'m using sneaky methods to fool my family into reducing our grocery budget. More »
What Does a ‘No-Cost Refi’ Really Mean?
The no cost mortgage refinance pitch might sound great, but are there potential hidden fees that could make this deal not so free? More »
How To Score Free Money From the Airlines
I\'ve flown for free a number of times. You can easily get free airline tickets with these tips. More »
5 Easy Ways to Make Money by Using Your Credit Cards
Your credit cards don\'t always have to cost you money. Given the right circumstances, they can MAKE you money too. More »
Tips For Getting a Great Deal On Your Car Insurance
When it comes to our financial situations, we all need a helping hand. Whether you want answers about which are the best savings accounts for you, you need a little pension advice on everything from auto-enrollment to SIPPS from Sippdeal, or perhaps you’re looking to cut your monthly costs, a bit of guidance goes a long way.
Here we’ve got a few great tips on how you can reduce your car insurance premiums. After all, with the cost of petrol continuing to rise, driving can be expensive so it’s important to cut your expenses where you can.
Want a Potential 36% Return? Read On
We all like investing, right?
Sandy is investing her face off, buying rental properties faster than most of you buy underwear. Other people are buying the usual – stocks and bonds – usually within their 401k or Roth IRAs. And still others are investing in more non-conventional assets, like peer to peer lending or commodities or whatever else it is you kids spend your money on. Alas, buying 100 cheeseburgers is not a good investment, even though everyone likes cheeseburgers.
What Does a ‘No-Cost Refi’ Really Mean?
The pitch for a no-cost refinance sounds pretty attractive: replace your current mortgage with a lower-interest rate mortgage and pay nothing for the privilege of doing it. But before signing on the dotted line, it’s important to realize that “no cost” doesn’t typically mean “free” when it comes to refinancing.
The true meaning of “no cost”
No-cost refis usually mean that borrowers won’t pay upfront costs to get the new mortgage loan — so they might better be called “no-initial-out-of-pocket-cost refis” — but that doesn’t mean the loan won’t cost in the long run. In general, there are two ways a lender can offer a no-cost refinance:
Popular Landlord and Tenant Rental Scams
A few years ago during the big mortgage meltdown, I became a homeowner for the first time. Although I purchased my first home, it was not one that I planned on living in; I had made the decision to become a real estate investor. Since then I have added one additional investment property bringing my current real estate holdings to two homes with three units. My brother also purchased a rental property in the same area with three units.
Being an investor is not all about sitting at home collecting rental checks; nor is it about handing your property over to a management company to deal with. My brother and I have had to learn, very quickly, how to spot issues before they become serious problems. The most common issue that we have run into involves rental scams.
As a landlord, I tend to focus on scams that originate from renters, but after establishing the site, MyTenantFromHell.com, I have also seen complaints about landlord scams a well. Today I would like to share with you the most common rental scams that I have seen online.
April 1 Debt Check In
In March I said that I wouldn’t do this every month, but, what the heck!
I have been doing debt reports every month since I first established this blog. If this is your first time seeing a debt check-in on this blog, the entire reason why this blog exists is to chronicle my debt journey and share some of what I’ve learned with anyone who happens to be reading.
This has been an essential part of my debt reduction journey because I an not on a strict, paper-written budget, but this helps to keep me accountable. Being able to look backwards and see where I’ve been and what I’ve done over the past month has helped to accelerate my debt repayment by light years. No longer am I flippant about my debt and the amount of time that it will take to repay everything.
Why You Shouldn’t Depend On Your Employer’s Life Insurance
For the first time in my life I’m buying life insurance.
I’ve always had life insurance coverage through my various employers, but I never bothered to purchase my own life insurance because I thought that I didn’t need it, and honestly I probably didn’t. I had absolutely no assets, plenty of debt, no children, no spouse, no one depending on my income and enough in my retirement account to bury me…with a little money left over.
Finance 101: How To Choose A Financial Advisor
Things like spending less and earning more are extremely important, which is why those of us who write about this stuff spend so much time focusing on the topics. We want you to create an excess every month that you can then invest for the benefit of your future self. Because I have that ability, I’ve gone to the future and asked your older self about this, and they agree with me. I am the lamest time traveler ever.
Once you’ve got some savings, it’s time to invest it. Unfortunately, most people don’t know the first thing about investing. The stock market is a big scary place, and sometimes stocks go down a lot. How are you supposed to know which stocks or mutual funds to pick? Sure, you could learn about it, but that takes time, and there’s a lot on TV.
So you do what most people do – you find a financial advisor and entrust them with investing your money. Okay, but how do you find a good one? I can’t guarantee you’ll find one that will lead you to crazy riches, but here are a few tips on how to pick a good one.
Which Is Better For Saving: Leasing or Buying?
When looking for a new car, cost is always a consideration with all of the available options. If you are directly comparing leasing to buying to determine which is the smarter financial option, it is not strictly black and white. There are pros and cons associated with both options that need to be factored into the decision.
Leasing
Pros of Leasing a Vehicle
The financial benefits of leasing a vehicle include:
Video Pick: Slicing the Family Food Budget
In the final installment of our exploration on saving money on food is this video featuring Kiplinger’s tips and tricks for cutting the family food budget.
Points include:
- How often are you really eating out?
- Cooking is your friend
- Beginner cook books
- What to get at the grocery store
- Tips for buying in bulk
- Saving on individual serving sized food
- Where to find food coupons
- Cutting costs when eating out
