Saving Money

Little Things Can Cost Money

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Generally, this website focuses on the slightly more complex personal finance advice and other money issues. However, every once and awhile, I get enough motivation to fire off a tidbit of money saving advice on something smaller and easier. This evening, I finally got pushed over the line by one of those little things that companies do to wring a little extra money out of their customers. The Laundry Soap Scam Years ago, laundry soap came in big boxes and big bottles. The bigger the bottle of laundry soap, the more loads of wash it did. Then, laundry soap manufacturers figured out they could concentrate their liquid laundry soap. In doing so, they could ship more product to the stores for the same cost, and stores could keep more product in stock thanks to smaller bottles. Of course, at first, this took a fair amount of consumer education because people were very used to the concept that bigger meant more. Finally, laundry companies settled on printing on the bottle just how many loads of laundry each bottle could do, and that was that. Along the way, however, those same companies couldn’t pass up a chance to cheat their customers out …

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Your Money AND Your Life

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I write this personal finance blog because I like writing, I have real, professional experience in finance, and I like to help people. I also know that when I read a lot of the financial advice out there, it is either, too complicated, too oversimplified, or flat out inaccurate. This isn’t too surprising, because dealing with money and all of the various things that go with it, like savings, borrowing, investing and so on can get complicated very quickly. It is also very easy to lose sight of the forest, for the trees. I thought this might be a good time to remember that your balance sheet is not how you keep score in life. Living Your Life Making Smart Financial Decisions Recently, a reader left a comment on my review of Credit Karma basically calling me a fool for leasing a car. This seemed odd. Leasing does have a lot of moving parts, but the concept itself isn’t a scam. He went on to say that the only smart thing to do was buy a used car and live debt free. Then I knew, what was going on. Some people lock into “rules” about finance and take them as the …

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How Should I Invest $3,000

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A recent Money magazine tidbit on Twitter caught my eye. Someone asked how they should invest a small amount, in this case, $3,000. The response suggested a target-date retirement fund. However, I don’t think that is a very good answer in this case, or in most cases. How To Invest a Small Amount When I was a Certified Financial Planner, I would come across people all the time who wanted to know how to invest a small amount. It isn’t hard to see why. We are constantly reminded that we should be saving and investing money. Books like The Richest Man in Babylon (the single best book for beginners in personal finance) extol the virtues of investing some of everything you earn and letting the power of compound interest turn that on-going investment into millions of dollars. However, this very simple concept is actually very misunderstood. First, remember that compound interest is NOT fast. If you invested that $3,000 and were able to earn 8 percent per year you’d have just $4,408 in five years and $5,141 after a full seven years. That isn’t to say that you shouldn’t invest that money, you should just understand what your realistic expectations …

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End of Year Tax Strategies – Calculate Dollar Amount of Tax Moves

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Ah, November, when the American mind turns toward Thanksgiving, Christmas shopping, and strategies to avoid paying too much taxes. Yes, you should be doing tax planning year round to achieve the maximum savings on taxes, but reality isn’t always so kind. Still, there are some end of year tax moves that are smart and some that just aren’t worthwhile tax strategies when you add up your tax savings. Figuring out which is which is a critical part of personal finance. To avoid making tax moves that aren’t worth the trouble, there is a simple strategy. Always calculate the real dollar amount of any tax strategy prior to implementation. Tax Savings Strategy Example #1: The Top 10 End of Year Tax Strategy Tips lists always include the barely usable advice to pay your January mortgage early. By paying your January mortgage bill in December, you get to deduct the interest from your payment in 2009. There is a big, fat catch, however. Although you do get to deduct 13 months worth of mortgage interest in 2009, you will only get to deduct 11 months worth of interest in 2010 unless you make sure to make that January payment in December again …

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Is Refurbished or Remanufactured a Good Deal?

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Sometimes people ask me questions that aren’t exactly my area of specialty.  While saving money by buying a refurbished or remanufactured product is technically about spending and personal finance, there is a lot of information that goes into such a decision that I have no way of knowing any better than you. With that being said, there are some common issues and concerns to watch out for when purchasing refurbished or remanufactured goods. Is It Really A Good Price? The promise of refurbished goods, particularly electronics, is getting a “good as new” product for a much lower price.  The devil, of course, is in the details.  The major concerns fall into two categories. The first is whether or not the refurbished product really IS as good as new.  And the second, is in what way the service and support of the product will be different because it is refurbished. Many refurbished products come with a much shorter warranty than their new counterparts.  This begs the question, “If the product is as good as new, then why won’t you stand behind it with a warranty that is as good as the new one?” The answer is, of course, that refurbished is …

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Save Money On Christmas Holiday Shopping

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The Top 10 Best Christmas Holiday Deal Websites. Want to go beyond those everyone-knows-about-them websites the regular news reports on? Here are the real places to get hot deals this Christmas, and all year round.