A budget is one way to consistently manage your money. A budget usually allocates a certain amount of money to each of your expenses such as rent, student loans, car loans, mortgage loans and credit card debt. Learn tips to create an effective budget and what to include in a budget as well as when it’s appropriate to start children on a budget.
Interview With Gary Zimmerman From MaxMyInterest.com
I talked with Gary Zimmerman, founder of MaxMyInterest.com, on my show on June 15, 2014. Here's a transcript of our conversation. You can listen to the interview by clicking the audio file at the end of the post. My guest this morning is Gary Zimmerman. Gary was sitting in his office in Japan where he was [...]
Check Your Credit Score Before Shopping for a Mortgage
It’s selling season and buyers are excited to take advantage of the incredible low interest rates out there. But before you start shopping for a mortgage, you should check your credit score. You need to know where your credit stands to be able to work towards the house of your dreams. FICO credit scores start at 300 [...]
5 Ways to Save on Home Remodeling
One of the hardest truths a homeowner faces is just how expensive remodeling is, and how important it is to save on home remodeling. Nationally, a roof can cost $18,000, a major kitchen remodel runs at $54,000 and a bathroom remodel is $16,000, according to Remodeling Magazine. But you can save on almost any home remodeling project by [...]
Three Tips to Create An Index Fund Portfolio
If you want a “fix it and forget it” portfolio, investing in index mutual funds is a great option. An index fund is a type of mutual fund made with stocks that match the components of a market index, such as the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. Index funds diversify your portfolio because you hold [...]
14 Things You Can Do With Your Tax Refund
This article was written by guest blogger Eva Rosenberg. Last week, one of my clients forwarded me a letter he received from the IRS. It said that the agency was holding his refund and reviewing his account. As it turns out, the IRS found an extra $40,000 payment he had not included, and his refund [...]
Watch Out for These Four Health Insurance Scams
With the rollout of the new health insurance exchanges, there’s a good chance that a few health insurance scams will also be rolled out to unsuspecting consumers. Don’t be duped. Here are a few of the most common scams: 1. Fake health insurance plans. High-pressured salespeople may insist that you join a “union” or “association” [...]
Green Tips From Green Building Experts
Sheri Koones, Miki Cook, Carl Seville and Marcus de la Fleur joined Ilyce to discuss how green building can be sustainable for the Earth and your pocket book on the Ilyce Glink Show on April 20, 2014 on WSB Radio. Ilyce's show always contains various forms of personal finance advice but she invited four engaged and intelligent professionals to [...]
Top 10 home features buyers desire
What home feature do buyers desire the most? A laundry room. Although laundry is decidedly not an exciting chore, having a laundry room is a home feature buyers desire. They consider it the home feature buyers desirable the most, according to a recent survey from the National Association of Home Builders. Ninety-three percent of buyers [...]
How to Live a VIP Lifestyle on a Budget
There’s a saying that good meat isn’t cheap and cheap meat isn’t good—in other words, you get what you pay for. So when you’re on a budget, how can you enjoy the finer things in life without breaking the bank? Fortunately, you can treat yourself and the ones you love to some VIP-style fun every [...]
Estate, Death and Inheritance Taxes
An anonymous Silicon Valley billionaire has purchased the world’s most valuable life insurance policy for $201 million, and I think his reasoning behind it is fascinating. He bought the insurance to help his heirs avoid paying a 45 percent inheritance tax after his death. This life insurance policy will pay out twice as much, and [...]