One of the most frequent real estate questions I get asked is about prepaying mortgages. There’s a lot of push and pull in the minds of many homeowners when it comes to deciding between prepaying their mortgages and investing that money elsewhere. Most of the time, prepaying your mortgage is a perfectly good and reasonable [...]
A tip I often read in “Save 50 percent off your grocery bill!” types of articles is to buy in bulk. The article might suggest buying a 50-pound bag of rice, a whole butchered cow, or a year’s supply of toilet paper. Is this saving money? There are certainly times when it makes sense to [...]
Kaizen is a Japanese business term that has been popularized in the United States, and it basically means “continuous, small improvements.” I recently read an excellent book on this topic, One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way and immediately realized that Kaizen could be a great way to tackle improving our money [...]
If you’re like most of us, when you’re planning your holiday budget, you spend a lot of your time thinking about ways to save money on gifts. But if you’re not careful, holiday decorating can also end up costing you a pretty penny. Here are some smart ways to make your house look festive without [...]
At first glance, the terms “travel” and “frugal” might not seem like they belong in the same sentence. If you’re tight with money, how could you possibly justify travel? You should be saving money! In our family, and in many other families, it’s all about setting priorities. My husband and I feel that travel is [...]
Prepare yourself for the new year by cleaning up your personal finances. The recession has affected us all, but it's time for a fresh start with New Year's Resolutions to get your personal finances back on track. Follow these New Year's Resolutions now and for the rest of the year to clean up your credit, save money, and stay on top of your investments. These New Year's Resolutions will help prepare your personal finances for the rest of the year.
