Should you pay off your mortgage early? Or should you focus on investing with your spare cash? This is one of the most hotly debated topics in personal finance, with vocal proponents on both sides. Today, I thought I’d take a look at this issue from both angles and then share our approach with you. […]
While I’ve been somewhat critical of Dave Ramsey and his “Debt Snowball” in the past, he’s definitely helped an awful lot of people get their finances in order. Thus, I thought that it might be worth spending a bit of time talking about Dave’s “Baby Steps” for getting out of debt and improving your finances. […]
Life insurance is an incredibly important financial product. Unfortunately, it’s also relatively costly. With that in mind, I thought I’d put together some tips for saving money when you’re in the market for a life insurance policy. Get healthy Any insurer worth their salt will require a physical as part of the underwriting process. The […]
I frequently receive e-mails asking my opinion as to which online bank has the best high-yield savings account. I’ve used several online banks over the years for my emergency fund and look to a few factors in selecting a savings account: The interest rate (of course) Minimum deposit requirements Monthly maintenance fees The website and […]
Your 2016 taxes are due in just over three months. That also means that you have just over three months left to make any 2016 IRA contributions that you might have been putting off. But what if you’ve neglected to contribute to an IRA because you’re not sure you can afford it? Maybe the only […]
See also: Dave Ramsey is Good at Psychology If you’re familiar with Dave Ramsey, then you’ve no doubt heard of his ‘snowball’ approach to paying down your debt. In short, Ramsey suggests that you make minimum payments on all but the debt with the lowest balance. Any additional money you have goes to that lowest […]
On the way home from work the other night, I heard a radio commercial touting a debt reduction system that (supposedly) works like no other. As I drove along, I couldn’t help but chuckle. After all, they made it sound like there’s some sort of silver bullet out there that will magically make your debt […]
With gas prices on the rise, I thought I’d highlight an article I found on Consumer Reports about ways to save on gas… and ways not to. Given the results of my latest experiment on improving gas mileage, I can vouch for pretty much all of these. 1. Drive at a moderate speed. Keeping a […]
A reader named KC recently wrote in with a question about investing for retirement: I’m 28 years old with a wife and a six month old baby. We’ve always been money-conscious, but would really like to focus our efforts. We both have Roth IRAs, but are not satisfied with them. They are heavily loaded, and […]
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in 2007. However, we feel that the books listed here are timeless, and still provide a wealth (pun intended) of information. Each and every one of them on this list is still highly recommended, and many of them still hold the top spots for personal finance best sellers. […]