Anne and Matt, June 2013 Net Worth + MORE

After we got married, car insurance was one of the first things my wife and I added to our monthly expenses. We each had our own cars and were on our own for the first time. Choosing the right company and the right insurance package was important. And though using car insurance is never fun, it’s sometimes necessary…

Credit card rewards in the form of points and miles can be great, but there is no denying the appeal of simple cash back. There are many cash back cards on the market, and rewards can be distributed in several different ways. Cards can offer different rewards based on fixed bonus categories, merchant categories that change each quarter, or just a flat rate of return on all purchases…

TPI – FaceBook Fans Page

If you are not aware of the Value Added Tax (VAT), first thing you can do is when ever you go for shopping, please read your bills carefully. There should be one extra component “VAT” at the end of the bill which is added with some specific percentage mentioned in the bill…

Sometimes the days we get paid and the days we need money don’t work in unison, a lot of the time we’re desperate for our next pay check but still have a couple of weeks to wait. This then leaves us with an uncomfortable and awkward predicament to be in; we know that we need extra money, but we don’t want to have to go through the bank to do so…

I faced a number of fears upon graduating from college: 1) Getting stuck in a terrible, 2) Not making enough to comfortably support a family of four, 3) Not being able to financially help my parents if they needed assistance, 4) Not leading a fulfilling life, and 5) Never realizing my potential… to name a few…

Regardless of how it is approached, getting your first car is a time-consuming, frustrating but thrilling experience. After all, with a vehicle, you can suddenly cross great distances in a matter of minutes and no longer will be at the mercy of public transportation.

However, with great power comes great responsibility – cars require upkeep, parking fees and a hefty chunk of cash to buy…

For many of us, retirement comes on suddenly. One day you’re working and the next day you’re lounging at home. However, here at Retire by 40, we advocate a different way to retire. Instead of a sudden transition, why not take it in phases and enjoy the journey?
One of the biggest criticisms for my exit strategy is this – you are not really retired if your wife is working…

Holy Komoly! My heart shall palpitate a little less these days, haha… What a relief 🙂
One of the people who checked it out over the weekend fell in love with it, submitted their app right away to our property manager, who then did background checks/pulled credit/etc, and two days later called us up to present everything…

When you are a politically active person in the United States who doesn’t identify with the Republican or Democrat party, those in one of the two main parties have a very hard time understanding you.
People have called me everything from idealistic or impractical to stupid or crazy. They don’t understand why I wouldn’t be willing to align myself with one of the two largest parties, just picking the one that is closest to my beliefs, and get behind it 100%…

We had our first nice rain in a long while on Monday evening. I went outside after the rain and you could smell everything inching back to life after a lengthy dry spell.
It was wonderful. Our garden really needed it.
There’s nothing better than a summer rain.
Ten Things You Can Do When You Don’t Feel Motivated to Get Stuff Done Whenever I feel unmotivated, I usually have a short “go-to” list of things that need to be taken care of that I always turn to…

Refinancing a mortgage can be a huge cost saver for homeowners.
And right now could still be a great time to refinance.
For a little history, prior to the big 2008 housing crash, the Federal Reserve had started quickly slashing the federal funds effective rate. The rate went from 6.25% all the way down to 0…

I subscribe to the promotional emails of hundreds of companies so you don’t have to. I sift through 1,000 deal-touting emails every week. Most are worthless. But some offer valuable coupons, promo codes, sales and freebies — which I collect and organize.Note: Expiration dates are in brackets and special instructions are in parentheses…

This post is from staff writer Holly Johnson. A few years ago, I prepared for a garage sale that I was sure would be an epic success. Based on the sheer volume of widgets, random household items and baby gear that I had to sell, I envisioned pulling in hundreds of dollars in profit with ease. After all, I had tubs of baby clothes and toys, some small appliances, and a variety of random items that I was more than ready to unload…

We’re just one misstep away from another recession!
At least, that’s what many in the financial media would like us to believe, with headlines like USA Today’s “U.S. Economy isn’t Yet a Pretty Picture” and The Wall Street Journal’s “Global Tumult Grips Markets…

There are many reports out now that some bullion banks are refusing to allow the withdrawal of gold. They are offering cash in place of the gold.
We have cautioned you for several years now to take personal possession of your gold and silver and don’t trust anybody with it.
This means avoiding so-called safety deposit boxes…

Just recently, I shared my budget breakdown on my blog, but I didn’t reveal my income. Similarly, I haven’t written about my primary bank or who I invest with. This got me thinking about how much financial information we should all share and what everyone’s threshold is.
Sharing Income with the Public
I explained in that post that sharing my income on my blog was just too personal given how many friends and family members read it…

Slowing Down Debt Repayment
More Canadians are in debt and we are paying less on that debt.  The Bank Of Montreal has commissioned a new poll to enlighten us on the Canadian debt situation.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/personal-finance/household-finances/more-canadians-in-debt-and-making-lower-monthly-payments-poll/article13384902/
We are paying about 13% less toward that debt than in previous years…

This week over at The Simple Dollar, Trent wrote “The Unused Library: Dealing with an Overspender’s Entertainment Collection“.  This one struck home for me because I am that person. I’ve written a number of times about how I used to collect DVDs, and before that, CDs, and before that, stamps and coins…

Chances are that if you have a pet, your pet has had fleas at least a few times. And if your pet has had fleas, you know just how miserable it can be for them: constant scratching, itching, biting, and rolling around, all to try to get rid of those tiny little biting insects. Fleas are wingless, with hard bodies that make them difficult to kill, and they have mouths adapted for piercing the skin of their “victims” and sucking out their blood…

It’s no secret I’m quite frugal. I rarely pass up a good deal. Take for example the time my grandma passed away and I paid off the $1,700 loan she had on her van. I took possession of the vehicle and rocked a minivan my entire junior year of college. Best part is, I sold it the next summer for $5,500…

If you’ve ever been in a car accident, chances are that taking photos of the accident scene and remembering to get the other driver’s insurance information weren’t your first thoughts. (See also: Financial IQ Test: Do You Have the Best Auto Insurance Coverage for Your Needs?)
Making sure you, your passengers, and anyone else involved in the accident are safe, and that medical help is on the way, should be the first step…

Detroit drove itself into the ditch. With local and State tax and other policies, it drove away businesses; and much of the residential population left after the businesses did.
And while the city was heading south, politicos eager to keep their own jobs capitulated to union leaders for city workers and gave them the sun, the moon and the stars — in wages and benefits while they were on the job and in golden parachutes when they decided to retire…

Do you ever read the business news and find yourself wondering exactly what you should or shouldn’t believe? Do you find yourself thinking there is a “big picture” behind the story and you just don’t know what it is?
And have you ever noticed that at almost any point in time there is an “apocalypse du jour” – a serious event widely predicted in many news stories for months that never happens? Remember Y2K? More recently, we had fears of a debt collapse in the U…

In the series Naked With Cash, seven Consumerism Commentary readers share their financial progress on a monthly basis. They are joined by Certified Financial Planners who provide feedback on their journey. Read this introduction to learn more about the series. Anne and Matt are twenty-seven years old, living in the Midwest, with two children…