Top 10 U.S. Dividend Growth Stocks for 2013 + MORE

Are you looking for a way to boost your savings goals? Thanks to technology, there are plenty of tools out there that can help you reach your goals – no matter what you are trying to accomplish.
Here are some tools that can help you meet your money savings goals:

Mint: If you want to see where your money is going, as well as set up a budget and track your progress, Mint is the free way to do so…

Get in your car. Now drive 100 miles southwest from your current location. Get on any road; it doesn’t matter which. Where will you end up?
If you don’t have a map, you probably don’t know for sure. You may know the approximate area, but if it wasn’t where you truly needed to go, then your trip was a waste of time…

Message for RSS readers
Sorry to interrupt, but if you are reading this on Google Reader, you will need to figure out a different way to follow us. Google is getting rid of Google Reader soon and you should switch to other RSS readers such as Feedly instead.
Subscribe to have every article delivered to your inbox and you won’t have to worry about the RSS problems…

Do you ever think to yourself, “I don’t think debt is a big deal; after all, everyone has it”?
If the answer is yes, then you’re encountering the mental barrier of not thinking debt is a real problem.
There could be many reasons for this: perhaps it’s because everyone you know has debt, or because there was no way to obtain the things you needed (like an education or a home) without taking out debt, or maybe even because you’re in denial about having debt…

Another week, another record high for the Dow and Standard & Poor’s 500 indices. Now what?
Many pundits believe a pullback is imminent. Scratch that. The increasing consensus is that we’re ridiculously long overdue for one. And it’s creeping into investor psyche, too.
Case in point: Bullish sentiment dropped for the third straight week, according to the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII)…

This post is from staff writer Lisa Aberle. I’ve hinted before that I was a passive investor. And by passive, I mean that I have always set up a 401(k) and IRAs, then promptly ignored them. But since 2013 is the year I want to learn more about investing, I knew I needed to evaluate our current investment portfolio…

Springtime is here, and it is an ideal time to clean up and de-clutter your house by getting rid of items that you no longer use. And if you’re savvy, you can make small gains in getting your financial house in order in the process.
Having a yard sale is one of the best ways to get rid of items you no longer benefit from having lying around while socking away a little extra cash for the summer in the process…

In a previous article about the top Canadian dividend growth stocks for 2013, I promised that I would write about U.S. dividend growth stocks and the vast differences between the companies.  What is the biggest difference?  Well for one, the top dividend stocks in the U.S. are much more mature, and have a much longer history of dividends…

North America is getting fat at an alarming rate.
United Airlines wants to reduce the size of the standard airline seat from 18″ to 17″   ( http://kpho.membercenter.worldnow.com/story/19470857/united-airlines-making-seats-smaller  ).  They will be able to fit more of these smaller seats in each plane…

If you saw my post on Friday, you know that Girl Ninja and I were seriously considering going 50/50 on a rental property with my best friend from high school who married one of Girl Ninja’s best friends from high school. Today, I tell if we wrote up an offer, but not until I drag things out a little more
We viewed the property yesterday morning…

A new (and disgusting) Food Beast report reveals that Cadbury Creme Eggs contain a substance from the castor sacs of beavers, which are located near the beaver’s tail. The secretions are found in an artificial sweetener called castoreum, listed as “natural flavoring” in the popular treats. Do a little more research and you’ll find that this “natural flavoring” is also found in ice cream, gelatin, pudding, alcohol, and baked goods…

Do you barely survive, living paycheck to paycheck? Does all your income just pass through your hands and nothing is left? Do you feel afraid that when disaster or emergency strikes, you won’t be able to handle the expenses? Do you think that your income is just not enough and that maybe you need a second or maybe a third job just to make ends meet?
If you feel that what you are earning is not enough or if you do not have enough left for luxuries or for emergencies then maybe you should start studying the way you spend…

 
 
How You Can Earn Big Bucks Being a Tutor
In an attempt to make extra money, you’ve tried just about everything, mystery shopping, focus groups, selling on Craigslist, etc., but have you ever considered tutoring as a source of additional income?  Being a tutor can be easy and online tutoring jobs are in demand…

I’m excited to introduce you to another Simple Dollar writer, Frank Addessi. Frank has written about funeral insurance, whole life insurance, fire insurance and more — be sure to take a look at all of his articles.
Feel free to share your experiences in the comments, or reach out to the writers via their contact info…

My sister in law recently got married, and it was really fun to watch her go through the wedding planning process. She was so excited, and she did such a great job picking the perfect location, etc.
She really didn’t get stressed at all, and she was extremely pleasant the whole time – totally the opposite of a bridezilla…

It’s exciting to pay off debt. As you pay off credit cards, you enjoy that feeling of becoming financially free. But before you get so excited that you cancel your credit card, you need to take a step back.
Is it really in your best interest to cancel your credit card?
Here are 5 reasons not to cancel your credit card just yet:
1…

Some cooks hew to recipes like gospel — if it calls for a white yukon potato, a russet will never do. Then there are those people, like me, who see most recipes as a basic framework rather than an edict. It calls for carrots? Well, we have some broccoli stems…

Here we go with the fourth round of Free Money Finance March Money Madness (to follow all the action click on my March Money Madness category link and scroll down to read all the posts involved in this subject.)
Today’s games are brought to you by the Citi® Dividend Platinum Select® Visa® Card – $100 Cash Back currently offering $100 cash back after $500 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening and 5% cash back in select categories…

Your property assessors’ #1 goal is to collect as much property tax from you as possible. Your goal as a homeowner is to make your home look like the dumpiest of dumps to pay the least amount of property tax possible. An asteroid could wipe out your entire city, but if the assessors office survives, they will come for you to collect!
Ever since the downturn, I’ve religiously filed a property tax appeal to get my assessed value lowered…

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I get down on myself and wonder where the hell all my money’s going each month. I know we’re doing well overall and can just peek at our net worth to make myself feel better whenever I’m down (another pro to tracking your stuff!), but in the instant it really only helps so much…

Back in 2005, on a whim, my husband and I decided to look at home contractors – and thus began the 18-month process of building our own home. What began as a curious afternoon ended up dictating our lives until we finally moved into our house in the fall of 2006. While we love our […]8 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Deciding to Build Your Own House is a post from the Money Crashers personal finance blog…

There’s no doubt we’re in the throes of the Technology Age.
Some people find themselves stuck somewhere between the bygone days of secretaries and Selectric typewriters and the reality of the smart phones and social media optimization of today. They have a problem: They are being left behind in in today’s technologically savvy workplace…

As the April 15th tax deadline (today, btw) approached, I picked up on a re-birth of a certain sentiment that goes a little something like this “I can’t wait to get that refund so I can spend it on ___________”.
Maybe it’s the true sign of economic recovery – unashamed consumer wastefulness – rearing its ugly head after a 4-year absence…

The Internet, and the accessibility of the stock market has made it possible for nearly anyone to start investing. Brokerages like Scotia iTrade provide you with the opportunity to invest through a discount stock brokerage, allowing you to build your wealth.
iTrade is owned by Scotiabank. Scotia bought Etrade in Canada, and folded it into the platform…

There may come a time when you have no need to keep your credit score as high as possible. Perhaps you have no need for debt now and in the future. It’s not common, but there are a few methods of arriving at that point. You’ve fashioned a life for yourself off the grid. You are completely self-sufficient…

Starting a WordPress blog is easier than ever if you know what tools and services to use. People start blogs for all sorts of reasons from having a site to share personal/family news, to writing about their favorite sports team, or to share some knowledge or expertise they have. I once wrote a post on Three Reasons You Should Blog, but there are certainly hundreds (and probably thousands) of reasons you should blog…

SMB and I were returning from Boston on Spirit airline. We didn’t know the intricacies of traveling in a budget airline. Not at the time of booking. As soon as I started booking our seats, I realized there’s a charge for selecting seats. Being frugal I decided not to book out seats and waited for the airline employee at the check-in…