Improving Your Career by Going Back to School + MORE

This post is from staff writer Holly Johnson. A few weeks ago, I wrote about how I refinanced my mortgage for the second time in a year. The second refinance wasn’t actually part of my master plan, but I ended up having to refinance in order to remove my private mortgage insurance. And although refinancing our home again proved to be a huge pain, we are now saving $135 per month by no longer paying private mortgage insurance premiums…

Most of us, when we buy homes, use mortgages to make the purchase. However, it’s easy to lose track of how your mortgage payment breaks down, and what you’re really paying unless you look at your mortgage statement.
Here are some things you can learn from your mortgage statement:
1. How Much of Your Payment Goes Toward Interest
You might be surprised at how much of your payment is going toward interest, especially at the beginning of your loan…

In today’s economy many are struggling to keep their homes and pay off their mortgages. These 7 easy tips can help you keep up with your mortgage payments and pay your mortgage off even sooner and it won’t be any more expensive than what you’re already paying.
Pay One Extra Payment Every Year
Extra payments are automatically added to the principal of the loan, not the interest…

Million Dollar Journey shared their insight when it comes to Low Cost ETFs – Canadian Vanguard ETFs.Speaking of ETFs, the Canadian Couch Potato wants you to see why The ETF’s Price Is Right – Except When It’s Not.This week Retire Happy shared How to Calculate Your CPP Retirement Pension…

“Nine years after cashing her $10.5 million dollar cheque, Hamilton Lottery winner Sharon Tirabassi is catching the bus to her part-time job so she can support her kids and pay the rent.” A quote from the Toronto Star this week. ( http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/03/21/hamilton_lottery_winner_fritters_away_10_million…

Girl Ninja was recently eligible for an upgrade from her iPhone 4. We made a deal that if we could sell her phone on Craigslist she could upgrade to the iPhone 5. I posted it last week and got zero bites. I was a little discouraged since I had a friend tell me he posted his five days earlier, and sold it for $180 within four hours of listing it…

The joy of doing your own taxes is that you know where every single dollar of income goes. When our tax bill is not being optimized, we call this “leakage.” I finished up my taxes with H&R Block and realized I paid more in taxes than the total amount I spent to enjoy life. Holy Friedman Batman! Something is seriously wrong when the government is allowed to spend more of your money than you can spend on yourself…

When it comes to reaching financial goals, there is often a two-fold approach that people take. A lot of focus in the blogosphere is put on how to save more money or stretch your dollar. While I love to save money and cut out unnecessary expenses, I think many people would be better off if they focused some more energy on making more money…

According to a 2012 press release from Leichtman Research, average monthly spending on cable is $78.63, an increase of 7 percent over 2011.If rates continue on this path, by 2015 we’ll pay about $123 to watch reality shows, B-list movies, and made-for-TV docudramas.Thanks to the bundled services model, you’re probably paying for channels you don’t use…

Earlier this week I dipped my toes into TJ Maxx for some quick window shopping, and walked away with $200 worth of shirts. (PS: never go window shopping at TJ Maxx). But despite that sounding like I’m a huge moron with my money, there’s actually some good reasons behind it:I needed new shirts! I can’t even remember the last time I bought one, and The Maxx seemed to be having a “J…

A year and a half is long enough for me to sit up here on my podium and talk at you. The time has come for a hangout place to be formed. It’s here, The Young Cheap Living Forum. Yes, it’s empty and brand new. But that’s just the foundation. Stay with me for a minute here as I dream up what this can become:

Imagine a place where you can make new friends who are a lot like you…

VantageScore recently released a reimagined version of its credit-scoring model. Dubbed VantageScore 3.0, the model considered 900 data points and tested 50 different algorithms before deciding on the 3.0 model.
The result, according to the company, is a 25 percent predictive lift over previous models…

Can going back to school help my career?
The answer to this question is it depends. Going back to school can look fantastic on your resume, you can gain valuable skills, learn a great deal, and you’ll also get the chance to network with people in your field while taking classes. But it can also be a huge expense, very time consuming, and in the end, it might not be worth it…

As the Texas summer is fast approaching, one of the things I’m worried about in my home is my electricity bill. First of all, I have a 23 year old AC unit that isn’t nearly as efficient as newer models. Secondly, I have 23 year old aluminum frame windows that do very little to keep out the crazy Texas heat…

I know that many personal finance bloggers try to discourage almost every kind of debt, but when it comes to mortgage debt it seems Americans aren’t listening to that advice. Based on data out this month from every corner, both new home sales and existing home sales are going through the roof across America…

As you know, I’m a big believer in working hard and side hustling. Everyone, regardless of their background and experience, should be able to get some kind of job, whether you work for yourself online or want to work in a corporate office. If you are struggling with securing a job, today is your day…

Common appliances, like washing machines and refrigerators, have never been cheap. These “essential” appliances make our modern lives easier; we’ve come to rely on them to quickly complete daily chores that used to take hours. To extend the life of these major appliances, a little maintenance can go a long way…

Naked With Cash is the year-long series on Consumerism Commentary where seven readers’ households share their financial progress on a monthly basis. I’ve partnered with financial planners who will offer some guidance along the way. Read this introduction to learn more about the series. Kathleen is thirty-one years old, single, and living in Portland, Oregon…

If you ever “Google” Getting out of Debt, you will find pages upon pages (upon pages) of sites.
You can read everything out there, but in the back of your mind you might here that little nagging voice say “But will it work for me?  Does anyone really ever do it?”
I’m proof that it works…

Financial meltdowns often start with a small thing – the figurative straw that breaks the camel’s back.
I’ve read stories from readers about the many small things that have caused them to start reassessing their lives. They had a credit card rejected at an inopportune moment. They didn’t have enough cash to pay for the groceries in their cart…

When I was in college I had a boyfriend whose favorite food was mayonnaise.
I know. That should have been a red flag right there.
He was really good looking and charming, so I was able to overlook (or at least look away from) his habit of eating a condiment…

For more than 175 years, “The Crescent City” has been a popular tourist destination for Mardi Gras. However, there are plenty of great reasons to visit any time of year. One of the oldest cities in America, New Orleans boasts a rich and unique culture and a lengthy history, and offers countless forms of entertainment […

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Cheap Isn’t Necessarily Bad
Sure, there’s a lot of over-thinking that goes into a first date. It’s only natural. For a while, couples seem to exude creativity and great date ideas. Then, one day, life catches up with every young couple, even the ones that vowed they’d never let that happen. Dates become more routine for the lucky and non-existent for the rest of us…

The following is the latest post in my “Reader Profiles” series. Each post in this series details the financial situation and challenges of an FMF reader. The purpose of this series is to help us all identify with people like us (in similar situations — not all will be, of course, but eventually I’m sure you will find someone like you here), get to know the frequent commenters on the site, and hear some financial wisdom/challenges from people other than me…