Inexpensive Ways to Modernize Your Home + MORE

A few days ago, I posted an article on saving money on fuel during your commute. While all of those tips were useful, one in particular can really reduce your fuel costs when commuting – buying a more fuel-efficient car. But what does that really mean in terms of dollars and cents?
Before you even begin talking about how much you’re saving in terms of increased fuel efficiency, you have to determine some of the numbers you’re working with…

We’ve all been there: either asking for a loan from family or friends, or being on the receiving end of a loan request.These days it wouldn’t be surprising to find the practice even more widespread. With banks paying basically nothing, lending money to a trusted friend or relative isn’t just a nice thing to do…

“I’m BOOOOORED!”
“Mom! What can we do?”
“Can we go to Disney World?”
If you’ve got kids at home, you’ve likely heard that once or twice during the summer.
But you don’t have to pay for expensive summer camps or vacations to keep them entertained.
Welcome summer and all of its glories with your own summer camp…

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…

When you lose your job, the first thing you need to do is update your resume. While it’s better if you update your resume periodically, even during your employment, sometimes a job loss catches you by surprise and you aren’t ready.
If you are trying to figure out how to best update your resume, you’ll want to do what you can to take advantage of free tools that can help you create a resume that is more likely to help you get a job:
Workforce Services
Find out where your state’s workforce services office is in your town…

After two years, my beloved tenant is leaving me for another man. My tenant is a single woman in her 50s who sold her house on the east coast to start a new life in San Francisco. She’s always wondered what the west coast fuss was all about so she decided to see for herself. After a year of work, she met someone and is now moving in with him…

Starting your first “career” job can be exciting. You’ve finished college and you finally have that first job, even if it is on the bottom of the ladder. You feel excited, motivated, relieved (it’s a tough job market), and ready to take on the world.
Then reality hits you: in the real world your work is usually only noticed by a small number of individuals…

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…

Keep the kids entertained and fed (and we threw in a deal or two for the parents also).
It’s almost summer! If the kids aren’t out of school yet, they will be soon. There are some great deals right now that will help kick off your summer right.
$10,000 Amazon Sweepstakes – If you have some textbooks from last year that you’re looking to sell, try Amazon…

Do you handle your family’s financials? Are you the one balancing the checkbook each month (do people really still do that)? How do you know where you stand from day-to-day with your finances? In case you do the bookkeeping, do you still use pen and paper and a truck load of receipts to do that? In IT age, old style bookkeeping is obsolete…

I happened across another personal finance blog article over the last few weeks that left me scratching my head and then doing some deep reflection.
I won’t mention specifics on who the blogger was to save him additional embarrassment (and to save you from ready misinformed personal finance advice), but if you read him, you’ll probably know who I am talking about…

The Mrs. has officially ended her part-time job to start on her dissertation, so we’re back to a one salary household again! After a solid 7 months of bringing home an extra $1,600 a month too – yikes… This will be our 2nd time in a year living off one paycheck! And I’m not gonna lie – I’m going to miss those sexy little greenbacks…

Aw, what a day. I spent 4 hours on the beach today, soaking in the sun. As I write this, I’m under a grass hut about 100 yards from the turquoise colored Gulf of Mexico waters. Behind me is the $125 per night hotel that I’m staying in this week. To my left is a glass of Corona. This is a great afternoon that surely beats the normal hustle and bustle…

Do you like movies?
If you like movies, the Scotiabank Scene Visa card might be just the credit card for you. You can earn points for free movies and other entertainment, just by spending on what you already love.
Scotiabank Scene Visa Review: Rewards Program
In order to take full advantage of this credit card program, you need to be a member of the Scene program, which allows you to earn points at Cineplex Entertainment theatres…

 
 
Ever wondered how to start a business, or better yet, ever wondered how to start a business with no money?
In today’s competitive marketplace, it pays to be creative. Many times with no money in there pocket, businesses and savvy entrepreneurs are born.  If you think you have the characteristics of an entrepreneur, but you are money poor and rich with ideas, read on…

This post is by staff writer Honey Smith. Maybe it’s the years of conditioning we receive as children to think of summer as an endless stretch of time to be filled with fun and relaxation. Maybe it’s the fact that my day job is at a university, and during the summer dramatically fewer students are on campus…

Memorial Day is the official American kick-off event for summer, and a time when we stop to remember lost loved ones and the sacrifices made by members of the armed service over our nation’s many years of history. Here’s how to save on everything from food and fun to more formal remembrance activities…

When we were house hunting for our home a few months ago, before we landed where we are, we saw a whole bunch of houses. We saw brand new homes, newly renovated homes, and ones that were old (and looked their age). Some had never been updated in the time that they had been standing (we were open to a project)…