Sport Spending in Australia + MORE

When I first started investing, I had the hardest time figuring out which mutual funds to select. Over the years, I’ve learned that the key selection criteria are costs and asset class (e.g., large cap U.S. vs. small cap). Still, with 1,000s of mutual funds and ETFs, picking the right investments can seem overwhelming…

This is a Guest Post By: Mr.CBB is the voice behind Canadian Budget Binder who says that “It’s not about how much money you make it’s how you save it”.  Mr.CBB shares budgeting tips, frugal lifestyle, relationships, recipes, parenting, personal finance and so much more for his over 4500 fans all around the world…

Save Money, Save the Planet
Club Thrifty – Stop spending. Start living.So, did you hear that Earth Day was Monday? Yeah, I missed it too. It just doesn’t seem to have the same appeal that it used to, does it? Perhaps the novelty has worn off. Well, maybe this will grab your attention instead:
Fact – The United Sates comprises 5% of the world’s population but it consumes approximately 25% of it’s natural resources…

I was recently pitched a guest post on the topic of fighting fraudulent credit card charges. This is an issue that I’ve had some experience with as well, so I was happy to agree. However, the post I received simply couldn’t meet my quality guidelines, so I’m writing about the topic myself!
Credit card (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
There is no worse feeling than looking at your credit card or bank statement and seeing unauthorized charges…

My wife and I love pets.  We currently have a dog (Kimora: 2.5 years old) and cat (Lulu: 1.5 years old), so we have a pretty good idea of what they actually cost.  Many people think that they don’t cost very much.  All they need is a little bit of food and they are good to go, right?  Well, that may be the case some months, but most of the time they will cost a bit more than that…

Here is my SmarterBucks review.  I hope you enjoy!
If you have been living under a rock, then you might now know that student loan debt has skyrocketed in the last decade or more.  As of the latest numbers, outstanding student loan debt just in the United States is over $1 trillion.  That is right, I said $1 TRILLION!  Higher education has become harder to reach for those in the middle and lower class because of the increased tuition in almost every university…

Many people get excited when they get to the point in their life where they decide they want to buy a house! We were the exact same way on both houses! However, we weren’t smart enough to plan a year out in advance and, in retrospect, that could have really bitten us in the butt if a two specific things weren’t in the optimal ranges…

Welcome to the second in a series of online brokerage reviews that I will be sharing on a monthly basis here at Frugal Rules. Last month I did a Scottrade review and today I bring you an OptionsHouse review which is one of the other main platforms I use alongside Scottrade. As I have said before, I love talking about investing in the stock market, especially to beginners…

Remember how one of my goals this year was to develop myself outside of “work.” Welp…I finally took the plunge and joined Toastmasters.

For those of you who don’t know what Toastmasters is, here’s a short blurb:
Toastmasters International is a world leader in communication and leadership development…

It’s more than a week since the deadline for filing the U.S. tax return forms. If you are like most taxpayers, you have e-filed your return. Folks who indicated on their return and filled information for direct deposit, IRS suggests you should get your refund within 21 days. Those who have received their refund and …

I’m quite certain that I’ve mentioned somewhere or other that I drive a reliable, but old car.  Occasionally, I catch flack from people about why I haven’t bought a new car yet.  I don’t really feel like buying a new car yet – mostly because I’m cheap and lazy.  So who’s right?  My cheap lazy self, or my consumerist oriented acquaintances…

The News – Apple announced that it is increasing the annual dividend shareholders and they’re buying back about $60 billion in stock.
OK what does that mean for you?

If you own Apple stock, you’re getting more money in your pocket in the form of a dividend. You were getting $10.60 per year per share you own, now you’ll be getting $12…

There have been a lot of posts in the personal finance blogosphere recently about whether you should merge your finances together when you get married. And specifically if you should consider paying off your significant other’s debt. Brian over at Luke1428 and Grayson over at Debt Roundup both blogged about this topic recently…

Good morning Dinks.  Interest rates are very important to consumers who want to borrow money, save money and invest their money.  Interest rates are also very important for everyone else as people who contribute to society, pay taxes and buy groceries.  In basic layman terms…interest rates make the world go round…

Image: Freedigitalphotos.net/ddpavumba
With some planned and unplanned expenses, we’ve been racking up the medical bills for the past couple of months. While my husband has health insurance provided by his employer, my daughter and I have a high deductible health savings account eligible plan. While I still think this is the best plan for our needs, it really can be a hit if you do have to go to the doctor, even worse if you need to go to the emergency room…

Monday night I was making dinner and watching the local news broadcast as I do from time to time. Anyway, the talking heads on the TV were discussing how certain sports would be getting a bigger slice of the government handout pie than others. All in all I wasn’t too interested in the story, until I heard the amount of money that the government puts into these sports…

TinyApartmentCraftsToday I want to tell you a story about an idyllic Spring evening here in the good ‘ol US of A. For someone who doesn’t particularly like the snow and cold, living in Utah during the winter can get old….fast. It is no surprise then that as soon as the weather warms up a bit I have a strong desire to spend some quality time outside…