The Four Most Important Things in an Economic Collapse or Natural Disaster + MORE

We’ve all made purchases on impulse, whether it be that candy bar at the checkout line in the grocery store or that pair of shoes that you come across that would go perfectly with your new tailored suit or the dress you bought last week. Impulse buying is a major weakness for many, and has its own problems…

The following is an excerpt from READY FOR PRETIREMENT: 3 Secrets for Safe Money and a Fabulous Future.
The book, as you might imagine, is about “pretirement.” What is pretirement? The book’s definition:
PREtirement: Noun. 1. The act of preparing early for retirement. 2. Planning ahead to avoid probate, Long Term Care and the Great Recession and making sure your money lasts as long as you do…

I was reading comments on older Consumerism Commentary articles and I came across an interesting statement. A reader, who had otherwise good advice to provide another reader who was pondering whether to use an unexpected $100,000 inheritance to pay off a mortgage or invest in the stock market, said the money or a portion of the inheritance should not be used for an emergency fund…

This post is from contributor Holly Johnson. A few months ago, I wrote about how we dug ourselves out of debt. Once we cut our expenses and stopped living beyond our means, it didn’t take long to make significant progress against the tens of thousands of dollars we owed. And after a few years of struggle and sacrifice, we finally paid everything off…

One of my favorite television series is Good Eats, a food science program hosted by Alton Brown that still sometimes runs on repeats on Food Network and Cooking Channel. The series could probably best be described as being like Mr. Wizard, except with an adult target audience and with a focus on the exploration of food science…

If I had a buck for everyone who asked me how to successfully work at home, I’d be a wealthy woman. Assuming you have the tenacity and temperament to structure your day and stay on top of projects, the main things you need are space, tools and gigs. These eight resources will point you towards a variety of work-at-home jobs…

It was noon and time for me to go to lunch. I got up out of my chair and noticed my co-workers putting their coats on.
One of them looked at me as she walked by and said, “We are going to Chipotle, did you want to join us?”.
I then uttered words I never thought would come out of my mouth…“I packed!”
Why were those words so painful to say?  What helped me realize that this change was necessary?  How did this change help me pay off 3 credit cards?
 A $19,000 Cloud of Debt
Over the years, my wife and I had battled with credit card debt…

For a lot of people, coffee is a necessary component in kickstarting their day, and so for those folks it makes a lot of sense to have the equipment necessary to make a good brew at home. But even if you’re not someone who needs two cups of joe to get through the day, it could very well be a good idea to invest in the equipment anyway so that you don’t end up shelling out $3-5 every time you hit up Starbucks…

Recently I read an interesting article called Profit From Your Passion: It’s not always possible where the author essentially talks about how you should try to profit from your passion but also realize that it’s not always possible to make a full-time income doing it. It made me start thinking about my own opinions about jobs, careers, income, and passions…

Today, there is a high call for high productivity and efficiency in the work set-up. The competition now lies more on these two rather on the skills you have. No matter how skilled you are, if you cannot execute it properly, then it’s nothing. The most effective way of executing your skill is to focus on work…

If you’ve ever had the displeasure of dealing with collection agencies you know what a pain in the neck they can be. They will call you umpteen times a day, send you threatening letters, and maybe even call your neighbors. The whole point of the effort is to get you to pay money so they will go away…

No big surprises this year. The last day to file taxes in 2013, for the 2012 tax year, is April 15, 2013.
In the past it’s been pushed back a day this because of the way the weekend falls and because of a holiday. For instance, two years ago Emancipation Day got in the way of the tax filing deadline…

(Guest post by a fellow B.A.S. reader who wanted to share his own personal story with us in hopes it motivates/reminds others to stay on track too. Savings are sexy!!)
Hi, I’m Sean (not my real name). Ordinary by most accounts, but a happy soul who enjoyed nothing more than spending time with his family, working hard and of course teaching myself everything I could about personal finance and growing my personal safety net…

As you may or may not know, I save around 50% of my income and have for over 2 years now since paying off the last of my debt. This may seem like a lot to many people, but I’m disappointed in myself over it. I want to increase this further. To what extent, I’m not sure. It depends on how much I can cut without it really hurting…

You never know when financial disaster will strike. If you’re a regular reader of MoneyNing, chances are good that you’re prepared for a setback, but many young families are not. Many 18 to 25 year olds are starting families, and they may still have that invincible mindset that doesn’t lend well to preparing for emergencies…

In these volatile times, many investors and savers are looking for a very safe investment. One of the options you have, if you want safety and guaranteed income, is a Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC). Many investors like to add them to their portfolios for stability.What is a GIC?GICs are a form of investment where you agree to lend money to a bank for a set amount of time…

When applying for a mortgage to purchase a new home or refinancing your existing mortgage, you have to be ready to jump through some hoops. It can be a difficult and time-consuming process to shop for a lender, evaluate interest rates and terms, and pay out some steep fees. Some of the requirements of a […

Last week we pointed out that Congress’ pay is immune to the budget cuts they’ve inflicted upon much of the nation. Well, here’s a political breath of fresh air: two senators agree that’s absurd.Bill Nelson and Claire McCaskill plan to introduce a bill called the Congressional Overspending Pay Accountability Act, which would cut Congress’ pay by either 20 percent or an amount equal to the highest percentage cut from a federal worker’s pay…

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while then you know I’m not a fan of the spending that going on in Washington D.C. right now.
I’m also not a fan of the spending that is scheduled to happen over the next few years. The government not only plans to keep spending more, but we are going to add millions of baby boomers to the Social Security and Medicare dole and we don’t have a plan for it…