Advice on how to budget and spend wisely
The following is a guest contribution from Paul S. Richard of the Institute of Consumer Financial Education (ICFE). The ICFE was founded as a non-profit organization in 1982 to help consumer improve spending habits, increase savings and use credit more wisely. Working in cooperation with government and business, the ICFE offers several certification programs with …
The ‘it’ is achieving financial freedom. Soon after the one year anniversary of this blog, in the post, Talking Personal Finance in Public Forums, I discussed my thoughts following the publication of my first book and one year’s experience managing the blog; and participating in personal finance conversations across multiple social media platforms. I noted there …
With regards to personal finance and your fiscal health, establishing a budget is a good place to start. Before moving forward, I should note that I have recently started using the term ‘spending plan’ vice budget and I sometimes use them interchangeably as they refer to the same action. However, for many, ‘budget’ has many negative …
As with physical, mental, and spiritual fitness, achieving fiscal fitness pays tremendous dividends. The essential elements of a sound fiscal foundation? Maintain a spending plan, minimize debt, establish an emergency fund, and contribute to retirement plans. Maintaining a spending plan means itemizing current expenses. Doing so allows you to carefully track how much money you are taking in during a given …
Understanding your Social Security benefits is a Savvy use of your time. The Social Security Administration website can be a useful tool as you prepare for retirement. Beyond that, it can also serve as a useful tool during the period you spend in retirement. Previously, the Social Security Administration mailed paper statements to most worker …
Over the course of adulthood, particularly the older you get, you are likely to open multiple financial related accounts (e.g. checking, savings, CDs, insurance policies, etc.). The more accounts you open over a lifetime increases the odds that you may lose ‘contact’ at one time or another for one or more accounts. This is particularly …
A couple of months ago I recommended Spent: Looking for Change, a 2013 documentary – sponsored by American Express and narrated by Tyler Perry – which focused on everyday Americans shut out of the finance system most of us take for granted. Available for viewing on the Spent Movie website and YouTube, the documentary noted that many of these Americans turn to …
Way back in 1991, Salt-n-Pepa implored us to talk about sex. Not saliciously, but openly and honestly about the positive and negative aspects of the act. Similarly, I try to implore people to talk about money. Not in a braggadocio manner, nor as a means to feed hyper-consumerism; but as a way to become more knowledgeable about …
Documentary:The Water Front (2007). This short documentary (53 minutes), tells the story of a Detroit suburb, known as the birthplace of the auto-industry. Before Detroit, its appointed emergency city manager Kevin Orr, and its financial collapse, there was Highland Park. In June 2001, due to the city’s mounting fiscal crisis, an emergency financial manager was …
Documentary: Fixing the Future (2012). In this documentary, David Brancaccio asks the question, “Do people exist to serve the economy, or should the economy exist to serve the people?” Mr. Brancaccio visits people and organizations across the country that are attempting to reinvent the American economy at the grass root level. These pioneers look to create jobs and build …
