Articles

Many people find themselves struggling to make ends meet in the wake of today’s economy — and if you’re one of them, you’ve probably considered looking for ways to supplement your income. Why not rent out some of your belongings for extra cash? You may not realize it, but you probably have several items in [...]

You may think that everyone needs to buy insurance, but that is not the case. In reality, some folks may be better off foregoing some types of insurance. The following are some reasons you may not need to buy insurance. 1. You Are Going on a Trip Although travel insurance is great to have in [...]

Many Americans find themselves in quite the situation financially these days.  Their situation is nothing short of bondage.  They are completely trapped because of years of borrowing money to finance a lifestyle that was unattainable without debt.  They aren’t the only guilty party.  The government has encouraged it and the banking system was more than [...]

Despite the controversy over estate taxes in recent years, many people really don’t know much about these much-maligned taxes levied on inheritances. Currently, the federal estate tax only affects those estates of $5 million or more. The intention was to only tax the very wealthiest estates, rather than affect the inheritance of more modest family [...]

It’s that time of the year: many people are beginning to look for their tax refunds. If you were on top of things and e-filed early, you might already have a refund. If you are looking forward to a tax refund, you are probably considering what to spend it on. Before you do, though, consider [...]

Reverse mortgages are one way senior homeowners who are 62 years and older may be able to tap the home equity.  A reverse mortgage gives the homeowner money they need without having to leave the house and without having to repay the loan until the owner dies, the home is sold, or the house is [...]

Home equity loans have traditionally been an accepted way to pay for home improvement projects or even college education. However, in the past decade, homeowners have been tapping into their home’s equity in order to finance vacations, cars, and other non-investment purchases. Since the collapse of the housing bubble, homeowners lucky enough to qualify for [...]

Short selling is the sale of shares in a stock that you do not own in hope that the price goes down even further, then you can buy back the shares at lower price and make a nice little profit. When you sell short, you borrow shares from your broker, sell the shares, and deposit [...]

Computer scams are not a new phenomenon but they are a serious concern for all Internet users because scams are constantly evolving. Not only are the complexities of these scams growing, the amount of money they are costing consumers is also increasing. Some hackers create these viruses and scams just for the thrill of harming [...]

If you discovered that you owe money to the IRS but can’t come up with the money to take care of the debt, understand you have options. Having options to take care of your tax bill is to your advantage. Without a doubt you need to exercise your right to these options and fast. The [...]

When the tax filing deadline comes around each year millions of Americans are ready to or have already filed their income tax returns. Still millions more find themselves having to request a tax extension because they are simply not ready with their tax information by the deadline. While there are many people who make the extension [...]

Overdrafts are a common result of individuals who are either unorganized or simply too busy to keep track of their debit card use and other debits from their checking accounts.  When this happens, too many debits are presented to a bank account which lacks sufficient funds to cover all transactions.  Here we look at ways [...]

Vacation is one of those luxuries that can easily cause you to go over budget. Even the best budgeter gets caught up in the spur of the moment. I know no one really wants to budget on vacation.  But, I promise you, there is one thing worse than budgeting on vacation — that is, being [...]

Both federal and private bodies help students pay for their schooling in the form of loan, which is a twenty-first century tool available to every student in need of tuition money. This one-stop panacea assists students especially those from low-income families reach the height of their professional dreams. Student loan interest rate is considerably lower [...]

Just as a tango requires a dancing partner, forex trading cannot take place without having a forex broker to “dance” with you.  The Internet and a trading platform may get you access to a broker, but the broker is the business partner that will connect you to the currency market, and the manner of that [...]

One of the realities of our financial culture is that before people lend you money, they want to see that you are likely to repay it. Lenders check your credit history before deciding to lend you money, since they want to gauge how much of a risk of default you represent. If it appears that [...]

If you don’t take the time to prioritize your debts or repair your bad credit, you may be the target for solicitations designed to take advantage of your financial situation and your money. There are many more companies being born in light of America’s struggle with debt and bad credit. As those who have money [...]

Most parents will agree that they have spent far more money on clothing and accessories for their children than they have ever spent on themselves. Besides the fact that kids grow and most clothes need to be replaced for size reasons every few months or years, parents also have to contend with their own guilty [...]

One idea to help you improve your finance is to keep track of your money and answer the question: where is it all going? Even if you don’t like to budget, I think it is worth going through the exercise of tracking your expenses at least once. Keep track of where you every pennies that [...]

Like the butterflies in your stomach when you meet that special someone, budgeting can be exciting when you first begin. However, like so many relationships the budget begins to have cracks, then flaws, then serious issues. If you can’t overcome and work with these issues, much like dating, it will soon end in heartbreak. Don’t [...]

Does budgeting work? There are many critics that say tracking every single income and expense source is too complicated. That no one has time to handle budgeting for a family on a monthly basis. Is budgeting intimidating if you’ve never done it? Sure. But other than fear, what good reason do you have to not [...]

Do you know your credit score? If not, here is a good list of ways to check your credit scores for free. I signed up for a few of these free accounts and got my scores. Naturally, the next question is what is a good credit score? Follow by, how do I compare to others? [...]

It’s hard to contemplate your death, and the possible need for life insurance and estate planning, but it can be even more difficult to think about what you will do if you need help taking care of your needs. The AARP estimates that about half of the older population today will spend some time in [...]

Debt consolidation loan is simply a type of loan obtained to pay off multiple loans. The good thing about this debt management tool is, it helps lower interest rates and allows you the freedom to pay a monthly lump sum instead of multiple payments. Put differently, a debt consolidation loan lets you rearrange your numerous [...]

Savings accounts won’t do you any good if they are empty. And even if they have some money tucked inside, they won’t do much if you are not contributing to them on a regular basis. Statistically, Americans have already proven there are not saving enough for emergencies or their financial futures. Most blame a lack [...]