Despite more than eighteen months of considerable growth, it is fair to say that the UK housing market is no longer as buoyant as it once was. With a bubble forming and property prices having reached their ceiling in the south of the country, there is a danger that home-owners will become swamped in debt and negative equity. This provides a difficult challenge to surmount, and … [Read more...]
Ready For Zero Review: Your Best Friend To Help Get Out Of Debt
[UPDATE: Sadly, Ready For Zero is no longer. It's a shame because it really was an amazing service and I know of many people who benefited and got out of debt thanks to them. If you are looking for an alternative, I highly recommend the app Pay Off Debt. It does cost $4.99 but it is more than worth the price. It uses the snowball method to pay off debt and motivates you to get … [Read more...]
My Dumbest Money Move Ever
Recently, I've talked about my first investment, which turned out to be a great investment. Then I talked about my worst investment decision. Today, I am going to talk about my dumbest money move ever. Everything I write about here on Money Smart Guides is to help you be smarter with your money. I’ve made a ton of money mistakes in my life, getting into a mountain of credit … [Read more...]
What Is Overdraft Protection?
I recently received the question from a reader asking me what is overdraft protection, and whether or not it makes sense for him to get it. I am going to answer his question today and show both the advantages and disadvantages to overdraft protection. What Is Overdraft Protection Before I talk in depth about overdraft protection, I want to make sure everyone is on the same … [Read more...]
A Truly Scary Money Mistake
(This is a guest post by John Wedding, who blogs at Mighty Bargain Hunter and loves helping people to recognize life's good deals.) It's my pleasure to write a post for Money Smart Guides as part of a Yakezie Blog Swap. (Jon's post is on my blog today.) If you believe in celestial karma colliding with cosmic bad luck, then the moons align to make Friday the 13th a very, … [Read more...]
Making College Affordable
This past week, President Obama released a plan for making college affordable. In a nut shell, the government is going to grade colleges based on graduation rate, employment after graduation, graduate pay, and a few other criteria. The schools that rank highest will get the most funding and in theory, will attract more students while the poorer performing schools will have to … [Read more...]
Create Wealth Through Property Investment
The following is a guest post by Betsy Fallwell. If you are interested in writing a guest post, please review my guest posting guidelines. Interest rates have never been lower; property prices are still struggling to recoup the losses of the housing crisis. These key ingredients add up to the perfect recipe for jumping into the world of property investment. Investing in … [Read more...]
Power Wallet Review: Budgeting Software For Everyone
[UPDATE: As of January 15, 2018, Power Wallet has closed shop. I encourage you to read my post on free excel budgets to see if there is a fee spreadsheet template that you can use for budgeting.] No one will argue that Mint.com has been the leader in the online financial management sector. It has many great uses and lots of praise from users. New to the scene is Power … [Read more...]
Are You Pretending To Be Rich?
The following post is by MSG staff writer, Shondell of Call Me What You Want, Even Cheap. She blogs about her recent car loan and mortgage pay off of over $95k and a whole bunch more. Check out her blog right here. I'll never understand why people are pretending to be rich. It is so much better to be rich than act rich. I know there are people that are not able to handle the … [Read more...]
Being Frugal and Dating
Being frugal and dating is hard to do. It’s a fine line that you have to walk, especially in the beginning of a potential new relationship. Step too far to one side and you come off as cheap. Step too far to the other side and suddenly you need to take a night job to pay off the credit card. So how does a single guy on a budget make it happen? How do you show off your best … [Read more...]
Living Paycheck to Paycheck
In my recent wanderings on the world wide web, I came across an article on CBS MoneyWatch that said 38% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. This is up from 31% back in 1997. Other findings include: 66% say they don’t have enough to retire at 65 55% of respondents said it's hard to know who to trust when seeking financial advice. 52% think investing is … [Read more...]
Saving Money From Rising Health Care Costs
As my regular readers know, I had some issues earlier this year with my knee. I needed to get an x-ray and then an MRI. For all of my adult life, I had been part of a PPO medical plan. I would go to the doctor’s office or hospital, get examined/have tests completed, and then pay the co-pay. A few weeks later I would receive a bill in the mail if my insurance didn’t pay for what … [Read more...]
