A few months ago, I posted an article on how we plan frugal family vacations in national parks. During the first half of June, we put that knowledge to the test with a long road trip family vacation that took us to Badlands National Park, Shoshone National Forest, Yellowstone National Park, and Grand Teton National Park. We drove the entire trip and we camped every single night but one (we were actually unable to return to our campsite due to ...

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The well-done documentary film is a singular, wonderful piece of art. A great documentary can inspire, expose, educate, elucidate - and sometimes, do all of those things of that at once. I think they work best when they tackle a complicated issue, make us question our preconceived notions, and teach us things along the way. For many of us, nothing is more complicated than money. Should I dollar-cost average? How quickly should I pay down my debt, and which balances should ...

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â??Travel hackingâ?? is when you work within the rules of airlines, hotels, and travel credit cards to earn rewards such as points and miles to put toward free travel. Despite its name, travel hacking is simple (and legal), and lots of people do it every day to save money and see the world. If you have ever wanted to take the family on a trip and just couldnâ??t afford the airfare, learning to travel hack can solve your dilemma. Meet ...

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This is part of a short summer series covering smart strategies for using leftover staple foods - things like rice, beans, pasta, and so on. Here’s what you do when you cook a bit too much and don’t know what to do with the rest! Sweet potatoes are one of my family’s “hidden” staple foods. It’s not one of the obvious ones that people often point out, like rice and beans, but sweet potatoes are always available at a really ...

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Does the idea of taking 20 or more years to pay off $10,000 worth of credit card debt sound appealing? Does the thought of paying more than $15,500 in interest fees on that $10,000 debt seem like a wise financial move? These are silly questions, or course — the answer is clearly no to both of them. Yet if you choose to make only the minimum monthly payments on your credit card accounts, this math is a very real example ...

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“The year 1776, celebrated as the birth year of the nation and for the signing of the Declaration of Independence, was for those who carried the fight for independence forward a year of all-too-few victories, of sustained suffering, disease, hunger, desertion, cowardice, disillusionment, defeat, terrible discouragement, and fear, as they would never forget, but also of phenomenal courage and bedrock devotion to country, and that, too they would never forget.” â?? David McCullough, 1776 We hold these truths to be ...

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What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to summaries of five or fewer words. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question. 1. Parents in difficult financial shape 2. Vanguard Personal Advisor Services thoughts 3. A major decision on siding 4. Looking for health insurance 5. Canceling a credit card unexpectedly 6. Safety of online banks 7. Roth IRA or 457? 8. Old VHS “home movies” 9. Pay down mortgage before ...

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The best investment strategies are fairly easy to maintain. Once you’ve figured out how much to save, which accounts to use, and what your asset allocation should be, it’s primarily a matter of choosing a few low-cost index funds to implement your plan and letting it ride. For the most part, you should be ignoring the ups and downs of the market and focusing all your energy on putting more money into your accounts. But even the best investment plans ...

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Once a month (or so), I share a dozen things that have inspired me to greater personal, professional, and financial success in my life. I hope they bring similar success to your life. 1. Kurt Vonnegut on building and maintaining “Another flaw in the human character is that everybody wants to build and nobody wants to do maintenance.” â?? Kurt Vonnegut This is one flaw (among many) that I see in myself. I find writing the first draft of an ...

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Credit cards can be powerful tools for college students. By using the right credit card responsibly, students can graduate with zero debt and and a great credit score that will help them score a better interest rate when buying a home, qualify for credit cards with better rewards, or get a small business loan. Unfortunately, thatâ??s not always the case. Itâ??s easy for students with minimal financial experience to swipe their way to a high credit card balance. In 2016, ...

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What would my life be like if Sarah suddenly died? What if one of my children suddenly died? Those scenarios seem like horror stories to me - and, frankly, they still do. Those four people - my wife and my three kids - are really the cornerstones of my life right now. I invest more of my energy into being a good husband and a good father than I do into almost every other aspect of my life, yet I ...

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Itâ??s often been said that you canâ??t put a price on education, but what about the out-of-pocket classroom expenses incurred by educators each year? In 2015, the average teacher spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $500 with 10% spending $1,000 or more. And these were not isolated incidents. According to an AdoptAClassroom.org study, 91% of teachers make these costly investments in their studentsâ?? education. As an educator, nothing is more important than ensuring your students have the tools they need ...

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Many, many people set year-long goals for themselves. I do it myself - for me, this year is a year of downsizing in various ways. For others, the goals might be specific - I want to eliminate half of my debt in the coming year - or they might be vague - I want to get in better shape. No matter what your goal is, though, a key part of success with that goal is reassessment and accountability to yourself, ...

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This is part of a short summer series covering smart strategies for using leftover staple foods - things like rice, beans, pasta, and so on. Here’s what you do when you cook a bit too much and don’t know what to do with the rest! One of the nice things about potatoes is that you can prepare them in so many different ways. You can slice and grill them. You can bake them whole. You can mash them. You can ...

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No matter how you slice it, moving is expensive. The American Moving and Storage Association estimates that the average in-state move cost around $2,300 (and that number increases to $4,300 for a state-to-state move.) But with careful budgeting, research, and a little elbow grease, it’s possible to execute a move without racking up tons of debt. This guide will help you think through the costs you’ll face and how to minimize them as you plan for your move. We’ll cover ...

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You could face any number of challenges as you nurture your small business, and struggling to come up with the perfectly punny name doesn’t even make the top 10. One of the most notorious problems for small businesses involves something far more serious â?? failure to manage cash flow. Smaller businesses, especially young businesses that haven’t had time to build cash reserves, can be particularly vulnerable. Luckily, you have several tools and strategies at your disposal to help your small ...

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For the first 26 years of my life, I had exactly one credit card. I figured that was all I needed. As long as I paid the balance in full, I would build credit and have a backup way to pay for emergency expenses. That all changed after I stumbled across the story of a young woman on a financial forum who had used credit cards to travel the world for a fraction of the cost, all without spending more ...

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Tammy writes in: How does a person “shop around online”? I understand that you can buy things on Amazon and other web sites. Do you just go to different sites and look at prices and see what is cheapest? What about online rip off sites? How do you shop around online for things like car insurance? Tammy is asking a bundle of things here but they all come down to one core question: how exactly does a person “shop around” ...

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Most college students barely stop to think about the impact student loan debt may have on them in their future. After all, they’re looking for a solution to finance their education, now. The substantial debt they’re racking up to cover tuition and fees is another problem for another day. It isn’t until sometime after graduation, when those loan payments start becoming due, that many consumers begin to think about how to handle their outstanding student loan debt. If you find ...

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What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to summaries of five or fewer words. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question. 1. Helping nieces and nephews 2. Sharing costs for summer party 3. Making games for camping 4. Career advice for financial success 5. Americans have no savings? 6. Cooking in a cooler? 7. Electric tea kettle thoughts 8. Starting a Roth IRA 9. Bank password security 10. Toastmasters 11. ...

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If you believe everything you read about your credit score, youâ??d think it was the most important component of your financial health. Without a good credit score and history, the experts say, itâ??s more difficult to qualify for a mortgage or car loan - and more expensive, too, because you won’t get the best interest rates. In many states, bad credit can even raise your insurance premiums, cost you a rental apartment, or make it harder to get hired. While all of ...

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It’s a pretty regular routine in my life. I see something I want to change in my life. I think about it. I come up with some kind of plan for that change. I become thoroughly convinced that this is the right way to go. I start making that change in my life… and then, before long, it fails. Sure, there are always excuses. There was a big family reunion! It was the holidays! I just couldn’t pass up those ...

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I was recently made aware of a fascinating business called Books by the Foot. This business buys bulk books from publishers and libraries and other sources that might otherwise just throw them away and then sells them by the foot for people who want to create the visual appearance of having a giant library of books. In some cases, this does make sense - a person making a film or a theatrical production might want this very kind of prop ...

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It’s easiest to be frugal when you’re flying solo. When all you have to think about is yourself and your own internal demands, it’s easier to make frugal choices. Often, the desire to be social or the desire to keep up with social demands can really eat into our finances, because the financial cost of things like going out with friends and eating out with friends add up really quickly. Because of that, many people who dabble in frugality tend ...

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If you love credit card rewards and spend your free time pursuing points and miles, you already know the secret to outsized rewards: The more bills you can charge to your rewards credit card (and pay off right away), the more points and miles youâ??ll earn over time. Personally, I pay every possible bill I can with credit â?? expenses like car insurance, health insurance premiums, groceries, gas, and internet service. Over time, even small purchases can add up to ...

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