Category: Debt Management, Relief & Consolidation
The tax mistake that could hurt you now or next year
This article is by staff writer Suba Iyer. Presumably, it has been a little more than a month since you submitted your tax return for 2014. Did you end up owing the IRS or did you get a refund? There are plenty of personal finance articles that discuss the pros and cons for each of these situations. So we will skip those discussions and go right to the point: Are you happy with your result? If not, you can easily fix it for next year by adjusting your withholding now. But it’s a simple step many people forget to take. Now or next year? For example, if you got a refund this year but would rather have more money each month to help your cash flow, adjusting
How to homeschool on one income
This article is by staff writer Lisa Aberle. When I wrote about the pros and cons of homeschooling recently, I left one major piece of the puzzle untouched: How does a family handle the loss of income if a stay-at-home parent is required? It’s not just the loss of monthly income. The parent who stays at home doing the bulk of the educating is also missing out on some other benefits of employment (employer contributions to a 401(k), social security benefits, avoiding a resume gap, etc.). These aren’t necessarily easy to quantify. So let’s take a look at the financial piece of the puzzle to the extent we can; but first, is it possible to homeschool without losing income? Homeschooling with
How Personal Capital Changed My Financial Life
It’s no mystery that I was in a deep financial hole some years ago. Not only did I have a sizable amount of credit card debt, but I also had car loans, and even a Jetski loan. Yep, I was a spending machine with no regard to how much was in my bank account. Everything went on plastic and I mean everything. I paid the minimums and went along with my self-perceived lavish lifestyle. I thought I was doing it all right. There were so many other people in debt and still living, so why did it matter if I was in the same place? Apparently, I didn’t get the memo that I was not supposed to jump off the bridge that everyone else
Ask the Readers: How are you leveraging personal relationships?
This article is by staff writer Honey Smith. I recently started a new job; and while I didn’t know anyone at the company prior to applying, that doesn’t mean that everything was one giant coincidence. A few years ago, one of my grad school friends mentioned that he was doing freelance SEO (search engine optimization) work for attorneys. Curious, I asked him to teach me. His response was to conference me in on a client call and have me start producing content immediately. Where curiosity leads That tiny side gig (I think he paid me a hundred bucks) led to introductions to additional clients, and before I knew it, I was averaging a thousand dollars a month in addition to my day job. During that
How much to save for maternity leave
This article is by staff writer Holly Johnson. The United States policy on maternity leave can be a touchy subject among families, and especially women. Unlike all other wealthy countries, many of which mandate weeks and months of paid leave for natural and adoptive mothers and fathers, the U.S. mandates no such thing. In fact, the last movement toward maternity fairness in the U.S., the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA), included a provision mandating 12 weeks of unpaid leave annually for mothers of newborn or newly adopted children. Twelve weeks doesn’t sound so bad, but that unpaid part can sure sting. Bundle of bills? We all know that babies are expensive, but it isn’t just the cost of diapers that adds up.
An Open Letter to Life
Dear Life, Things have been good between us for some time. We have been on a nice tear and for that, I thank you. You’ve given me a beautiful family, a good job, a nice home, a thriving business, and much more. I really can’t complain much. Having said that, I want to remind you who I am and how I react when you like to change things up. Two days ago, you decided to throw me a curve ball. I wasn’t ready for that pitch selection, so you hit me and I fell on my ass. I guess I can blame myself for getting a little careless and not paying attention to what you were doing. We kind of had a little status
Retired Widow Drawing Down Her RRIF to Make Minimum Credit Card Payments
A widow, retired, who was collecting CPP, OAS and drawing on a small RRIF to make ends meet, came to see us. Her credit card bills were proving to be overwhelming. She had a small RRIF that was quickly dwindling. She was drawing larger sums from the plan than recommended in order to keep up with the minimum payments on her credit cards. She indicated that the worry from the financial stress was keeping her awake at night. She did not want to file a bankruptcy and was hoping we could help her find a different solution. We looked over her budget and that she needed to draw less from the RRIF in order to secure her future and stretch the funds further. We discussed a consumer
Traveling to Hawaii? Frugal Food in Honolulu
Some months ago, I asked my audience what they want to see on the blog. There were a few things in particular that caught my attention. They wanted to know how to make more money and money guides. They also wanted to know more about traveling on a dime. Since I don’t talk about travel much, I decided to enlist some other writers that can provide more detail. Today, we are going to talk about the much visited city of Honolulu in Hawaii. If you’re planning a trip, then here’s how you can eat good food for less. Inexpensive Island Food in Honolulu Hawaii is notoriously expensive and, because it’s an island, you can’t always get what you want. That’s why, if you’re visiting
How to budget for summer camp
This article is by staff writer Lisa Aberle. Summer break is quickly approaching. Last year, I was worried about how I would keep the kids entertained; this year, I vacillate between two ends of the emotional spectrum — being excited and feeling a little overwhelmed. Excited, because I say “adios” to the early morning bus routine and the backpack-and-lunchbox ritual for a few glorious weeks. And socks. They quit wearing socks in the summer. (Can I get a “hallelujah”?) But I am feeling a little overwhelmed too. The sock shenanigans at my house get replaced with drinking glasses and copious Go-Gurt wrappers all over the kitchen counters sticky with spilled lemonade. Yep, there’s nothing like a few weeks of summer
Like Shopping Online? Earn 16{7dabfd103aa443fce219eea47f0f346a11a54ce587a1a0cbb74f06b9f7a304ca} Cash Back This Week!
Do you love to shop online as much as I do? If I need to do any shopping (minus food), I try to do it online. My favorite shopping destination is Amazon. That’s because they have a huge selection and I’m an Amazon Prime member. They might not always have the best price, but they have awesome customer support and fast shipping. Those are what I enjoy about my online shopping experience. Oh, if you like Amazon as much as I do, then learn a few ways to save even more money while shopping on their site. Well, no matter where you like to shop online, I’ve learned over the years that I was doing it all wrong. Why? I wasn’t utilizing those
What’s your position on debt? Read this first
This article is by staff writer William Cowie. You hear it all the time, here and many other places: Debt is bad — evil, even — you know, like smoking and drinking and gambling. Yet, despite overwhelming evidence that smoking is bad for us, almost one person out of every five still smokes. And in the past year, that number has not declined significantly. The government even has campaigns to get people to stop doing what’s bad for them. Beer companies have to add “Please drink responsibly” to their ads and, in many states, gambling is flat out illegal. People aren’t borrowing enough? So, if debt was bad for you like those other vices, you would expect your government to have some educational program
