We make decisions about our personal finances every day: should we splurge on an extra large coffee? Should we tuck that spare twenty away in our emergency fund? Should we fill our gas tank all the way full? All these little decisions add up quickly. In most cases, though, they’re fairly easy to make. If [...]

We all know we need an emergency fund. Whether it’s called a rainy day account, a contingency fund or a just-in case account, it’s absolutely necessary. But most of us have a hard time getting in the habit of saving up for something we don’t expect. There are a few tricks that can help get [...]

Last week, the government reported that Americans saved 2.9 percent of their after-tax incomes during the last quarter of 2008. Considering that just a year ago, we were saving less than 1 percent, the current rate is almost unbelievable.
All that money that is being ’saved’ isn’t necessarily going into a bank account. Money put towards [...]

I’ve shopped at Sam’s Club pretty much all of my life. After all, paying 12 cents a piece for my packs of ramen has always appealed. In mid-October, I started a special Sam’s Club experiment. In one morning, I dropped $400 at the local Sam’s, and another $100 at the Wal-Mart next door. Sounds like [...]

We’re all becoming a little used to watching our investments tick downwards. It’s disheartening at best, but you can take a few steps to protect yourself. You can’t change the value of your investments, but you can reassure yourself that you’ve done everything you can to protect yourself from a problematic market. The three steps [...]

Up until recently, making regular contributions to your 401(k) account seemed like it would guarantee a good retirement. You could make eight or nine percent annually and have a good nest egg when retirement rolled around. But with the damage that the stock market has inflicted on 401(k)s and other retirement plans lately, it’s time [...]