How much you should spend on an engagement ring depends on a number of factors including your income, financial obligations (i.e. student loans, car loans, living expenses) and how much value you place on tradition. At one time, men were counseled to spend 25%, or 3 months, of their annual salary income on an engagement [...]

Saving is a bit like dieting; it may not be enjoyable, but if you keep the goal in sight and exercise some restraint, you can succeed. With dieting, you make a meal plan, and with saving, you make a budget. The goals may seem like opposites since with dieting you want to get thinner and [...]

One of the greatest joys in life is finding the one person you want to create unforgettable memories and spend the rest of your life with. Unfortunately, when we are confronted with personal finances, work-related stress and the “to-do” lists of everyday life, we sometimes forget to show our love to those closest and most [...]

Growing up, I went to the grocery store with my parents and asked for everything – from 3 different types of cereal to sausage, bacon, and buffalo wings. Maybe it was because I had an incredibly fast metabolism and was always hungry or I just loved food to the point that everything looked so delicious [...]

The average American family drives 15,000 miles a year, per car, according to the US Department of Transportation. Assuming your car gets about 25 mpg (miles per gallon), you consume nearly 600 gallons of gasoline per year. And if you are a commuter, sales person, or love to take long road trips or explore the [...]

Benjamin Franklin once said, “A penny saved is a penny earned.” This saying is true when considering the “latte factor” strategy of saving money. David Bach, a seven-time New York Times best-selling author coined the term “latte factor”, and it became widely used after being discussed in Bach’s book Finish Rich. The “latte factor” teaches [...]

I love dollar stores because they have great deals on so many different types of products, ranging from plates and cups to toiletries and crafts. Dollar stores are simple and quiet, there is an amazing variety of merchandise and everything is only a buck, not to mention the fact that you’ll never have to compare [...]

Everyday we make purchases whether they are necessary or not. Some purchases are just impulse buys and with others, we tend to pay more attention and do more research about the products we purchase. There comes a time when you must make the important decision of what appliances to purchase. Though many homes come with [...]

Cell phones are a necessity for many American families and cell phone contracts are often expensive and difficult to cancel. If you look around the internet, you will read countless stories about consumers getting the short-end of the stick from telecom companies. Whether you moved to a new home, city or state with no service, [...]

Most women have been dreaming of their wedding day since childhood, planning the perfect and most magical day of their lives. Even though it is every couple’s (read: woman’s) dream to have an extravagant wedding, unfortunately with the financial situation nowadays, couples (read: men) are trying to set strict budgets for their weddings. “Trying” is [...]

In nearly every professional, financial or social circle, the hot topic is making or saving money. We all could use a few tips to save money any way possible, and couponing is an excellent method to save on everything from food, clothing and gasoline, to car insurance, pet services and personal grooming. Saving money makes [...]

Seriously, who doesn’t want to save more money? The catch is, first you have to make more money in order to save it. Once that is accomplished, there are clever ways to save so you always have money on hand should you need it. Saving money isn’t easy, because the temptation to spend is so [...]

Spending more money than we should is far too easy. Years ago, people generally spent what they had. The only thing they customarily took out a loan for was a house and occasionally, a car. However, modern times allow us to buy nearly anything we want on credit and pay for it later. Credit card [...]