Personal Finance

As many of you know, I’m a pretty avid tracker of my tasks and the things I need to do. I do it mostly because I need to get those things out of my head — where they distract me and keep me from focusing and sometimes are forgotten — …

Photo by fizkes / Shutterstock.com If you like receiving paper 401(k) and pension statements, you need to act fast before they disappear. A new U.S. Department of Labor rule lets private sector retirement plan administrators default to sending required retirement-plan documents via electronic media: email, texts and websites. While you …

Photo by tostphoto / Shutterstock.com Nobody enjoys the expense of filling up an empty gas tank. But you can easily make the situation much worse with a few simple — and very common — money mistakes. Some of these under-the-radar missteps are especially harmful to your budget, especially if you …

Photo by Aaron Freeman / Money Talks News Which will make you more money over time: investing in the stock market or real estate? It’s a simple question, but the answer is anything but. In this week’s “Money” podcast, we’re going to talk about the pros and cons of investing …

One of the biggest challenges I had to overcome during my own financial turnaround was the instinct I used when deciding whether to buy something. That instinct provided pretty good guidance during an earlier phase in my life when I had very little money to spend, but once I moved …

Photo by TeodorLazarev / Shutterstock.com As folks already on Medicare likely know too well, it does not cover all medical expenses. The federal health insurance program for seniors and some younger folks with disabilities is like any other type of health insurance in that the beneficiaries are responsible for certain …

Photo by haveseen / Shutterstock.com Leaving car doors unlocked or keys in the ignition are invitations to theft. Everyone knows that. But there are a host of less obvious mistakes that also might make your ride easy prey for thieves. Following are some dumb moves that put our cars — …

One of the biggest frugal challenges is figuring out how to get the most value for your dollar at the grocery store. When we buy food, we tend to look at several factors at once. Is it something that’s tasty? Is it something that’s healthy? Is it something I can …

Photo by GaudiLab / Shutterstock.com Whether you’re looking to sell or buy, having more options is a good thing. And even though Craigslist is the grandfather of online classifieds sites, it probably shouldn’t be the only place you turn to. Many websites like Craigslist have sprung up over the years, …