Everyone has a friend who likes to go out and blow cash on a big night or the latest electronic gadget. It's fun to be around someone who feels comfortable spending money, especially if you're always working to keep within your more limited budget. That fun can turn to frustration if you start to feel pressured to match your friend's spending habits, though.

Here are some ways to keep your free-spending friends without blowing through your own bank account. Read More …

Happy New Year everyone! It's only the 3rd and I'm sure some of you have already given up on resolutions made three days ago. I have not, but only because I never make life changing pronouncements due to arbitrary dates on the calendar. There are however certain things that are easier to do at the end/beginning of the year than at any other time. Read More …

Recently (Monday?) PayPal pissed off a lot of people. You may have seen the story on Jezebel, Consumerist, or a bunch of other outlets: Regretsy collected $2 donations from thousands of users to buy toys for needy kids for Christmas via a PayPal "Donate" button. PayPal froze the account and went on to provide a very nice example of how not to treat your users. Anyway, last I heard it was being worked out--someone at PayPal issued an apology and promised a donation to the Regretsy cause.

Still for many people online it was one more nail in the coffin of PayPal. All you have to do is a little Googling to read page after page of complaints against them. So here are a handful of viable alternatives I was able to find while looking online. There are pros and cons to all of them, and most likely you will still need a PayPal account in order to pay some online sellers. But you should definitely check these out: Read More …

^{Image by tamburix via Flickr}

It's December--a month filled with joy, family, and fun. But it's also a month associated with overspending and overindulging. If you find yourself full of regret when January rolls around, use these three planning strategies to get this month under control: Read More …

^{Photo courtesy of Mark Strozier, via Flickr}

Since I posted my Credit Union 101 primer a couple weeks ago, all this talk of switching from major banks to credit unions seems to have had an effect: first Bank of America backed out of its plan to charge debit card users a $5 monthly fee, then Chase and a handful of other banks followed suit. Read More …

Betterment is the website that prides itself in offering low cost investment choices to individual investors. It's an online broker that helps to make investing easier for novices that may not know exactly what assets to invest in. The company's website does all of the work for you.

Here's how it works: Read More …

Investors in the stock market have a tale of some missed investment opportunity that could have made them lots of cash. It might have been missing out on Walmart in its early days or failing to buy shares of Apple when Steve Jobs returned to the company. Everybody has regrets when it comes to investing. The important thing is to learn from the investing mistakes that you have made and not to do them again.

Let's take a look at a few things that investors can do to improve their investing experience. Read More …

The holiday seasons are rapidly approaching as the year 2011 is nearing an end. This means making sure that you have your Christmas shopping list in order. Lots of consumers will be running to the stores in order to get their gifts for their family members and loved ones. It is always a winning proposition when you can bring a smile to someone's face and save some money in the process.

Here are a few tips that you can use to make holiday shopping easier on your wallet. Read More …

^{Photo courtesy of redspotted, via Flickr}

We all heard the news late last month that Bank of America would introduce new fees to those who use their debit cards. Well, now it appears the fees-for-debit trend is spreading. In light of all this, record numbers are switching from traditional banks to local credit unions. Read More …

We've all heard that if we want to help change our broken financial system we need to support Main Street, NOT Wall Street.

They say we need to put our money where our mouth is by buying our goods and services from the local businesses that are the nuts and bolts of our American economy.

Read More …

Saving money today is now as important as ever. Difficult economic times call for greater financial discipline. This can be hard to do since customers are being forced to pay more for services. Even banking customers are seeing increased fees on their financial accounts as their income dwindles. Debit and credit card account holders are now in the crosshairs of financial institutions.

There are, however, some strategies that you can undertake to save money on card products. Read More …

This poor economy is making it difficult to get ahead financially. Most households are going to need to place an emphasis on making every single dollar last longer. The best way to do this is by becoming a smart money manager when it comes to your finances. You should do all that you can to increase your overall net worth while keeping your expenses in check.

Here are a few tips that will help you do this. Read More …