If you’re shopping around for a new bank or credit union, you should take a few minutes to research your choices at Bankrate. Bankrate offers a Safe & Sound rating service that looks at the relative financial strength and stability of U.S. commercial banks, savings institutions and credit unions. The Bankrate system applies 22 tests to each institution to measure the following…

Capital adequacy.
Asset quality.
Profitability.
Liquidity.

Of course you shouldn’t rely on one system when choosing a bank. You should actually head into the nearest branch, look around, talk to some folks, and so on, but getting a basic overview …read more

Karen wrote a post a little while ago, 10 Financial Signs He’s Cheating, and it was good, but the second I read it, I noticed that the list of ten behaviors could potentially point to another bad behavior, gambling. Gambling is a serious issue in the United States. The National Council on Problem Gambling notes that annually about 3 million adults can be considered pathological gamblers while another 2-3% of adults are problem gamblers.
Having been with a gambler in the past I can honestly say that it’s JUST like cheating, only your partner’s not dating another woman they’re dating the …read more

There are plenty of money traps out there, but some are far more significant that others. Two biggies to watch out for include:
Assuming you’ll always be a two income family and not planning for survival as a one income family:
SO many things can happen to a two income family. Couples break up – yes even when you don’t see it coming, people get sick and can’t work, people get pregnant and make a decision not to work, layoffs occur, and sadly sometimes the worst happens and one of a couple dies. The problem is that too few people plan for …read more

Let me start by prefacing this article by saying that I do not advocate cheating on your spouse or significant other. I believe wholeheartedly in a monogomous relationship, however, unfortunately there are women (and men) that find themselves on the other side shocked that this happened to them. Here are a few signs that may send up a red flag. Each of these by themselves may not mean anything, but it’s good to be aware of the financial warning signs of cheating.

An unusual increase of ATM withdrawals and/or credit card cash advances.
Failure to mention overtime, bonuses, or an increase in …read more

With all of my close friends, I have noticed a similarity.  My personal finances and financial decisions affect them. 
They say opposites attract and I guess that can be true of friendships as well.  I have had three close friendships.  I’m talking tight, share all secrets with girlfriends.  All three of these ladies had issues with spending.  After being friends with them for a while, I noticed that all of them began to tone down their spending, their impulsive shopping, their wild credit card spending, and they began to look for bargains on the things they purchased. 

Of course when you are …read more

Recently I was talking to a friend.  In the conversation, I mentioned that I was going on a business trip to New York and regretted that I couldn’t stay a few more days and site see.  When he asked why, I told him that we had recently purchased a home and didn’t have any extra money at the moment.  He replied that he had always been a renter and always would be because he liked having the freedom and extra money in his pocket.

His comment really got me to thinking.  Would someone really be a renter forever?  Here are some reasons why I …read more

Sometimes more than we’d care to, we have to tell our kids “no”.  They want a new dress, a new toy, to go out to eat, and to buy whatever they decide that can’t live without.  Raising kids can be very expensive and it’s important to realize that you can’t give in to their every request.  Not only will you put yourself into a financial mess, but you’ll also be depriving your child of important life lessons.
Telling our kids “no” is inevitable.  Here are some tips to make it a little easier.

1)  Use emphathetic and understanding statements. “I understand that …read more

My husband is a spender and I am a saver.  I think I’ve worn off on him a bit over the years.  He looks for bargains,  searches for product reviews,  and shops online and in the stores for the best deal he can find before laying out the hard earned dough.  He’s even known to haggle in the stores.  Still, he is a spender and I try to clinch hang on to our money so that we can be financially secure for our future and emergencies.

According to a new study, savers are attracted to spenders.  How can this be?  With …read more

Protecting your own financial identity is very important when you partner up for the long haul with another person. At anytime, there could be glitches, curve balls, and other surprises that attack one of you, and the other partner may need credit of their own.

How to deal:
When you become two vs. one, either by means of marriage or just because you’ve been together so long, make sure that even if you’re combining incomes, bills, and credit that each of you keep one or two credit cards or credit accounts in your own name. You should always keep partially solo …read more

The Consumer’s Almanac from the Federal Citizen Information Center of the U.S. General Services Administration is a useful and easy to use guide that can help you learn how to organize and track your expenses. The current online free version is from 2006, but the date is a moot point. These tips can be used by anyone now to get a budget in order.

Features of the Consumer Almanac:

How to create a basic budget including what to track, when to track it, and annual calender forms to track it on. Note, the calender templates are blank so you can fill …read more