Finance Globe

There’s something so refreshing and motivating about the beginning of a new year. It’s why people pick this time of year to make major changes to their lifestyles – quit smoking or drinking, lose a few pounds, spend more time with the family, do better at work, stop procrastinating. The list goes on and on. Don’t forget to put a few of your financial bad habits on the list of things to leave in the old...

“Seize the day”, “Live for the moment”, and “You only live one” are feel good quotes that can mislead people into thinking only of today, not for the future. Much of today’s society is built around convenience. Business models and technology makes it easy for you to live in the moment. For example, you don’t have to meals because you can just pick up a microwave dinner or fast food on the way home from work....

When a business is struggling, it has to make big changes to keep operating. As opposed to laying off employees, the company may choose to administer pay cuts either to a couple of departments or across the board to all employees.You don’t have to accept a pay cut. However, refusing it may leave you out of a job. Depending on the job market (which is not that promising at the time of this article), it may...

It’s so important to be able to recognize the signs of financial trouble. If you can tell when you’re heading for disaster, you can stop what you’re doing and prevent something terrible from happening. A paycheck to paycheck lifestyle Living paycheck to paycheck can seem ok as long as all your expenses are being paid each month. But it’s like walking on a tight rope: one false move and you could fall to financial ruin. For...

How much thought do you give purchase decisions? Are they deliberate or impulsive? How you spend money, even on the seemingly insignificant day-to-day things, has a big impact on your entire financial life. Have you ever wondered why some of your friends or relatives are always broke, even though they seem to make a lot of money? Or others who don’t have the highest income have fewer money problems? Being financially responsible means thinking through your...

One of the biggest shopping seasons of the year is just a few days away. Already, stores are advertising Black Friday sales and no doubt the masses will be lined up waiting to take advantage of those elusive, annual deals. And Black Friday is just the kickoff for a four-week shopping frenzy. It’s easy to get caught up in the hype with advertisements all over the place – television, radio, internet, and the stores - and...

The TLC show Extreme Couponing popularized or rather re- popularized couponing habits, inspiring people all over the country to spend hours each week clipping coupons and looking for store deals in an effort to save hundreds of dollars. The show reveals how people are able to spend just a few hundred dollars for sometimes thousands of dollars in groceries and household goods. But, for some people, couponing, especially extreme couponing may not be worth it. Couponing...

Complicated finances are difficult to manage and could even be costly. Simplifying your finances might be a much-needed stress reliever. It would also make it much easier to manage your money. Organize your financial documents, getting rid of those that are outdated. In general, you should keep tax-related documents, like returns or W-2 forms, for three years, but you may need to keep certain documents up to six years. You don’t necessarily need to keep bank...

Continuously overdrafting your checking account, running out of money before you get paid again, and having to dip into savings or use your credit card to make ends meet are all signs of serious money problems. Left unsolved, money problems can lead to big trouble. Foreclosure, repossession, and bankruptcy all stem from seemingly harmless money problems – ones you thought you could get under control but somehow could never correct. Your financial well-being is too important...

If you haven’t embraced the capability of paying bills online, you may be missing out. Most companies make it easy to pay your bills over the internet within seconds. It can be so much faster than writing a check and dropping it off in the mail.How It Works Many banks have online bill pay feature that let you pay all your bills directly from your online account. Getting started can take some time – you have...