In the recent past the use of prepaid cards has risen significantly. According to Federal Reserve, these cards were used to make $65 billion worth of transactions in 2010, up 35% from the previous year 2009. This rise can be attributed to a number of things: the growing number of the ‘unbanked’ population, a messed …
Now that our son is here, once in a while i will be writing some little things that may be helpful to new ‘parents to be’ that we have picked along the way during the waiting and as we continue to grow as a family. Be Prepared Sometime it feels like even if i was …
As the holiday season becomes busy, consumers also get busy. We look through the newspapers and the internet for deals, gifts, coupons, and such offers that we can use for our holiday purchases. While this is perfectly OK, and in fact, you will likely get a better deal this season than earlier in the year, it’s also good …
These are some basic questions that every individual with a desire to achieve financial peace and freedom should answer with a YES. Do you know your financial situation? Are you doing something about it? Do you have a written budget? Do you have an emergency savings fund? Do you have a health insurance? Do you …
A Budget serves many and different purposes for different people. For us, it serves like a step by step navigation system. Since we are trying to kick debt off, a budget is one of the tools that as travelers on the journey to become debt free we do not have the pleasure of living without. …
I have been out of the blogsphere for a month; my wife and i took a vacation and we made a lot of memories with family and friends. But now that i am back, i want to keep writing and talking about the stuff that makes us wake up early, and stay late in the …
I recently got a letter from my bank giving me a choice to opt in or out of a plan of how they will be dealing with overdrafts. Previously, the bank used to automatically honor all the checks issued or any transaction charged whether there is money in the bank accountor not. Then, they would …
I was reading a book over the weekend that ‘brought home’ the need to be consistently thankful. I gathered some astonishing statistics and i call them astonishing because when compared with the rest of the world statistics – they are incredible. Nearly all Americans (98%) have water in the house, telephone, electricity and flush toilets. …
There are a lot of articles out there and even packaged commercial solutions that promise a debt free life without a change of lifestyle. This in my opinion is a misrepresentation of the truth, but since it does not call for any kind of personal sacrifice, we are quick to check it out- and this is our …
It’s not summer yet and the gas prices have started to rise. According to AAA the national average retail price for a gallon of self-serve regular is $2.830 or 80 cents higher than the average price one year ago today. Although this is not a record price, it is definitely affecting consumer budgets. Three months …
