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Six Ways to Teach Your Kids To Be Money Savvy
You’ll teach your kids thousands of lessons as they’re growing up, but make sure you don’t overlook one key area: how they can be money savvy. Kids who learn the value of money when they’re little are...
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Intuit to Update Quicken 2007 to Run on Mac OS X Lion?
Here’s an interesting little nugget of information related to the Quicken 2007/Mac OS X Lion debacle. In case you missed it, Apple has decided to drop Rosetta from their next major update of OS X...
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PSA: Export Your Quicken 2007 Data Before Upgrading to Mac OS X Lion
I’ve talked in the past about the fact that the release of Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion) will mark the end of Quicken compatibility on the Mac platform. In the absence of a workable solution from Intuit, your...
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How to Run Quicken 2007 After Upgrading to Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion)
At the risk of beating a dead horse, I have a bit more info on the Quicken/Mac OS X Lion debacle… According to MacRumors, OS X Lion will allow you to run multiple copies of OS X in virtual machines on...
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Quicken Mac (or PC) Alternatives
So you’re a Quicken addict (like me), you use a Mac, and now you’re worried about how to keep that addiction rolling when Mac OS X Lion kills Quicken 2007. What to do? We’ve already talked at length...
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iBank as a Quicken Replacement?
Over the weekend I spent some time migrating my 14+ years of Quicken data from Quicken 2007 to iBank, which was at the top of my list of Quicken alternatives. I’ll be providing lots of details below,...
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Moneydance as a Quicken Replacement?
On Monday I talked about my experiences moving from Quicken to iBank. In short, iBank is a solid option, but it’s not right for me. I’m a bit of a power user when it comes to tracking investments, and...
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Three Reasons to Build a Financial Database
It’s no secret that I’m a big (huge!) fan of keeping close track of our finances. In fact, I’ve been tracking and balancing our accounts in Quicken (and now Moneydance) since January 1st, 1997. The...
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USPS Plans to Close Over 3600 Post Office Locations
In case you haven’t heard, the USPS is planning on closing over 3, 600 locations. Believe it or not, of their roughly 32k locations, only about 6k (19%) cover their costs, so it’s time for a change....
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What Do You Do With Your Spare Change?
Earlier this week I ran across a story about a guy named Danny who uses a coin jar to supercharge his savings. Whenever he spends cash, he makes a point of not using his change – and when he receives...
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Stamp Prices: The 2012 Increase
In yet another attempt to stanch the flow of red ink, the US Postal Service plans to increase first class stamp prices from $0.44 to $0.45 on January 22nd, 2012. This is the first such increase in two...
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US Postal Service Cutbacks – What They Mean to You
In case you haven’t heard, the US Postal Service has announced major cost-cutting measures that will negatively impact the quality (or at least speed) of their service. We’ve talked about this before,...
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Cash Gifts vs. Gift Cards: Pros and Cons
Cold, hard cash… Or glittery gift cards? It’s an ongoing conundrum every holiday season. If you’re like me and you have a particularly challenging list of friends and relatives to buy for, this is the...
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Intuit Promises to Add Lion Support for Quicken 2007
Here’s a bit of good — albeit very overdue — news for those of you who have been waiting for Intuit to fix the Quicken 2007/Lion situation… As you may know, Quicken for Mac 2007 does not currently work...
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Quit Quashing the Quirky: Support Small Businesses
Years ago, I was assigned to write a series of Chicago Tribune articles set in Princeton, IL, the historic Bureau County seat that grew up along U.S. Rt. 6, about two hours west of Chicago, and an...
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2012’s Twelve for Twits
Back in 2011, I wrote that many Americans appear to follow a “Goof’s Guide to Money Management” in most of their monetary transactions. In the column, I posited this loony approach to dealing with...
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Thoughts on Kids and Gift Cards
Ahhh, gift cards. The gift we all love to hate. Sure, they’re convenient (for the giver) and they seem (again, to the giver) like they’re more thoughtful than cash, but they’re not all they’re cracked...
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Intuit Patches Quicken 2007 for Mac
If you’re a Quicken for Mac user, I have some welcome news for you… After a long wait, Intuit has finally released an update of Quicken for Mac 2007 that will run on OS X 10.7 (Lion). But before you...
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Are You Playing the Mega-Millions Lottery?
In case you haven’t heard, the Mega-Millions jackpot has topped $540M. Yes, you could win just over a half billion dollars (before taxes of course) for the low, low price of one dollar. So… Are you...
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How to Help Your Family Financially – and Stay Sane
This is a guest post from Sarah Gilbert. My husband and I both grew up in large families, and both of them were poor throughout our childhoods; my parents for beliefs (my dad was a Baptist missionary...
View ArticleHappy 4th of July!
This is just a quick note to wish you (or at least those of you in the US) a Happy 4th of July. I’m not sure about you, but I’ll be grilling steak, enjoying a few tasty libations, and otherwise...
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Happy Labor Day!
This is just a quick note to wish all of you a happy and relaxing Labor Day. If you’re curious about how/why Labor Day came into existence, I recommend taking a look at the Department of Labor’s page...
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Bike Sharing
I recently had the chance to visit Washington, DC on business. While there, I noticed something new (or at least new to me)… The “Capital Bikeshare” program. This is similar to ZipCar (albeit for...
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Creative Ways Your Kid’s Group Can Raise Money
Do you dread the sight of your daughter lugging home order forms for every imaginable sport and club she belongs to? From cookies to wrapping paper to flower bulbs, it seems like the only way these...
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Free Book About Social Security
This is just a quick note to let you know that Mike Piper from Oblivious Investor has published another book in his “…in 100 Pages or Less” personal finance series. This one, which is called “Social...
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Money and Marriage
Maybe I’m not the best person to give advice about money and marriage. Maybe it’s been too easy for me. After all, in 26 years of marriage, we haven’t argued much, especially about money, and we’ve...
View ArticlePicking Up Money Off the Ground
Last night, after dropping off my son at piano lessons, I stopped by Target to pick up a few things. While walking through the parking lot on my way into the store, I witnessed something rather...
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Found Money: What Would You Do with a Huge Sum?
As a followup to my recent post about picking up money off the ground… A bus driver in Austria was cleaning out his bus at the end of his shift when he discovered a shopping bag containing 390, 000...
View ArticlePicking Up Money (Followup)
So… Shortly after I posted about the guy whose girlfriend shamed him into leaving a dollar on the ground, Lifehacker picked up the story and ran a poll asking their readers the following: What’s the...
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Merry Christmas!
This is just a quick note to wish you a Merry Christmas. If you’re not celebrating Christmas, then have a great couple of days off. Also keep in mind that there’s only a week left in 2012, so be sure...
View ArticleHappy New Year!
This is just a quick note to wish you a Happy New Year. We’ve had a low-key and relaxing break, and plan on continuing that today and tomorrow before a return to school and work. What about you? Have...
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The Most Valuable College Football Teams
In honor of the BCS National Championship Game, which I’m watching as I write this, here’s a rundown of the most valuable programs in college football: Texas Michigan Florida Notre Dame Ohio State...
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Financial Lessons Learned
Aside from the unswerving advice to spend less than you make, personal finance wisdom has a way of evolving year by year, as the economy, tax laws, and other variables change. True, most lessons these...
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Putting Money in Its Place
We’re now a couple of weeks into the New Year and I have to admit that I have mixed feelings about New Year’s resolutions. That being said, resolutions provide us with a framework for putting our...
View ArticleBye Bye, Saturday Mail Delivery
I’ve written in the past about the financial difficulties that the US Postal Service has been dealing with. They’ve been raising stamp prices annually, they’ve closed a bunch of locations, and have...
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Marrying for Love and Money
With Valentine’s Day in the rearview mirror, I’m thinking about love. Love, and money. Robert Brokamp at Get Rich Slowly was part of my inspiration, with his sweet and personal take on his...
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Should You Pay Your Children for Good Grades?
This is a guest post from Suba Iyer. I grew up in India. We didn’t have a concept of weekly/monthly allowances. If we needed anything we would ask our parents. If they felt it was reasonable and...
View ArticleBitcoin virtual currency taking off, gaining popularity
This post is from Miranda Marquit at our partner site Quizzle.com. One of the more interesting currencies gaining ground right now is Bitcoin. This is a digital currency that provides users with a way...
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Key steps to a richer life
This post is from staff writer Jeffrey Steele. At a recent neighborhood function, I ran into a woman I’ve known for years, but hadn’t seen in a few months. She’d be the first to admit to suffering a...
View ArticleEpiphanies: Catalysts of change
This is a guest post from Terry R. Vergon who wrote “A Journey of Epiphanies: Learning Leadership, ” which looks at the specific epiphanies that enable people to become great leaders and affect...
View ArticleWhat is cash flow?
This post comes from Miranda Marquit at our partner site Quizzle.com. A lot of the time, when we consider income and expenses, we think mainly in terms of how much is coming and how much is going out....
View ArticleCan You Go Completely Paperless with Your Finances?
This post comes from Sean T. Johnston at our partner site Quizzle.com They say that “cash is king.” But some people would like nothing more than to overthrow his majesty in favor of electronic...
View ArticleR.I.P. Black Friday?
A Long Life Nobody knows for sure exactly when Black Friday began as an American tradition. Know-it-all site TIFO (Today I Found Out) credits the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade as something the...
View ArticleFive apps to protect your identity this holiday season
This post comes from Anthony Fontana at our partner site Quizzle.com It wasn’t too long ago that shopping actually required people to get off the couch and fight through crowds at the mall. That isn’t...
View ArticleSmartphone apps to help you avoid traffic
This article comes from Nate Segall from the Quicken Loans Zing! blog. Traffic – we despise it, we can’t stand it and we’ll do anything to avoid it. You can catch the morning news before you head out...
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How your life is changing in a Heartbleed
No, that’s not a typo. If you haven’t heard of “Heartbleed” yet, listen up. Events that radically change our lives don’t come along that often. The 9/11 attacks changed not only how we travel, but how...
View ArticleSensational Way to Triumph in Negotiations
Before reading this post, please grab a steaming cup of coffee, and recline in the most comfortable chair you can find. If one is near, lift a warm puppy to your lap and stroke the soft, furry pet as...
View ArticleThe economics of running out
In a sense, personal finance is a battle of conservation. People manage their resources in the hopes they won’t run out of the essentials — only what people find essential can differ. This centers...
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How California’s Drought Will Affect You
Statistically, 80 to 90 percent of you live outside of California. When you read reports of the drought in California, then, your reaction may be something like, “Bummer for those dudes. Patti, please...
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You Can Only Spend Each Dollar Once
Over the weekend, I sat down to talk a bit about money with our oldest son. He receives a decent monthly allowance; he got some gift money for his birthday back in October, and he also makes money...
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