Pennies and Dollars

Graduation is just around the corner, and another crop of high school (and college) seniors that are ready to seize their independence and move into the real world. Although parents can do a lot to help prepare their kids for the real world, this is where the rubber hits the road. When you move out on your own, the stakes are higher and your money decisions really start mattering. Gone are the . . .

This time of year, a lot of soon-to-be grads are probably thinking about moving out on their own. This is going to mean taking responsibility of your own finances- all the expenses, budgeting and saving. It also means securing an income. But how much money does it actually take to live on your own? Of course, anyone can easily blow through $100,000 in a year. But what's a reasonable minimum for a . . .

Today I've got a guest post by David Chen from Millennial Personal Finance. David writes about a variety of personal finance topics, and today shares about some of the potential consequences of cosigning on student loans. Enjoy! There is no doubt about it: college is expensive, and the cost is only going up. For many, saving enough to pay for our kids’ college education is . . .

A little while ago, I wrote a detailed post on annuities. Basically, an annuity is a hybrid between an insurance product and investment product. All annuities are different, but in one way or another, they are an investment that come with some kind of guarantee or 'insurance' built in. While knowing what an annuity is and how an annuity works is important, it's also important to consider . . .

Contributed by John Paul from HowIGrowMyWealth.com Most people limit their investing to stocks and bonds. And these are indeed good investments. But what if you want to diversify beyond traditional investments? Although there are several alternative investments, few have the track record of Bitcoin arbitrage funds. The fund I’ve allocated some money to pays about 12.95% . . .

Paying $50 or more for a single cell phone line seems normal. At least, it's normal if you stick to the major cell phone carriers such as Sprint, Verizon or US Cellular. But what about the cheap $20-30 cell phone plans offered by names that you might not recognize? With a lot of these, we're talking unlimited talk and text, and included data. Have you given these much thought? Do you dare give . . .

Budgeting is the foundation and road map for your personal finance. A budget is an income and spending plan. The goal of budgeting is to spend less than you earn so that you have enough to meet your savings goals as well. A good budget also anticipates surprises and emergencies that would otherwise destroy your finances. The foundation of any budget is determining your income, your . . .