In these economic times, many people are looking at their finances and wondering where they went wrong — and how they can fix it. Some despair of ever truly managing to start over financially. The good news is that it probably isn’t too late to finish rich, even if you have to start over again. David Bach offers 10 steps to help you get on the right track in his book Start Over, Finish Rich: 10 Steps to Get You Back on Track in 2010.

Recommit to Wealth
Find Your Money
Deal with Your Credit Card Debt
Fix and Protect …read more

They say that if you can stop doing something for 21 days, you will break a habit. So the idea behind The Power to Prosper: 21 Days to Financial Freedom operates on the principle that if you can stop spending for 21 days, you might break some of your bad money habits. And it is an interesting way to get in the habit of conscious spending.
This book is written by Michelle Singletary, and encourages you to stop using credit cards for 21 days, and only buy things that are necessary for survival. That means you buy food, pay your bills …read more

I ran across the following MasterCard Debit commercial recently, and it got me thinking about what we use plastic for these days.
I saw myself standing there, using my debit card to pay for a handful of inexpensive things. And why? Because I didn’t have any cash on me. In fact, it sort of reminded me of how little cash some of us carry anymore. This is because it seems so unnecessary. A piece of plastic is much easier to carry around and deal with than a fat wad of cash.
However, I do try to use cash in some cases. It …read more

Every 10 years, as laid down by the Founding Fathers in our Constitution, there is a census. While the Census Bureau gathers population information almost constantly, there is still an official Census every decade. And this year, you should be receiving a form in the mail. And, of course, Census Bureau workers will be out visiting some homes. Which means that entrepreneurial scammers will be out visiting homes as well. In order to avoid being scammed by fake Census workers, keep the following in mind:

Do not give out personal financial information. The Census does not ask information about your Social …read more

We’ve been seeing a lot lately about how revolving debt, such as credit card debt, is on the decline. Many consumers are interested in recovering from their debt, and the current economic climate has prompted many to begin digging out of debt, as well as avoid getting into additional debt. However, it may not just be consumers’ doing that the debt rate is shrinking right now.
Credit card issuers themselves have tightened standards, and so there is less debt being issued in general. On top of that, it is quite possible that charge offs are playing their role. Here is what …read more

Forget the cynicism of New Year’s resolutions for a minute. Even if you don’t keep all of them, you are still more likely to accomplish more of what you want than those who don’t bother to make any resolutions at all. So, with that in mind, consider what you’d like to accomplish in your financial life next year. 2010 is the start of a new year — and a new decade. You might as well put some serious thought into what you would like to accomplish, even if it’s as small as knocking $1,000 off your $5,000 worth of credit …read more

It’s been a great year for stupidity in the business world. (Okay, nearly every year is a great year for stupidity in the business world.) Fortune magazine, in conjunction with CNN  Money, offers a look at some of the stupidest moves by businesses this year. Here are my favorite highlights:

Goldman Sachs CEO tells the Times of London that he’s “doing God’s work” as a banker. Hmmm…most people I know doing God’s work aren’t being paid $43 million to do it.
All Nippon Airways asks passengers to go to the bathroom before boarding. The move was meant to save on greenhouse gases, …read more

We all know that we’re supposed to look at the credit card statements, checking them over to make sure everything is accurate and making sure that at least pay the minimum (although you should pay more than the minimum). However, credit card issuers often send other mailings as well. Many of us simply ignore these after skimming to make sure that nothing is wrong with the account. This can be a bad idea, though, since these mailings often have more information than just the privacy  policy.
Some of the information that you might be notified of in credit card mailings coming …read more

As the year draws to a close, many begin to look at the financial situation and make resolutions to improve it. This is especially true when one focuses on the build up of debt related to holiday spending. So, what can you do? Here are 5 helpful hits for paying down debt:
1. Brutal Honesty
The first thing you have to do is have an idea of where you are at. This means that you need to be brutally honest about how much debt you have, and how much income you have to help pay it off. You also have to take …read more

I recently received this question from a reader:
I have been hearing a lot about the comeback of the charge card. What is a charge card? Is it difference from a credit card?
There is no denying the convenience of plastic money. However, even though a debit card is preferred by many, the debit card lacks a number of advantages and protections available withe a credit card. Many people, though, are justly concerned about the potential for problems with using a credit card. Is there some sort of happy medium? Actually, there is. It’s called a charge card. The charge card was …read more