Tag Archives: personal finance

8 Questions About Money And Relationships

 
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money-relationships

I’ve seen this questionnaire on several other PF sites recently and figured I’d give it a shot and play along. The questions originated with Chase Bank, but I’ve seen Budgets are Sexy, Money Life and More, and Money Beagle  give their answers to these questions so check out what they had to say. After you finish reading my post, of course!  1. Would You Discuss Money On A First Date? Maybe. It’s been a really long time since I’ve been on a first date, but I don’t think I’d bring up any detailed talk about money on the first date.  Now, I’d be trying to put her financial picture together in the back of my mind as she talked about her life and job over the course of the night. But it’s probably in bad taste to come out and ask about that kind of stuff on a first date. I can’t … Continue reading →

What To Do With A Pay Raise

 
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tax refund, dumb ways to spend money, spend tax refund

Good times are here again! Pay raises are back! The economy is back and looking pretty healthy, so companies are starting to loosen the purse strings a little bit. That means 401(k) matches, bonuses and annual salary increases are all starting to return. Most employers have finished up year-end reviews and are starting to inform employees if and how much of a pay raise they’ll be seeing this year. Getting a raise is an exciting event. Even the smallest increase in pay gets me thinking about the possibilities of what I could do with that extra cash in my pocket. A pay raise, similar to a big tax refund or other financial windfall opens up the opportunity to blow all that money by making a large purchase. Or more commonly, slowly increasing your spending to match the extra amount you’re now seeing in each paycheck. You’ve probably seen this habit referred to as … Continue reading →

Five Dumb Ways To Spend Your Tax Refund

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burning-money

I filed my taxes this weekend, and like the majority of Americans I’ll be getting a refund from Uncle Sam. In 2012 the average tax refund was around $2900. You may remember that I’m not a fan of getting a big tax refund, and my refund this year is well below that average. Even still, I haven’t gotten a tax refund in a few years and it is exciting to consider the possibilities of what can be done with that money. I could drone on and on about how you should pay down your debt, build up an emergency fund or invest your tax refund. But what fun is that?! Instead, let’s look at the dumbest ways to spend your refund check! 1. Throw a Party – Believe it or not, I had a friend who did this. He threw a huge party after getting his check and spent it … Continue reading →

Should You File Your Own Taxes Or Hire A Pro?

 
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monopoly income tax

Tax season is officially upon us and over the next few weeks we’ll all be receiving various tax forms from our employers, banks, brokers and mortgage companies. Once you’re sitting with a nice stack of tax documents in front of you, the next logical question can be: “Should I file my taxes myself, or Should I hire a pro to prepare them?” Obviously there is no one right answer for everyone, but let’s look at some factors that should sway you towards or away from preparing your own tax return. Who Should File Their Own Taxes? Anyone Who Can Do It For Free – If your adjusted gross income (AGI) is $57,000 or less you can file your federal return for free! You can file your return for free through popular services like Turbo Tax or H&R Block or any of the other tax preparation services the IRS is kind enough to provide … Continue reading →

Finding The True Value Of Free Time

 
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hourglass

How much is your time worth? The relationship between time and money is one we’ve touched on a lot. Time is not a renewable resource and should be valued accordingly. If you read a lot of personal finance articles you may have noticed that doing it yourself is commonly suggested as a better alternative to paying for something. This can often be good advice, but it ignores the possibility that our time is better spent elsewhere.  For those of you who have never taken an accounting class, the concept I’m getting at is called “opportunity cost”.  Basically, opportunity cost is the cost of doing any one thing measured by the benefits you give up by not doing another. For example: If a bakery decides to specialize in making pies, its opportunity cost is the money it could have made by specializing in cakes instead. So, back to how this relates … Continue reading →