How and Why to Keep a Financial Journal

Journaling is sadly dismissed as an activity best left to teenage girls, depressed writers or people with too much time on their hands. So what in the world is financial journaling and why would you want to do it? Every so often, I take up financial journaling for one reason or another. It might be … Continue reading How and Why to Keep a Financial Journal →

I Gave Up My Online Bank

My love affair with online banks dates back as far as 2003, when I opened my first account with Netbank, a now-defunct banking upstart that some of you might nevertheless remember. Between 2005 and 2008 in an on-and-off fashion, I experimented with banking at E-Trade, which for the first time allowed me to connect my … Continue reading I Gave Up My Online Bank →

Mint Debuts Bill Reminder Feature

A few weeks ago, Mint rolled out a feature that is sure to make it a more competitive money manager: bill reminders. In this review, I take a look at all the new features, and decide whether Mint can take over as the primary way I manage my money.

Going Paperless With Your Money

If you want to take the leap to paperless, or your existing system isn’t working quite right, here is the strategy I used to set up my own system and dump my filing cabinet for good.

Track Your Gas Mileage With Fuelly

Surprisingly, while most of us know how many miles per gallon we should be getting, very few of us take the time to verify the information and keep track of it regularly. Enter Fuelly, a free and easy-to-use tool.

Trouble? Try Tracking Your Money Weekly

A few weeks ago, Heath, a frequent comment and social media contributor to the site, mentioned that he was tracking his money week-to-week. I was curious so I decided to try it myself.

Afraid to Swipe? One Way to Increase Debit Card Safety

Many of you are stuck in an interesting Catch-22: You believe that credit cards lead to over-spending, but you like the protection they provide to your checking account. I believe I have a solution.

Big Banks vs. Community Banks and Credit Unions

Community banks and credit unions are a unique “middle ground” between mega-banks (think Citibank, Chase, Wachovia) and online banks (like ING and Ally). They have some of the unique pros of both.

Online vs. Brick-and-Mortar Banks

Online banks are the hot new thing, and with good reason--they offer killer service and awesome interest rates. Here are the pros and cons of switching to an online bank.

It’s Rarely About the System

The latest or greatest tools rarely define how successful you are with your money. It's all about...these few things.