One of my favorite websites is Allrecipes.com. I go there anytime I’m looking for a new recipe or just need inspiration for something to cook for dinner.

On my most recent visit, I noticed a section called ‘Cooking on a Budget’. Since inflation and rising food prices are at the top of many people’s minds these days, this was a great find!

In ‘Cooking on a Budget’ you’ll find articles on smarter meal planning, budget friendly recipes (the lemon garlic tilapia looks awesome!), tips on how to buy in bulk and how to freeze food, and videos on how to prepare “cheaper than takeout” meals for your family.

While I was on vacation this week, some thief was busy emptying out my checking account.

I have always loved the convenience of debit cards, but this recent experience has me re-thinking the cost of that convenience.

First, your liability if you are a victim of debit card fraud is greater than if someone steals your credit card or uses your credit card to make unauthorized purchases.

With credit cards, your liability for unauthorized transactions is limited to $50. However, most major credit card issuers have a zero liability policy, so you typically aren’t liable for anything if you are a victim of credit card fraud.

With debit card fraud, your liability is limited to $50 only if you notify your financial institution within two business days after realizing their card has been lost or stolen. After that, your liability is limited to $500 if you report any suspicious activity within 60 days of receiving your account statement. After 60 days, your liability is unlimited, so it’s very important to check your statements on a regular basis.

Continue Reading Debit Card Fraud Much More Damaging Than Credit Card Fraud

If you’re self employed, you likely experience income slumps. It may be because your business is cyclical (being a tax professional, I am extremely busy the first 4 months of the year, but then things slow down drastically during the summer months), or it may be because the economy is slow, or it may be just because you haven’t done any marketing in a while.

Whatever the reason, I like to take some time to brainstorm about ways I can increase my income. And when things are really slow, I pull that list out and try to do something every day to get my income back up to where I want it to be.

Okay, I’m not a big meme person, but I couldn’t resist when I saw that today’s Friday Faves at TheHouseholdHelper.com is HGTV.

I absolutely love HGTV - my tv is on that station more than any other!

My favorite shows on HGTV are…

House Hunters - I love looking at new houses, and with House Hunters I get to see new houses all over the US and with House Hunters International, all over the world!

Hidden Potential - the things they can do with houses (that I would never have imagined) are incredible!

Money is one of the biggest sources of worry, anxiety, and divorce among adults. So many people struggle to make ends meet and incur thousands of dollars in credit card debt along the way.

This week on Mom’s Love Shopping guest host Carrie Lauth interviewed me about two strategies that anyone can use to pay off their credit card debts.

There is no one perfect way to eliminate debt; the important thing is to choose a payment plan that you can live with and commit to.

You can find more great ways to eliminate your debt in the Living Debt Free ebook.

I never expected to see a personal finance blog post by Seth Godin, but I am totally lovin’ it!

Urgent personal finance advice

by Seth Godin

If I could only share one piece of personal finance advice to grads or to just about anyone, it would be this:

Only borrow money to pay for things that increase in value.

It’s a short list: your business, your house and your education, mostly. Stocks if you’re smarter than me. That’s pretty much it.

If you have credit card debt, you’re in big trouble. Your bank account has a huge leak in it, and it’s getting worse. Hence the urgency.

I was recently interviewed by Cara of The Household Helper about getting your tax and financial records organized NOW for next year.

Some of the tips we talked about include…

- Create a system NOW: a folder for 2008 taxes where you can easily insert paperwork related to your taxes.

- Rule of thumb: keep copies of anything you will be deducting for 7 years. Keep the tax return as well as the back-up for that return.

- If you are NOT deducting things like utility bills or credit card bills, you DO NOT need to keep those statements (I usually keep them until I know the last check/payment cleared).

The WAH Expo started yesterday, and is featuring a wide variety of speakers and topics including:

Do’s and Do not’s of Graphic Design - Shannon Smith and Tammy Munson

Q&A about New Media: Blogs, Podcasting, Social networking, etc

Advertising: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly - Patrysha Korchinski

Non-Toxic Networking - Jennifer Gniadecki

Yes. You do need an editor. Erika Geiss

And many more!

I will also be speaking about Tax Benefits for the Work At Home Business Owner later today.

Check out the full schedule here!