http://www.themoneywisecoach.com Personal finance tips to help you jump start your financial future Mon, 19 Jan 2009 04:11:37 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en In my "I'm Putting Christmas on a Budget" post, I talked about the importance of creating a budget to help you save money this holiday season.  In addition to gifts, you need to figure out how much you want to spend on decorations, food, and supplies as well. To help you ... http://www.themoneywisecoach.com/2008/11/holiday-spending-budget-worksheet/ I'm doing something that is very out of character for me... I'm thinking about holiday shopping in the first week of November.  Normally, I'm one of those last minute, barely get it there on time Christmas shoppers, so this is very unusual for me. But like a lot of people, I ... http://www.themoneywisecoach.com/2008/11/christmas-on-a-budget/ You'd never guess there was any good news in the economy based on the gloomy headlines and the lack of consumer confidence.  The economy is definitely in turmoil right now, but I've always felt that the media focused on the negative news and buried any good news. So I was thrilled ... http://www.themoneywisecoach.com/2008/10/its-not-all-bad-news/ Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard about the $700 billion bailout plan that was passed recently in an attempt to rescue the housing market.  What you may not know is that there were several tax relief provisions included in this bill. Included in the bill were some ... http://www.themoneywisecoach.com/2008/10/bailout-plan-includes-tax-breaks-too/ Here are some more articles on how to save money with meal planning: Quick Ways To Save and Be Frugal With Meals - Make a list. Always keep a list on hand for what you need and what’s on sale. This will also help with your meal planning. Plan your meals ... http://www.themoneywisecoach.com/2008/10/how-to-save-money-with-meal-planning/ The recent volatility in the stock market and economy has finally got people asking how they can save money. Well, I'm not the most frugal person in the world, so I decided to search some of my favorite personal finance blogs to find the best "money saving" tips I could find. How-To: ... http://www.themoneywisecoach.com/2008/10/money-saving-tips/ Don't forget that October 15 is the final deadline for filing your 2007 tax return. In addition, it's your last chance to file for the economic stimulus rebate check. As a reminder, if you file a 2007 federal income tax return, and have $3,000 or more of qualifying income (including ... http://www.themoneywisecoach.com/2008/10/final-deadline-for-rebate-check/ I'm always nagging at you to check your credit report, which you can request for free at AnnualCreditReport.com.  But up until now you always had to pay for your credit score. Well, I recently discovered a website called CreditKarma.com, where you can request your credit score (the actual 3-digit FICO score) ... http://www.themoneywisecoach.com/2008/10/get-your-free-credit-score/ A few years ago I learned an exercise that is designed to de-clutter your mind.  While this exercise was really created to be used when you have too many things to do, I found it to be a great stress reliever, and use it anytime I'm worried about something and ... http://www.themoneywisecoach.com/2008/09/reduce-financial-anxiety/ The 172nd edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance (the Meltdown Edition) is posted at DebtKid. If you're not sure what a blog carnvial is, it's where bloggers who write about a similar topic (in this case personal finance) submit their best articles to be compiled together on one website for ... http://www.themoneywisecoach.com/2008/09/carnival-of-personal-finance-meltdown-edition/