Cars: Benefits of Leasing

For those of us looking at cars entering into college or graduating out of college, we may not be all to familiar with the process of buying a car.  I haven't bought my own car yet so I can't say I am an expert in the area, but a friend of mine is looking to get a car soon and I will eventually need to look into it as well.  I thought I'd post some information about an alternative to buying a car: leasing one.  What is a lease?  A lease is kind of like renting a car but you have some restrictions for what you can do with the car (like stay within a certain mileage for a specified period of time) and you have the option of purchasing the car you lease at the end of the term.  If you fulfill your side of the contract, you can return your car and just walk away.

2011 Spending in Review

Happy New Year everyone.  I thought I'd take a post to look at my expenses for this previous year and use it to help give me a good idea of how much I should be spending in the future.  Also, for those of you still looking to get your first credit card, it may help to see which credit cards I use most often and what returns I get through their cash back programs.

End of the Year Losses

Merry Christmas everyone and thank you for supporting me in reading my blog.  While you open those expensive family presents you bought each other (which hopefully you have budgeted), I thought I'd end this year with an educational post about what almost everyone does near December 31st: take capital losses to offset any capital gains or some income.  The reason why you would want to offset capital gains or income is to save on taxes.

Why You Should Manage Your Personal Finances

I've been regularly posting on my blog for more than half a year already, yet I think I have neglected one of the most important topics that need to be addressed: why should you even bother learning about personal finance?  Of course, some of us may automatically say "obviously, it's to have more money."  But that isn't the real reason. There is a reason why we even want money in the first place—so that we can pursue our interests and find what makes us the happiest.  Everything always comes down to seeking happiness and how it comes to each and every one of us is almost completely unique.

Retirement

I thought I'd spend a post talking about retirement in general, before moving on to specific ways to help save money for retirement.  I also have posts on retirement saving strategies and retirement investment strategies.