Single Guy Money

3 Scams to Avoid When Hiring a Professional Home Painter

2012-07-24T01:45:00.000-04:00

Some people enjoy painting, while other people despise this task. My thoughts exist somewhere in between. For simple projects - such as painting a single room - I actually enjoy getting down to business. However, if the job is labor- and time-intensive, I often call in a professional. Over the past few years, I have learned quite a bit about the "professional painting industry." One thing is

6 Ways to Quickly Pay Off College Debt

2012-03-03T17:39:00.000-05:00

The average college student graduates with more than $20,000 in student loan debt, and hopefully, your reliance was less than this. However, regardless of your level of student loan debt, you will want to do whatever you can to pay off these debts as quickly as possible. The strain that student loans put on your daily finances is significant, and once you eliminate this debt, you can focus on

5 Car Financing Tips to Help You Get the Best Deal & Rates on a Car Loan

2011-06-12T18:19:00.000-04:00

Are you shopping for a car? Whether you are buying a new or used car, there is a good chance that you will be financing the purchase. Of course, if you can afford to comfortably pay with cash you should consider doing so. But if you don't have the luxury of buying a car with cash, be wary of what the dealer tells you when it comes to financing your purchase. Car dealers are in the business of

What to Include on Your Year-End Financial Goals Planning Checklist

2011-01-13T19:02:00.000-05:00

Have you ever created a year-end financial checklist? If not, you are missing the boat! This is something that can improve your financial situation at the present time, while also making life easier in the year to come. Of course, there are many reasons and excuses for not working on a year-end financial checklist: you don’t have enough time; you don’t have the right information; you don’t know

Are Cashback Sites Worth the Effort?

2010-11-15T08:00:00.001-05:00

When I first stumbled across cashback sites, I loved the idea of being able to earn “cash back” on things that I was going to buy anyway. Along with the best online paid survey sites, I saw them as a good opportunity to make a bit more extra cash on the side in my free time. Things had been going great with these sites until the proverbial "bubble" burst with these sites. Some of the cashback

5 Tips On Juggling Multiple Savings Accounts

2010-11-03T16:40:00.000-04:00

When I talk about my savings, I’m rarely referring to just the one account. Currently, I have three: my on-going emergency fund (which may also act as an additional retirement fund in the future); an “overflow” account that contains enough money to pay for my regular outgoings if I have a bad month on the self-employment front, and an account to cover what I call “semi-regular expenses” that come

Getting the Most Out of eBay as a Seller

2010-10-19T02:25:00.000-04:00

Auction sites like eBay can be a great way to make some extra income by selling your unwanted belongings. You can go down the road of just slapping up a basic listing and hoping for the best, but personal experience has taught me that being proactive can pay dividends when it comes to improving your success rate. When to Sell Before you even start putting together a listing, think about

Unique Homemade Gift Ideas - Make Your Own Food Gift Baskets

2010-09-24T10:23:00.000-04:00

Earlier in the year, I happened to look over my budget for last year and was shocked to see how much I’d spent on presents for birthdays and Christmas. Having made a big effort to tighten my belt in 2010, I knew that I just couldn’t justify spending the same amount again, but at the same time, I don’t want to look like a miser when I’m handing over the presents. My compromise has been to look

How and Where to Buy a Dog and Save Money

2010-09-14T11:19:00.003-04:00

Before I get started, let me say this: buying and caring for a dog is a big responsibility. Although there are ways to save money when purchasing a dog, I don’t want anybody to believe that they should be “bargain shopping.” It is fine to search for the best deal on vet care, food, and toys. But when it comes to buying an actual dog, you want to do your research to ensure that you get the right

Eating Out: Finding Restaurant Vouchers & Coupons to Save Money and Cut Costs

2010-09-07T09:48:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, I caught up with some friends over pizza. Although we each had drinks and a decent-sized pizza, our total bill only came to $6. Short of throwing a few coins on the table and hot-footing it out of the door before security gave chase, you’re probably wondering how we got away with paying so little. The answer is very simple: we used vouchers to cover the bulk of the costs

How to Pay Off Credit Card Debt When Your Income is Irregular

2010-08-29T02:59:00.000-04:00

I've always been very careful to live within my means and not take on any significant amount of debt but around six months back, I learned the hard way that this isn’t always enough to keep you in the black. My beloved cat suddenly got very sick and I instinctively knew that I’d do whatever it took to help her. Everything seemed to happen all too quickly and she passed away a couple of weeks

Cell Phone Contracts - How I Make Sure I’m Really Getting Good Value

2010-08-23T14:50:00.000-04:00

I’ve spent the last few weeks trying to pin myself down to one cell phone provider after my previous contract came to an end. I’m not one for fancy cell phones so all I was really looking for was something with a reasonable amount of airtime that wouldn’t leave me out of pocket. Here are some of the things I had to think long and hard over before choosing which provider to go with: How much

Make Money Online with Surveys - Can It Be Done?

2010-08-18T11:01:00.001-04:00

When the topic of making extra money comes up, taking online surveys is often one of the ideas that is put forward. This is something that I do myself after I read about it on an online forum, but it’s by no-means a “get rich quick” scheme. If you’re thinking about signing up for a host of survey websites, it’s best to know what you’re getting involved in so you can decide if it’s going to be

College Dorm Room Decorating and Furnishing Ideas for Less

2010-08-09T14:08:00.000-04:00

Most dorm rooms are on the basic side and all you'll usually get is the bare minimum in terms of furniture and decoration. They tend to be impersonal but putting your own stamp on the place can quickly become a challenge for a couple of reasons. Firstly, there's the all-important money issue. Most students are not exactly rolling in dough and are unlikely to have the funds to spend on decking out

How Can I Pay Less For This?

2010-07-07T11:15:00.000-04:00

How can I pay less for this? That's a question you can ask yourself when it comes to any purchase, big or small. You can apply this question to just about anything you spend your money on. The economy is slowly improving but it never hurts to save money whenever you can; no matter what the state of the economy. It never makes sense to pay more than you have to. I've recently started to apply

Don't Buy the New Car!

2010-06-15T19:41:00.000-04:00

Cars. Most of us need them to get around. When you think about it, the only thing a car does is get us from Point A to Point B. A car is basically four wheels and an engine. If the only thing a car does is get from from place to place, why are they so expensive? Why is it that vehicles expenses are usually the second largest expense in our budget? If cars are only meant for basic transportation,

Professional Home Inspection Service Checklist - Tips & What's Included

2010-06-11T16:33:00.000-04:00

If you are about to purchase your first home, there are several things you need to do. It does not matter if the home is brand new and has never been lived in; get the inspection anyway. The first and most important thing you need to do is get pre-approved for a mortgage, unless you are fortunate enough to be paying in cash. By getting pre-approved for a mortgage BEFORE you start shopping for

If I Won the Lottery...

2010-05-28T17:03:00.002-04:00

What would you do if you won the lottery? I was driving the other day and saw one of the lottery billboards advertising how much the current lottery is up to. As of this post, the lottery is up to about 65 million dollars. Every time I see those billboards, I always start dreaming about all the things I would do if I won the money. Sometimes, my dreaming is a little bit premature. I think about

Do You Need Renters Insurance?

2010-05-26T13:56:00.000-04:00

Do you live in a property owned by someone else? If so, are your personal belongings properly protected in the event of an unfortunate catastrophic event? If you live in a medium to large city and watch your local news, you see it all the time. At least once a week, there is a report of an individual or family that lost their home due to a fire. You may think you don't have to worry about someone

Current Financial Goals and Plans

2010-05-20T11:02:00.000-04:00

Have you ever heard the saying, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail”? I'm not exactly sure who originally said this but it is one of my favorite quotes. This quote can be applied to multiple areas of your life and not just your finances. Without a plan, you have no clue where you are going or how to get there. Not having a plan is like trying to make it from the East coast to the West coast

May Is Going To Be Expensive

2010-05-12T11:37:00.000-04:00

Don't you hate those months when it seems like everything comes due at the same time. Thankfully, those months don't happen all the time or I'd be up a financial creek. I'm also happy that I've already planned for those expenses in advance and tucked the money away in a special savings account. As much as it sucks that I'm going to be emptying out my pre-planned expense account, it's nice that

Are Your Friends Enabling Poor Spending Habits?

2010-05-06T11:24:00.000-04:00

Have you ever gone out with a bunch of friends, had a great time but found your bank account much lighter when you got home? Or you went to store with a friend just to pick something up, but a few more items ended up in your bag? Whether or not you want to admit, sometimes friends can help enable poor spending habits. You might want to take a hard look at your friends and avoid hanging out with

Pros and Cons of Being a Homeowner

2010-05-05T10:07:00.000-04:00

This past weekend, I finally got around to doing some long overdue tasks around the house. One of the major things I had planned to do was pressure wash and seal the deck. I've been meaning to do it for quite awhile but it was one of those things that I kept putting off over and over again. As a homeowner, if something needs to be done around the house, it's up to me to get it done or pay someone

Home Inspections Can Save Money and Headaches

2010-04-28T00:26:00.000-04:00

If you are getting ready to purchase a home, whether new or used, before you sign on the dotted line, I recommend that you get a home inspection. Getting a home inspection can keep you from making a home purchase that you will regret later on down the road. I just had a home inspection save me from making a home purchase that would eventually cause me many headaches and cost me thousands of

Telemarketer Revenge

2010-04-23T13:58:00.000-04:00

I've had it and I'm fed up. For the past two weeks, I've had this telemarketing company calling me anywhere from 10-15 times a day (no joke) on my cell phone. It started a few weeks ago when I got a call from an unknown number and I answered it. It was a gentleman with a thick Indian accent asking me if I knew (????). I said yes, I know (???), he is my uncle. They then started about they would