Money & Finances

Can You Really Catch A Cold From Your Cash?

I was surprised to discover that money often carries germs and bacteria which can spread from person to person.  Would you believe that even things like narcotics can travel on dollar bills as well?

Yup, money can have things like E. Coli, the flu and cocaine attached to it!

So, that dollar bill you're about to use to pay for a snack... well, you might want to wash your hands before eating that snack -- because you just never know what else is attached to your money!

Jim Cramer's Book About Investing In A Troubled Economy: Getting Back To Even

Jim Cramer from CNBC's Mad Money has a new book called Getting Back to Even. In it, he tells you how to redeem your financial future in light of today's troubling economy. 

With so many people losing their pensions and their homes, a book like this is really needed.

A few of the topics included in the book are:

• The right way to buy and sell stocks, even in a floundering economy
• The importance of research to keeping your money safe
• Why it's not enough to just own stocks, and how to actually make money from them

Could Your Unemployment Benefits Be Yanked Over $1 A Day Earnings From A Blog?

It's hard to believe in this day and age of people profiting from the Internet that a woman who was making only $1 a day from Google Adsense on her blog would suddenly have her unemployment yanked because the government considers her self-employed.

That is exactly what happened to an unemployed lawyer in New York. When she was honest and claimed that income when filing her claim for unemployment benefits, she was punished by the New York Unemployment Office. 

How To Turn Your Financial Future Around in 7 Days

When I first saw this, I thought, "yeah, right!" I didn't see how you could really do such a thing in just a week.

However, there are some very sound tips here for turning around your financial life and getting back on the road to recovery when it comes to your finances.

Check out these 7 tips for turning your financial future around:

• Day 1: Take note of all your assets and liabilities and inventory your finances.
   
• Day 2: Set up an emergency fund with 3 month's expenses.
   
• Day 3: Shred all your credit cards.
   
• Day 4: Cut down  your monthly expenses by cutting coupons, canceling subscriptions, canceling cable (and watching tv on your computer), and living a frugal lifestyle until you are debt free.
   
• Day 5: Begin saving for your retirement.
   
• Day 6: Invest in ESA's or 529 plans for your children's education.
   
• Day 7: Invest in mutual funds so you can retire early if you choose to.

4 Reasons To Organize Your Home - It Will Help You Save Money

We've all heard about how important it is to live simply, and declutter. But what if by decluttering and organizing your home, you could also save money?

Believe it or not, you really can!

Here are 4 reasons to declutter and organize your home. See why doing so will save you a lot of money!

• Once you start organizing, it becomes addictive. This is a good thing, because eventually your entire home will be organized.
   
• You learn real quick how bad impulse buying is and how it can really hurt you by costing you money and space in your home.
   
• Organizing helps you learn to break your ties with "stuff."
   
• Organizing prevents your buying something twice. If you can see what you have, then you are far less likely to buy something twice by accident.

How To Have A Better Wardrobe That Will Save You Money Too!

Okay, I'll be the first to admit, I'm not much of a girly girl. Give me my black jeans and a t-shirt and my wool jacket, and flats and I'm happy.

Yes, I'm bad, I know it. Part of that comes from working in the corporate world where I had to dress professionally every day for nearly 15 years. Now that I work from home, I'm about as far from corporate as I can be. However, in looking through my closet I realized, it could use a clean up and restock.

I found it easy to use these 7 tips for cleaning out and restocking your closet. In the end, they will ultimately save you money.

• Go through your closet and put together 4 piles:  throw out, give away, repair, and soul stirring. Then separate all the items in your closet into those 4 categories. Get rid of the first 2 piles, take the second pile to a tailor, and put the third pile back in your closet.
   
• Take note of what you have left in your closet and what you need to round it out. Then, make a list of those items you need.
   
• Figure out what your dominant season is and make sure the majority of your clothes are for that season. Or, if your area has 4 separate seasons, then purchase equal amounts of clothes for each season.
   
• Take into account what your lifestyle is. If you're a work at home gal like me, you probably don't need a lot of fancy clothes for example.
   
• Figure out what your personal style is. Take that into account when you're filling in the gaps in your wardrobe.
   
• Only purchase clothes that fit you. Have clothing altered when necessary, and buy long-wearing fabrics only.
   
• Don't purchase a clothing item just because it happens to fit you. Instead, purchase clothing items that make you feel great about how you look.

5 Reasons To Shred Your Credit Cards And Forget Them!

Contrary to what many of us are brainwashed into believing, credit cards are not really good for us.

While they can be useful in times of emergency (as long as you only use them for that and then pay them off right away), most of us get suckered into the convenience of using credit cards. It's easy to just use a credit card whenever we see something we want.

Here are 5 reasons to shred your credit cards, close your accounts, and forget them!

• You won't be tempted to use your credit cards if they are shredded and the accounts are closed.
   
• You will no longer have to deal with a company whose sole purpose in life is to separate you from your money.
   
• You won't have to worry, and you won't have to pay all those extra fees. You know the ones I mean: the annual fees, the over the limit fees, and others.
   
• You won't have to pay interest to anyone else and can instead use that money for your savings account.
   
• You will no longer be dealing with an industry that preys on the less fortunate in our society. Credit card companies get most of their fees (to the tune of 93%) from 14% of all credit card holders. That means you and me, and the other regular folks.

5 Tips To Help You Retire Early

I always wondered what it took to be able to retire early, besides being independently wealthy that is.

Fortunately for you and me, there are 5 things we can do to make it possible for us to retire early and begin enjoying life.

• Begin saving money early in your career.
   
• Make the most of the money you have available by living frugally and staying out of debt as much as you can.
   
• Try to save 50% of your income for retirement if you can. If not, then save as much as you can afford to.
   
• Invest your money over time rather, than choosing high risk investments to get the money you need for retirement.
   
• Plan to work part-time during your retirement.