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Personal Finance: Resolutions You Can Keep

- SPOTLIGHT: Should All My Savings Be in the Market?
- COMMUNITY TIPS: Do (At Least) One Thing Differently
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Q. I'M TIRED OF GETTING SO MANY CREDIT CARD OFFERS IN THE MAIL.
A CARD AND I DON'T WANT ANY MORE MAIL OFFERING ME NEW ONES. HOW
A. There are three main credit bureaus in the United States, and
they've agreed that if someone contacts one of them and asks to
be removed from junk mail (er, "direct mail") lists and
telemarketing phone lists, they'll all honor the request.
Let's face it, New Year's resolutions are mostly nightmares that
hang over our heads like that dark cloud that follows Eeyore
everywhere he goes. We mostly fail to keep our resolutions
because they are too vague and imply guilt-inducing judgment. 1.
Live every moment. 2. Be a good person. 3. Lose a lot of weight.
Don't despair. We've put together a quick, proactive to-do list
that is actually doable. This year's resolution: Save big bucks
now and live comfortably in the future. Now that's a resolution
It's true. You can lower your credit card interest rates with
Don't stash your short-term cash savings under your mattress.
Earn higher yields on CDs, money markets, and more.
Make sure your broker isn't charging you too much. Compare rates
Thanks to recent tax law changes, you can start pitching in more
When interest rates drop, some homeowners have the opportunity
If this list seems too daunting, and you don't want to go it
alone, you can get some unbiased, professional advice about your
finances with TMF Money Advisor. In fact, we're so excited about
this service, we are offering a free one-month trial
subscription. For more information, go here.
For more money-saving tips to aid your journey to Financial
Independence, visit our Personal Finance area.
We are big supporters of the idea that all of your long-term
money should be in the stock market. But over the short term,
the market is too volatile. Buying stocks for short-term gain is
really speculating, not investing. Would you have wanted to have
your emergency fund, or your house down payment, or your kid's
tuition in the Nasdaq at its height on March 10, 2000? If you
can't afford or wait out a 30% drop in the value of your
Of course, we're not just going to leave you hanging. To figure
out the best place to keep your short-term savings, visit our
Folks on the Living Below Your Means discussion board have been
sharing at least one thing they are going to do differently in
-I am going to make sure I carry my coupon envelope in my purse
so I don't find myself at the grocery store buying a bunch of
stuff on which I could save a bunch of money if I hadn't left my
-Make sure I get reimbursed for every dime my company owes me. I
have a bad habit of not filing expense reports for little stuff,
like 10 miles of mileage to go to a mediation. Ten miles is
$3.10 and if I do that 10 times a year, that's more than 30
bucks, and definitely worth filing an expense report for.
-I'm going to make at least one crock-pot meal a week so I don't
get tempted to go out and buy something to eat. Fridays would be
-Either cut down on the long-distance phone calls, or else find
-Document everything that I give to charity, including the
clothes and books, so that I can deduct it from my taxes.
-Keep turning down the thermostat at night and when I leave the
house. Run my humidifier (moist air is cheaper to heat).
Have any tips of your own? Add to the growing list here.
Check out our new Crash Courses, the fastest way to get
your finances in order. Get results in less than an hour, for
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