Yesterday, as I washed two coffee mugs that my aunt gave me, I said unexpectedly to myself, “These will be among my final things.” An image flashed before me. I saw myself, old and shrunken, seated at a little table surrounded by the few belongings worth keeping through the years; a lifetime of journals, my [...]

By David John Marotta
If your credit card minimum payment was $10 and you repaid it every month for 15 1/2 years with an accruing interest of 15.9%, a $1,000 purchase would end up costing $2,250. Every time you use your credit card to pay for something you risk it being marked up two and [...]

By David John Marotta
Putting all of your retirement eggs in one basket is easy to carry, but risky. Most workers are putting all their retirement assets in the basket of their employer’s retirement plan. They are depending on one employer and two dozen eggs (funds) to hatch and maintain their lifestyle, independence and dignity [...]

In the absence of clearly-defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it. — Robert Heinlein
Have you ever felt trapped or enslaved by your own financial situation and/or spending habits? Anyone who’s had any financial hardships or made a later-regretted impulse buy knows what [...]

By David John Marotta
The image of the starving artist has prevailed too long. At the July 24-29 San Diego Comic-Con there were tens of thousands of people working in the arts. Of the 650 hours of events and presentations, only one hour was devoted to financial planning for artists. Here are the financial essentials that [...]

When people think about saving money or personal finances in general, they usually don’t think beyond their paycheck. There are a number of additional ways your employer can help you save and create wealth beyond payday. Here are ten ways (in no particular order) your company may be able to help increase your bottom line. [...]

When people ask me what was the best decision I made when I decided to create this website, they are often surprised when I tell them that it was my decision to quit watching TV. There is no doubt that TV costs people far more financially than they believe. For most people, TV is a [...]

I personally deal mostly with taxes in my professional capacity of an accountant. However, I have also come across a lot of the ins-and-outs when it comes to 401(k) plans as I used to audit 401(k) plans for large companies, and currently am involved in the setup, administration of, and accounting for 401(k) plans for [...]

NOTE: It appears that while the process described in this article originally worked, Fidelity has closed the loophole and you now need the minimums you described to open the account.
Most people have the impression that in order to open a retirement account, you need to do a lot of research, have a large sum of [...]

When it comes to where to invest your money, a lot of people get overwhelmed with all the options that are available. A lot depends on your individual circumstances and what the money is to be used for in the future. The following reader had such a question:
My dilemma is a simple one: I am [...]