Improving personal financial management is one of the most common New Years’ resolutions out there (aside from eating healthier and losing weight, perhaps). The problem with this resolution is that it’s extremely vague, which increases the likelihood that you won’t fulfill it because there’s no clear end goal for something like “save more money” ($1 more? $1,000 more?) or “manage money better.” Don’t let another new year go by where you set resolutions and don’t follow through due to a lack of specificity for those goals. You can improve your goal-setting by coming up with SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound) and participating in fun, results-driven money challenges throughout the new year. New Year’s Money Challenges If you’re … Read more

If you’ve been looking for legitimate home-based business ideas, then you have a lot more options beyond filling out surveys for pennies all day. Some mainstream freelance opportunities like driving for a ride-sharing service or house-sitting for other people might not be a good fit for your personality or job needs, and other popular freelance gigs like writing blogs or designing graphics might not meet your income needs, either. Fortunately, Amazon is expanding its empire of independent contractors through its up-and-coming Amazon Flex program, which allows individuals to pick-up and drop-off deliveries similar to how Uber and Lyft work (except with Amazon orders instead of human passengers). If you’re more of an introvert who wants to make decent money without … Read more

Car leasing used to be almost universally considered a bad financial decision, but in recent years, leasing has gotten more favorable for consumers who want to upgrade their car every few years instead of driving it into the ground. This has become even more popular as safety technologies like back-up cameras, lane detection sensors, blind spot sensors, parking assistance, and other useful features become more advanced, thereby improving the safety of drivers, passengers, and pedestrians. If you want to get a new car but don’t want to put a lot of money down and/or don’t want to be stuck with the same car for 8+ years to justify the expense, then leasing a car might be a good option for … Read more