It’s never too early for retailers to start battling it out for holiday shoppers. This year, an especially early competition concerns layaway. Despite the fact that Labor Day weekend just ended, the kids are barely back in …
Budgeting
Monkey See, Monkey Do? Just 1% of Kids Save Any Allowance Money
Studies have shown that most parents are poor financial role models for their children. So is it any surprise that of the money American kids get in allowance—a hefty $780 per year, on average—almost none is saved?
The Latest Expansion of the Holiday Season: Layaway at Walmart Starts a Month Early This Year
We’re still in the middle of one of the hottest summers on record, but in less than a month, you’ll be able to put holiday items on layaway at Walmart.
Child Care or College Tuition: Which Family Expense Is Rising Faster?
For many families, the costs of child care and college are obviously intertwined. Parents pay for the former so that they can work and save up enough—to help pay for the latter. It’s not news that the prices of both of these …
5 Smart Strategies to Eliminate Your Credit Card Debt
Minimum payment due, reads the box on your credit-card statement. What an enticing idea: Pay a small amount and you’re off the hook for the whole bill—for a while, anyway. Alas, as the more than 45% of Americans who carry a …
Student Debt: Why Even the Affluent Struggle
Student debt is soaring in the households of the well-off. Will this be a turning point in the way we think about education and how much we are willing to pay for a degree?
The New Suze Orman? Rapper Slim Thug Writes a Personal Finance Book
Living within your means isn’t usually part of the bling-Bentley-and-Cristal lifestyle glamorized by rappers. But Houston rapper Slim Thug’s new personal finance book is loaded with tips on how to be smarter with your money. For …
The Best Time for Back-to-School Shopping
About 80 million American children – from preschool to college – will return to school in August or September, and between now and then, they will need to buy school supplies and clothes.
Retailers are hoping for even …
Why Kids Will Feel the Pinch on Back-to-School Duds
If any good came of the recession it was that individuals refocused their values and that families started discussing debt and what they could and could not truly afford. Psychologists predict it’s just a matter of time before …
Back to School: Top Five Things That Stress College Students
Fitting in? Finding a date? That’s nothing. College students are more stressed than ever, and money issues have emerged as the top culprit.
5 Ways Mother Nature Is Impacting Your Wallet
All of a sudden, much of the country seems to have turned into Arizona, with a hot, dry summer coming on the heels of a remarkably mild winter. Here are five ways that months of odd weather have affected—and will continue to …
The Barclays LIBOR Scandal Is a Clear Case for Greater Consumer Protection
When it comes to managing personal financial affairs, there is only so much an individual can know. For years, the financial literacy movement missed that.