Join Jim and me this afternoon for the 15th episode of The Personal Finance Hour. Today we’ll be interviewing Trent Hamm, author of The Simple Dollar. Trent’s primary focus is frugality, and that will be our primary topic of discussion. But the three of us are all full-time bloggers, and many folks on Twitter have asked ...

Click here to read complete article.

I enjoyed Tom Dziubek’s discussion with Jon Gaskell, the CEO of SmartyPig, in the latest episode of the Consumerism Commentary Podcast. If you have a chance, listen to the part discussion in which they discuss SmartyPig’s interest rates. Tom asked how SmartyPig can continually offer high interest rates. Jon Gaskell intimated that SmartyPig’s restrictions ...

Click here to read complete article.

Financial and emotional stability can be an elusive fantasy for young, low-income families. Writer Laura Sessions Stepp, who wrote about "fragile families" in this week's Washington Post Magazine , discusses how unemployment and financial troubles can shatter even the most loving young families. And sociology professor Maria Kefalas explains how family stability has become ...

Click here to read complete article.

I’ve written a lot lately about finding balance. It’s important to save for the future, but how do you balance that with enjoying today? Each of us has to address that question in our own way. A reader named Max wrote to share his own dilemma: I’ve been working as a web designer since I was ...

Click here to read complete article.

As of today, Microsoft Money is no longer available for purchase. Microsoft has essentially conceded that there’s no demand for the product. From the website: With banks, brokerage firms and Web sites now providing a range of options for managing personal finances, the consumer need for Microsoft Money Plus has changed. After suspending annual updates of ...

Click here to read complete article.