Let me say this right off the bat; credit cards are trouble. The average American has credit card debt of $8,000 (some contend it’s closer to $2,000) while the same average Americans have a negative savings rate. This means a whole lot of people are out there buying stuff they simply can’t afford.
Credit cards are the worst possible financing option available. Credit cards are high-interest loans. Can you image financing a car at 18% interest? But people finance much less significant purchases at these kinds of rates every day. It …

The first time I took my kid to the emergency room was an unforgettable experience. It was the middle of the night; he’d fallen off the bed at someone else’s house and bumped his head. After waiting for hours, we were finally seen by the MD on duty who asked me a surprising question; “Do you want us to give your son an MRI?” I blinked. Who’s the doc here I wondered? “What would you do if this was your son?” I asked. Very diplomatically, he told me to skip …

Here are my iron-clad, no-exceptions rules to getting a good deal on a used car. Much more can be said on the subject but if you’ll follow these three simple principles, more of your hard-earned cash will stay where it belongs; in your wallet.

Buy Used
New cars are cool. They smell nice. But they’re a terrible waste of money. The moment you drive a new car off the lot, that new car loses 5% of its value. If your investments did that, you’d accuse your broker of being a cheat. Buy …

Not too long ago, a friend was expressing his concern about the costs of health care insurance for his family. My friend was covered by an employer-provided policy, but his wife and two daughters were added to the insurance at his own expense. My friend and his wife are young, in their late twenties, and both they and their kids were in excellent health. So imagine my surprise (shock, really) when he told me his monthly premium was over $800. No wonder he was troubled!
I had to drill down into …