It's Called Currency

Why You Should Find a Good Mechanic

Julie Ann Dunn — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 23:42:33 +0000

It started a couple of weeks ago when my husband and I were headed out together. He hopped in the passenger side of my Jeep and discovered that the floorboard was wet. Since it had been littered with half-empty water bottles, we just assumed one of them had leaked and left it at that. However, [...]

What’s the price of a movie rental?

Julie Ann Dunn — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:15:45 +0000

Periodically, it’s good to review expenses that you’re paying out of habit more than necessity, things that you’ve stopped thinking of as optional. For me, one of those things was my monthly expenditures on movie rentals. I’m a total movie buff. I love to watch movies. Funny movies, dramatic movies, action packed movies…I just like to [...]

Budgeting Basics, Part 5

Julie Ann Dunn — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 01:39:59 +0000

Now that you’ve had plenty of time* to consider parts 1 through 4, let’s do a wrap-up of the basics for budgeting. As the tagline of this site says, “manage the flow and you’ll be able to weather any storm.” Budgeting is the primary tool for managing the flow of money in your life. In Part [...]

Budgeting Basics, Part 4

Julie Ann Dunn — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 03:14:59 +0000

Part 1 of this Budgeting Basics series was about your income, part 2 your expenses, and part 3 your savings. Now it’s time to look at what you’re giving. You’re probably familiar with the saying, “You get what you give.” I prefer what Napoleon Hill, the author of Think and Grow Rich, said/wrote which is “You [...]

Budgeting Basics, Part 3

Julie Ann Dunn — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 02:26:32 +0000

In Part 1, you added up your income. Part 2 had you tally up your expenses. Now, before we look at the difference between those numbers, let’s talk about your savings. Here in the United States, the amount of money Joe Citizen saves is non-existent. In recent years, the statistics have shown the nation’s savings rate [...]

Budgeting Basics, Part 2

Julie Ann Dunn — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 01:10:33 +0000

Now that you’ve tallied what you’ve got coming in, it’s time to look at what’s going out, but first, I want you to take out an index card or sticky note or just a small piece of paper. On it, I want you to write the total amount for what you think you spend each [...]

Free Book Download from Suze Orman and Oprah

Julie Ann Dunn — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 01:29:57 +0000

I saw Suze on the Today show and she was talking about how she felt that everyone needed the help that her latest book offers, and so she’s giving it away. Go to http://www.oprah.com/download and get your free PDF download of Suze Orman’s 2009 Action Plan before the offer expires at 11:59pm CST on Thursday, [...]

Budgeting Basics, Part 1

Julie Ann Dunn — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 12:17:06 +0000

Welcome to the first of a series of entries on budgeting. This series will look at the components of a budget in order to help you keep that resolution you made about actually budgeting your money this year. When most folks first decide that they need to budget, it’s usually because they’re living beyond their means [...]

Meanwhile, Back at the Mall…

Julie Ann Dunn — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 12:05:08 +0000

I work for a company that owns malls throughout the United States. It’s kind of ironic because I, personally, hate shopping. But I’m in the marketing department and I get a daily dose of why the company needs people to go shopping. And, as someone who’s trying to fathom the current state of our national [...]

NPR Planet Money Podcast

Julie Ann Dunn — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 17:31:25 +0000

I’m always looking for ways to learn more about money, as I’m sure you are. In looking at the free podcasts available through iTunes, I found NPR’s Planet Money. They do a daily podcast that’s about 20 minutes long. Recently, they’ve interviewed some economists regarding several of the current hot topics for the economy: the [...]