When you think about the word “budget” what comes to mind? Most people will say “money” and they are right. But along with this, many people think that budgeting is a waste of time and that it is far from fun. While you may not get overly excited setting and following a budget, it can be fun if you put your mind to it.

Believe it or not, there are many people who have fun budgeting their money because this means they are doing the right thing by living within their means. To go along with this, a budget often times means that you are saving your money as well. And as you can imagine, watching the balance in your bank account grow can be a lot of fun to say the least.

You can have a lot of fun budgeting your money if you are in the right frame of mind. To go along with this, set goals to strive for month in and month out. If you turn your budget into a fun part of your life, instead of a downer, you are sure to better your financial position. And who doesn’t want to do that?

When should you start investing for retirement? This is an important question and one that is asked by people both young and old. As a general rule of thumb you should begin to invest as soon as possible. In other words, it is better to begin to build your portfolio at 25 than 35. The earlier your start the better chance you have of building a nice nest egg that is sure to hold you over in retirement.

There are many reasons why starting early is the way to go. First off, compound interest is a phrase you should become familiar with. Generally speaking, the longer your money has to grow the more you are going to earn. Year after year your money compounds and soon enough you will begin to realize big gains.

Also, the earlier you start to invest the better chance you have of riding out bad times in the market. For instance, if you are 55 and just began to invest today, with the stock market sinking, you will find it difficult to get a good return before you retire.

The best time to start investing for retirement is as soon as possible. Don’t forget this tip!

Some people get so caught up in their day to day budget that they never think about important long term details such as their insurance needs. It is very important that all of your insurance needs are taken care of. What type of insurance do you need? Well, this all depends on who you are, your age, and the position you are in.

First things first, everybody needs health insurance. This is the case no matter if you are a young child or retired. When it comes down to it, quality health insurance is very important and you need to make sure you are always covered.

Do you have a car? If so, and you want to legally drive, you also need car insurance. It is against the law to drive without insurance in the United States. Instead of taking the risk of getting caught you should always carry the proper amount of coverage.

Other important types of insurance include life, long term care, disability, and home among many others.

If you are not sure about the type of insurance you have, or if you have enough, you should take a closer look at your situation to ensure that you are not missing out on anything important.

Now, there are plenty of people who dream of a frilly white wedding that costs the earth. I’m not one of them, and neither, apparently, is Jennifer whose wedding (and wedding night) cost a grand total of $303.50.

Some people can easily spend $30,000 or more on a wedding, and that’s a huge amount of money that - especially these days - would be better spent as a house deposit or (more likely) in paying off debts, rather than creating more. Few people can expect their parents to have that kind of spare cash lying around either.

Jennifer managed to keep her wedding costs to $300 by getting married at the local courthouse, then having a nice meal and staying at a resort overnight with her new husband. When I got married, we also had the ceremony in the town hall (in Germany) and had a lunch afterwards with family members, and a night in a nice hotel in a nearby village. I bought a wedding dress that was on sale, but I loved it. I don’t feel any less “married” and it sounds like Jennifer doesn’t either. And neither of us are in debt from the minute our marriage starts, which certainly seems like a smart thing.

Millions of people in the United States carry at least one credit card. And guess what? A large number of them are college students. This is becoming a popular trend as costs go up, and the number of students in college also increases. The question is: do college students need a credit card? This all depends on who you talk to.

Generally speaking, you should never obtain a credit card until you are responsible enough to do so. If you are going to run up a huge bill, and then find out how to pay it later, a big mistake is in the works. And unfortunately, this is how many college students think.

Is there a time when a college student should have a credit card? There is nothing wrong with using a credit card for essential purchases such as books, food, and supplies. But as noted above, the student must be responsible enough to only use the card for these types of purchases.

Some college students can benefit from having a credit card. Others, those who are not responsible, are better off waiting until they graduate and land a full-time job.

Some people swear by credit unions, and here are some reasons why a credit union might beat a regular bank:

• A credit union usually offers lower interest rates on borrowings, and better interest rates on deposits
• You have a better chance of getting a personal loan at a credit union than at a bank
• Credit unions usually charge lower fees than regular banks
• You’ll get more attention and better service at a credit union because they have a lot fewer customers
• Credit unions are less focused on profits than banks - they are trying to serve their members rather than make huge profits
• And they are still covered by NCUA insurance so there’s no extra risk involved
• If you need to solve a problem, you’ll probably do it face to face or at least over the phone with an employee who is physically at the credit union you bank at - rather than being routed to a call center miles away to a faceless operator
• You are able to get involved with the running of your credit union if you are interested - the board of directors of a credit union are mostly ordinary members just like you who have decided they want to have a say in how it runs

photo credit: jurvetson

Auto manufacturing in the United States is big business with a long history. Henry Ford’s implementation of the assembly line as a manufacturing process revolutionized the way Americans built cars. Nearly 100 years later, two major automakers are begging for American taxpayer dollars to shore up business models that have crumbled in the face of the current economic downturn. Chrysler LLC, and General Motors have flown, driven, and begged their way to Washington in an effort to secure the funding needed to keep their company doors open. Here are a few of their stories: (more…)

It’s understandable but also a real shame that a lot of people only give to charities when times are good. That’s because tough times are when charities most need our help - they probably have a lot more people accessing their services and will be financially struggling themselves anyway. But if you’re also finding financial life a bit of a struggle, there are still ways you can help, according to the Five Cent Nickel blog, including:

• Volunteer at a charity. Your time is also valuable and charities always need volunteers.
• Clean out your wardrobe and give some clothes to charity that you no longer need - even in tough times there is bound to be something you no longer wear or no longer fits you well.
• Clean out your cupboards and donate things like kitchen materials that you rarely use.
• Check if your favorite charities are able to accept donations of frequent flyer miles. If you’re not using them anyway then they might be able to do some good.
• Donate blood! It doesn’t cost you anything but it could save somebody’s life.

Who says that you don’t have anything to give when the economy’s so bad? There are plenty of options to consider.

You may have heard of the “SMART” acronym in courses about goal setting - it means making sure that your goals are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound. The Smart Spending blog has a useful post about how to apply “SMART” to your financial goals.

First of all, to be specific, you can’t just say “I want to be rich” - you have to say “I want to be free of debt” or “I want to own two houses”. To be measurable is an extension of this - for example, “I want to buy a house worth $400,000″.

Then, you have to make sure your goals are attainable - of course, you want to extend and push yourself a little bit, but you must set a goal that is conceivably possible - not (for most people) “I want to retire at 25 with a $20 million nest egg.” Similarly the goals have to be realistic, which means you have to define how you could realistically achieve these goals.

Last of all, it’s important that your goals are time-bound. You should have short, medium and long term goals and include dates as deadlines for when you want to achieve your financial goals.

You walk into a shop, you see the TV/guitar/outfit of your dreams, and you really, really want to buy it. You definitely have to stop right there and ask yourself the important question - can you afford it? If you’re not sure you should try this list of reasons why you can’t afford something. You can’t afford this “must have” item if:

• You would be using your bank overdraft to buy it
• You would be using a credit card that has a balance on it that you can’t afford to pay off in full at the end of the month
• You would be using money that should be going to your emergency fund or into a retirement plan
• Your job is not secure at the moment - if there are rumors of lay-offs or your industry is experiencing a downturn
• And if the economy is in recession, then maybe you can afford it, but you should really wait and see.

So if any of these conditions apply, think twice before making a purchase. If you’re not sure, then take at least overnight to think about it. If you have to go all the way back to the shop the next day or week you will often find that you don’t really have to have the item after all.