Fix My Finances
Helping You Get “Back In The Black”

Like medical problems, it’s best to detect and fix financial problems early, before they spiral out of control. Study this list of common personal financial problems. If you can identify with any of the symptoms, it might be time to change your habits and improve your financial health. Problem 1: Not planning You’ve allowed your [...]

Is your credit rating low? Are you ready to start repairing the damage you’ve done? Then follow these simple, logical steps: 1. Stop using your credit cards! That’s right: go cold turkey. You need to pay off the debt you’ve racked up without accruing any more. This first step might be painful if you’re very [...]

Thes are finance expert Dave Ramsey’s famous ‘baby steps’ for financial fitness, courtesy of the San Antonio Express-News: Baby step 1: Start a $1,000 emergency fund. If you don’t already have one grand on hand, save for it. That means paying yourself before you pay the bills. In fact, you should give, save and then [...]

“Debt-free Diva” Dee Dee Sung of The Detroit News recently answered a reader’s question about how to create a budget to prepare for retirement. Here’s part of her answer: 1. Determine your current monthly cash flow needs. It’s easy to not know where your money is going, but it’s essential in order to determine your [...]

Did you know that identity theft is “more likely to occur as the result of a lost or stolen wallet or checkbook” than as the result of Internet-related fraud? I sure didn’t. It’s true, though–confirmed by a study conducted by the Council of Better Business Bureaus and Javelin Strategy & Research. “The study also says [...]

I know Ben Stein mostly through Clear Eyes commercials and the Comedy Central show “Win Ben Stein’s Money.” Apparently, though, he is much more than that. Check out this Forbes article to see what I mean: According to Ben Stein, the fault lies not with Social Security but with ourselves. Stein is on a crusade [...]

Every year Forbes asks several money managers and analysts to play a stock-picking game: 12 of them try to pick a stock that will outperform the S&P 500 over the next year, while 5 others try to pick one that will be trailing the index within that same timeframe. Sounds pretty cool, doesn’t it? The [...]

Forbes recently ran an article by Scott Reeves called What Not To Do In Retirement Planning. Here are some highlights: Consider the basics when drafting a retirement plan–housing, transportation, routine living expenses and health care–but there are so many variables that putting together a plan cookbook-style is almost certain to create future financial problems. “Retirement [...]

Not a CPA? That’s okay. Here is a primer from Forbes.com that details the “the top ten mutual fund terms you need to know” : 12B-1 fees The percent of a mutual fund’s assets used to defray marketing and distribution expenses. The amount of the fee is stated in the fund’s prospectus. The Securities and [...]