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Debit Cards and Motorcycles Just Aren't Safe
For decades, I've pleaded with you to not use debit cards because they are not safe. And for years, I warned my sons about the dangers of riding motorcycles because they are not safe.
Has anyone listened and taken heed? Debit cards are more popular …Read more.
Overspent and Overloaded? You Need Margin
Bill Smith sits down to his most dreaded chore — paying bills. Every month, it's the same story: Pay the most urgent, and leave the rest. There's never enough money, no matter how hard he works.
Jane Miller flies into the school office …Read more.
Bounce Back From Bankruptcy
Dear Mary: Please give me some pointers on bouncing back from bankruptcy. Will this have any effect on future employment opportunities? — Henry, email
Dear Henry: Live on cash. Have only one credit card, and if you use it, pay it in full every …Read more.
With Knowledge Comes Savings
Many things that we buy are simply not negotiable. The salesperson at Macy's won't negotiate with you over the price of that newly arrived collection. The supermarket checker won't haggle with you over the price of eggs. But a ring at your local …Read more.
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Riding out the Ups and DownsImagine for a moment that I'm standing in front of a gigantic chart that tracks the movement of the stock market from almost the beginning of the last century. You see a series of peaks and valleys corresponding to various historic events. There is a serious downdraft during the Depression of the 1930s. But look. It goes back up. It invariably goes up. Notice the 1987 stock market crash. See that abrupt drop? I remember that time. The feeling that swept the nation was that the market would never, never ... ever come back. But look. It did. Look at the new highs it achieved in the '90s. Same thing in the years following the crash of 2008. The markets are like life. Things happen. There are peaks and valleys. And there are events that send our lives plunging to new depths. We think we will never, never ... ever recover. But we do. Things get better. Many of my neighbors and friends are experiencing lows they had not anticipated due to unemployment, rising costs and flagging home values. At this moment, it seems that we will never, never ... ever recover. They never dreamed the valleys could be this low. Will we ever see upturns on the giant chart of life? In my head, I know the truth ... yes, we will recover. Somehow in the bleakness of the night those are only words.
So what does your chart of life look like? Peaks? Valleys? Where are you now? If you are in a valley of unemployment and uncertainty, with fog and darkness all around, grab on to this truth: This will not last forever. Things will change. For sure there are upswings and new peaks in your future. There are seasons of joy and prosperity ahead. One day, I'll bring up this chart of life again, in another context, another event. And you will look back at this section of the chart and see this particular difficult time as something you will not forget. And you recovered. You'll wonder how you ever made it through ... but you did! Just hang onto that truth right now. Mark this date on your calendar. Write about it in your journal. And whatever you do, don't let go. Don't ever give up. I'm doing the same. Mary Hunt is the founder of www.DebtProofLiving.com and author of 23 books, including her 2012 release, "7 Money Rules for Life." You can email her at mary@everydaycheapskate.com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, P.O. Box 2099, Cypress, CA 90630. To find out more about Mary Hunt and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2013 CREATORS.COM 
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