So far we’ve covered the importance of an emergency fund and five ways to start saving one.

Today we’ll talk about five more ways to find extra money for your emergency fund:

1. Save your windfalls. If grandma sends you birthday money or you get a big, fat tax refund, erase those visions of new jeans and big screen TVs, and stash the extra cash in your emergency fund. Yeah, yeah, it sounds like no fun, but it’s only temporary until you’ve hit your goal.
2. Slash your entertainment budget. If going out with friends routinely leaves you broke on Monday morning, it’s time to rethink your recreation budget. Host a movie night or potluck at your place, or Google free and cheap things to do in your town. Alternatively, Ramit Sethi of I Will Teach You To Be Rich suggests eating beforehand, then having a small appetizer. Just make sure it’s understood that you’ll take a separate check or subtract your food and drinks from the total so that the bill isn’t split evenly. Read more »

Last time we covered the importance of an emergency fund. To quickly summarize, without an emergency fund you are vulnerable to financial problems, future debt, and more stress. The more you live paycheck-to-paycheck, the more at-risk you are of having one emergency — like an auto repair or an illness — set you back for years.

But if you’re living paycheck-to-paycheck, you’re probably wondering where you can possibly find extra cash to start an emergency fund.

Here’s the thing: you really have to prioritize your savings. You will always be able to find a reason or excuse to not save, but it’s critical that you create a financial cushion. Make sure you understand just how critical it is — reread the first post in this series (linked above) if you need a refresher. Read more »

If you’ve ever perused a personal finance site or cracked a book about getting out of debt, you’ve heard of the emergency fund.

For those of you who stick to Facebook and sites about animals doing ridiculous things (heh heh), an emergency fund is a special savings account where you set aside anywhere from three to six months of living expenses in case of an emergency.

What constitutes an emergency? Situations like the following:

• You back your car into your garage door.
• Your sickly coworker gives you mono and you’ve already used up your sick days.
• The refrigerator stops working, and duct tape ain’t gonna cut it this time.

In other words, life happens. Inevitably one of these things or something similar will come out of nowhere and slap you in the face and then backhand you in the wallet, too. Read more »

Are you the type of person who speaks up when your order is wrong, or would you rather just deal with it and not complain? And if it’s the former, do you usually get results from your complaint?

If you don’t speak up or don’t get good results (or have to resort to being rude), you’re going about it all wrong. There’s an art form to the customer complaint, and you don’t have to raise your voice or make a scene. Here are eight steps to take to launch an effective complaint, but hopefully you’ll only need a couple of steps to resolve your problem: Read more »

Earthquakes, hurricanes, and wildfires have left many Americans hunkering down or fleeing to safety in the past few weeks. If you were faced with a natural disaster, would you be ready?

One way to prepare is to make an emergency kit. An emergency kit is made up of supplies, important information, and non-perishable goods that might come in handy during a hazard or emergency. When you get the word that a natural disaster is imminent, don’t delay in gathering up supplies. Read more »

Parts of the country are dealing with severe drought and record-breaking temperatures, meaning electric bills are sky-high. If you’re dealing with bill shock, take heart, there are many ways to reduce your power use.

But if you aren’t up for time-consuming or expensive projects and moving to Iceland is out of the question, here are five super-easy ways you can start saving on your electric bill today: Read more »

(This is final post in an eight-part series that has explored how money can buy happiness, just less than we think, and only if spent the right way. It’s based on the findings of researchers Dunn, Gilbert, and Wilson in their paper, “If Money Doesn’t Make You Happy Then You’re Probably Not Spending It Right” [PDF].)

If you’re just starting the series, so far we’ve talked about the following principles:

1. Buy experiences instead of things
2. Help others instead of yourself
3. Buy many small pleasures instead of a few big ones
4. Buy less insurance
5. Delay gratification
6. Ditch the rose-colored glasses
7. Comparison shopping can cost you

Today we’ll discuss running with the pack, or how, despite what we might think, we’re  likely to like what everyone else likes. Read more »

We’ve added another million users, passing the 5 million mark and continuing to grow the company to support them. A warm welcome to all our new Android users (now almost half of our total users).

We’re now managing over $661 billion in annual transactions and $99 billion in assets for our users. As of June 2011, Pageonce users accounted for nearly 6.5 percent of the 78.5 million U.S. smartphone users (comScore U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share, August 4, 2011).

We’re working to create exciting new features to simplify daily finances. Watch for a major breakthrough this fall that will transform how you deal with bills.

We appreciate your support and as always, welcome any feedback!

Read the full press release here.

(This is part seven of eight in a series that explores how money can buy happiness, just less than we think, and only if spent the right way. It’s based on the findings of researchers Dunn, Gilbert, and Wilson in their paper, “If Money Doesn’t Make You Happy Then You’re Probably Not Spending It Right” [PDF].)

If you’re just starting the series, so far we’ve talked about the following principles:

1. Buy experiences instead of things
2. Help others instead of yourself
3. Buy many small pleasures instead of a few big ones
4. Buy less insurance
5. Delay gratification
6. Ditch the rose-colored glasses

Today we’ll discuss the dangers of comparison shopping. Read more »

(This is part six of eight in a series that explores how money can buy happiness, just less than we think, and only if spent the right way. It’s based on the findings of researchers Dunn, Gilbert, and Wilson in their paper, “If Money Doesn’t Make You Happy Then You’re Probably Not Spending It Right” [PDF].)

If you’re just starting the series, so far we’ve talked about the following principles:

1. Buy experiences instead of things
2. Help others instead of yourself
3. Buy many small pleasures instead of a few big ones
4. Buy less insurance
5. Delay gratification

Today we’ll discuss the fourth principle, ditch the rose-colored glasses.

Vacation homes never need repairs

Well, at least not the ones in our fantasies. Read more »