If there’s one thing that eats away at your bank balance, it’s fees. They seem so minor at the time, but over the course of a year they really add up.

For example, my husband was laid off from his job a while back. He was able to find contract work fairly quickly, but not a full time job with benefits. Because he no longer has direct deposit, the bank has started tacking on a monthly fee to his checking account.

Now if there’s one thing no one needs to be doing, it’s paying the bank a monthly fee of $10 per month. I can think of a whole slew of things that would be more fun to do with $10 a month than pay a bank fee. » Read more

For Day 5 of 31 Days to a Better Bank Balance I want you to go get a candy bar.

Really. If you’re at work, head to the vending machine and drop your money into that slot. You need a break anyway, right? I’m partial to Nestle Crunch bars, but get whatever kind sounds good to you and then stare at it for a while. Imagine how good it will taste when you bite into it. » Read more

Ready for day 4 of 31 Days to a Better Bank Balance?

In Day 3, we figured out what was actually important for us to spend money on. Often, those are “big” things — like travel, a down payment on a house, or long term savings. Today’s topic is is about saving up the money to make that thing happen.

So the question is, do you have an account set up specifically for that thing? » Read more

Today is all about you, your priorities, and your money.

I’m a big believer in goals, because having goals (and following through on them) gets us to where we want to be. But sometimes in the rush of day to day living some of our priorities kind of get pushed off to the side.

So let’s start with a quick evaluation. Make a list of up to 10 things you enjoying doing and/or want to accomplish. It doesn’t matter what order they’re in on the list, as long as they’re important to you. » Read more