Have you ever had an electric bill that was higher than you were expecting? I tend to cringe every time I get the bill in the mail from my electric company. I have no idea what it is going to be, and I am paranoid that a billing error will cripple my monthly budget. I especially hate the winter because I hate to be cold. So, I do not really mind cranking up the heat in my house, but I dread paying for it.

This article is presented by Kelly Whalen, Consumerism Commentary staff writer, who hosts a weekly internet show called the ¢entsible show.Unexpected income is a problem many people would love to have, but it happens more frequently than people realize. Whether it’s a $20 birthday check from your eighty-something grandmother or a raise, there are few months we don’t have something unexpected.

A reader recently asked me about what I thought about the fact that financial aggregation site Mint requires you to give them limited Power of Attorney when using their website. There was also a recent discussion on Bogleheads about it. You can find it in the Terms of Use Agreement page.

A long time ago and in a land far far away… well actually it was 1980 and my wife and I, as newlyweds, just moved to Alaska—this is a true story.
I was working for a financially secure and slightly older gentleman who, one day as I was passing by his office, called me in and [...]

When is the right time to start giving your child an allowance and how are you going to teach him the best way to save or spend the money he or she receives? If you are used to worrying about your own budgetary restraints, you might have to put your own financial affairs in order first before you can consider showing your child how to manage an allowance.