All posts by Mike Peterson

The Do’s and Don’ts Before Applying for a Mortgage 

Maybe you’re dreaming of a suburban ranch house with a big backyard. Or perhaps a sleek urban condo in the heart of the city. Or a townhome that’s within walking distance to work. Everyone’s idea of a “dream home” is a little different, but there’s one thing that’s the same across the board: We all have to apply for a mortgage loan. You don’t have to have perfect credit...

9 Smart Spending Strategies for Back-to-School Season

If you’re a parent, you’re likely eyeing the calendar with a mix of anticipation, relief, and dread. On one hand, the approach of the new school year means a return to your normal routine, and it means an end to finding new ways to keep the kids entertained and occupied day in and day out. But on the other hand, the back to school season is really darn expensive:...

Should You Apply for a Balance Transfer?

If you’re struggling to pay down high-interest credit card debt, a balance transfer can be a powerful tool. Balance transfers offer super-low (or even zero-percent) introductory interest rates, which means they help you pay your principal balance off more quickly. But that doesn’t mean that balance transfers are for everyone. Use this decision tree to figure out of a balance transfer is a good option for you. CLICK IMAGE...

7 Movies That Teach Valuable Money Lessons

Like most folks, I go to the movies to get away from my day-to-day life; to escape reality for an hour or so and think about something other than work, or bills, or dinner plans, or any of the other hundreds of mundane things most of us have to think about. But, as a financial guy, I can’t help viewing movies from a money perspective. I also can’t help...

20 Fantastic Summer Staycation Ideas

Summer is here. The sun is out. The kids are out of school, and you’ve got plenty of vacation time saved up at work. One thing you don’t have? Money. Or, more specifically, the kind of extra money you need to take a traditional family summer vacation – and you have no interest in using your credit cards to finance a trip you can’t afford. The good news? You...

DebtGuru’s Top 5 Frugal Household Products

Frugal living isn’t just about canceling cable or brown-bagging it to work (although those are great strategies if you’re trying to cut living expenses). Frugal living is also about shopping smarter and looking for ways to stretch your hard-earned dollars farther. One way to do that is to buy inexpensive household items that can be used for more than one task. To help you get started, I chose five...

7 Money Saving Tips That Can Backfire

Seems like everyone has an opinion about money – how you should spend it, how you should invest it, and how you should save it. But as someone who has made a career out of helping folks pay off debt and get their finances back on track, I can tell you that not all financial advice is created equally. In fact, a lot of commonly repeated money advice may...

Learn 5 Ways To Live Frugal from The Great Depression

Perhaps you have an older family member – a grandparent or a great-grandparent, maybe – who can remember life during the Great Depression. If so, you’ve no doubt heard stories about how tough things were back then: People struggled to find work. Finances were tight. Budgets were tighter. You didn’t spend money unless you absolutely had to – and when you did, you paid cash. If you’re looking for...

6 Financial Missteps You’ll Regret

If you’re like most people, you probably have a regret or two. It’s only natural to look back and think, “If only I’d done XX instead of YY,” or “I wish I’d known about YY before I decided ZZ.” Hindsight, as they say, is 20/20. And everyone makes mistakes. But some mistakes are costlier than others – literally. For example, the financial decisions you make today can affect your...

Debt Reduction Mistakes to Avoid

Do a quick Google search of something like “pay down debt” or “debt advice” or “credit card payoff” and one thing becomes very clear: Just about everyone has an opinion about the best way to pay down debt. Some folks are huge proponents of the snowball method; others are staunch believers in tackling the debt with the highest interest rate first – no matter what. Most debt repayment methods...