All The Simple Dollar

Cosigning a loan can seem like a great way to help someone out. But if your friend or family member's credit isn't good enough for a bank, it isn't good enough for you.

Home ownership is a good equity builder, but it comes with a bevy of hidden expenses. In some cases, renting might be a better option.

Parenting is full of tough choices, and some of the hardest involve teaching kids the right lessons about money. Here are five common money-related dilemmas parents face, and how to handle them. 

Living paycheck to paycheck is not a sustainable financial plan, Hamm writes. There are too many things in life that can cause the economic bottom to drop out tomorrow, and if you do not have an emergency fund, you will find yourself in a bad situation.

While you’re never guaranteed to find one that is truly unbiased, a fee-based financial advisor is one that earns his or her income solely based on the fee you pay them, not on commissions from any products they suggest to you, Hamm writes.

Amazon 'Subscribe and Save' ships household goods like toilet paper and shampoo directly to your home. It's a huge time saver, but the money savings are probably no better than your average wholesale club.

Sharing a checking account is a vital step in becoming more responsible for the financial well-being of your partner, Hamm writes. If you’re not ready for that responsibility, then you shouldn’t have a merged account. 

Fuel efficiency is simply an enormous financial consideration when buying a car, Hamm writes. Buying a car that is 10 miles per gallon more efficient in terms of fuel consumption than the other option can easily save you $10,000 over the lifetime that you own the car.

Shopping costs you money, Hamm writes, but shopping without a very specific purpose really costs you money.

When teaching older children and teenagers about personal finance, experience is key. Here are six real-life experiences that can get them on the right financial track. 

Paying too much for gas? Hamm offers fourteen pieces of advice that will help you save on the fuel costs of your commute. These tactics will improve either the efficiency of fuel consumption on your commute or will reduce the number of miles you put on your car.

Frugality is all about finding the least expensive route to the true solution you want, Hamm writes. Making your own homemade sports drinks, using ingredients bought in bulk, is a perfect example of successful frugality.

Owning a home builds equity, but sometimes sticking with a rental is a better deal. Those questions and more in this week's mailbag. 

Every dollar you pay extra on your mortgage effectively 'earns' interest at a rate equal to your mortgage interest rate for the rest of your mortgage, Hamm writes.

Half of Americans aren’t saving a dime for retirement, Hamm writes, but they should. Hamm offers five simple facts about retirement savings that hammer down on common myths about saving for retirement.

The 'Year-Long Plot,' as Hamm calls it, is a detailed financial plan, week by week, of how you’ll move from where you’re at right now to the financial goal you want to achieve in one year.

What do Warren Buffett's stock projections mean for your retirement savings? Save plenty for retirement, Hamm writes, and start saving now.

The most powerful tool we have for minimizing our spending is to remove emotion and raw impulse from the equation. So how do we do it?

Many tactics work well in both the personal finance world and the business world, Hamm writes, but there are things that work in business finance that don’t really work in personal finance.

Hamm offers five free tools that can play a tremendous role in keeping your life organized.