If you're a dummy when it comes to savings, join my club. From the moment I got my first paycheck at 15, I was liberated with this newly-found financial freedom. I bought a surfboard I still to this day have never used and I raided Target's Disney DVD range to add to my own dusty collection. My first few paychecks never did last very long.

In 2009, I was 27 years old and a year into my first full-time job with benefits. I was working as an executive assistant at a think tank in Washington, DC, and had ended up in this job after spending the past five years telemarketing, temping, going to grad school to get a MFA in theatre, coming out of grad school no longer wanting to work in the theatre, and asking a professor whom I trusted how I could get a job that paid at least $US50,000 ($72,275) a year.

If you've ever wondered about sponsoring a child but weren't sure if you could afford it - I'm here to tell you, you can. When you sponsor a child through World Vision it only takes 48 of your dollars each month to change lives.

Maybe you’ve already started to reflect on where 2019 has taken you, and what you want to focus on in 2020. You’re planning a trip, or figuring out how to get back to the gym regularly, or thinking of starting a hobby. But have you thought about your money?

I’ve had my share of roommates, including more than one stint in one of those group houses where it seems like there’s a new roommate every other month, and have experienced nearly everything that can go wrong financially.

In last week’s post on How to Budget for Unexpected Expenses, I described sinking funds as “one of the best budgeting hacks ever,” which means it’s time for me to tell you how they work.

As much as we love a night in on the couch watching whatever is next in our Netflix queue, there’s something great about putting on outside pants and being part of a live audience. Whether it’s a concert, movie or sporting event, sometimes it’s worth the hassle to experience something surrounded by other fans. But if you want to do these things, you’re going to need to buy tickets, and those can get expensive. Fortunately, there are a few ways to save money on tickets of all types.

If you want to achieve your financial goals, you’re going to need to have some cash set aside for unexpected expenses.

If you want to achieve your time-based goals, whether that’s “completing my work by 5pm” or “writing a 50,000-word novel in November,” you’ll need to set aside time for both your work and the unexpected stuff that gets in the way of your work.

When I asked recently about bad money habits you learned from your parents, you chimed in with stories of debt, despair and the bumpy roads you’ve taken to financial stability. But just because you (eventually) learned not to make the same mistakes your parents made doesn’t mean that your entire family tree is cured of its financial flaws.

Consolidating your superannuation isn't just about convenience - it can result in thousands of dollars in extra savings. According to a recent study from the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), the average person needs $42,953 a year to live comfortably in retirement. In other words, every dollar counts! Thankfully, it's now much easier to roll multiple super accounts into one place. Here's what you need to consider.

In case you missed it—and arrived at the office an hour early this morning—Daylight Saving Time ended this Sunday. (Here’s our post on the history of the time change.) Aside from changing your clocks, there’s another reason it’s worth noting the change, particularly if you’re an hourly employee.

In an ideal world, every chickadee leaves the nest at age 18 with a savings account and enough knowledge to pass a pop quiz about credit scores. But we all know that sometimes doesn’t happen.

Over the weekend, devastating fires in Northern California forced an estimated 200,000 people to evacuate—the single largest evacuation in Sonoma County in its history, the Washington Post writes. Meanwhile, just a few hundred kilometres south, the Getty Fire has already engulfed at least 200 hectares in the Los Angeles area and forced thousands of others to evacuate.

If you think you’re earning more money than the person you just started dating, it might be a good idea to keep that to yourself—at least for a little while.

The next time you receive a gift card, don’t save it for a special occasion — and don’t toss it in a drawer and forget about it. Use your card as soon as possible, because otherwise you’re providing the company with an interest-free loan.

My primary credit card was compromised last week. Had I a “normal” one, I could have just tossed it in the shredder or demagnetised it, cut it up, and called it a day. A fancier metal credit card presents a bit of a challenge, and your mere paper shredder probably isn’t up to the task (nor should you test it).

U.S. banking company Capital One has started the notification process for its most recent data breach — affecting approximately 100 million people in the U.S. and an additional six million in Canada (for now). While you might feel protected in Australia, data breaches happen surprisingly often, and they're can impact anyone. That's why it's important to read the fine print.

You've done it. You've gone and bought your very first home, look at you go. Now that you have a place to actually call your own, it's time to tick off a few extra items and make sure everything's in check.

However you slice it, saving is never really an easy task. Some people are naturally good at it, sure, but it always tends to boil down to one thing: sacrifice.