The American housewife! Who has a more important or more responsible occupation? Wife, mother, laundress, counselor, maid, chef, purchasing agent. All of these are her duties at one time or another. So begins Buying Food, a home economics film from 1950. Buying Food is fascinating not just for its shopping tips, but also for the [...]

A comfortable “rainy day” fund is a key component to most personal financial plans. The experts don’t agree on the exact amount to keep in an emergency fund — advice ranges from three to twelve months’ of expenses — but they do agree everyone should have one. An emergency fund is self-insurance: It’s a way [...]

Previously in my semi-regular Extreme Personal Finance series, I’ve highlighted: A couple who paid off their $220,000 mortgage in three years People who live on $12,000 a year Don Schrader, the man who lives on $10 a day Rina Kelley, the reporter who lived for one month as a freegan Yesterday, my friend Castle sent [...]

This is a guest post from Cristina Adams, editor of DailyWorth. DailyWorth offers daily personal-finance tips for women. It’s official: Warren Buffet has a feminine side. Not that the billionaire investor parades around in drag. He doesn’t. But the investment patterns of men and women show that Buffet has apparently, over time, tuned into his [...]