overspending

Like all behaviors, your buying habits reflect your background, experiences and psychological makeup. But those things don't have to control your financial future. Here are some emotional states that drive people to make poor purchasing decisions, and some advice on how to keep those emotions from sending you to the poorhouse.

Money troubles are hard to contain. If your finances are in shambles, the problems can quickly spread, and you probably won't be able to hide them from your boss. Therein lies the trouble: How you handle your money sends a signal to your employers about how you'd handle theirs.

We're all know about work-life balance -- the idea of hitting that sweet spot where one's home life is rich and full, and doesn't collide with one's career. But how about money-life balance, when you can enjoy your earnings without racking up uncomfortable debt? Too few of us have that: Here are some tips on how to get it.

While both men and women are prone to a variety of costly financial blunders, many women seem to be plagued with a gender-specific set of tendencies that sabotages their relationship with money. Here's are women's most common financial missteps -- and how to avoid them.

Overspending can kill the Christmas spirit and ruin your finances for months. Writer Zoe FitzGerald Carter used the poor economy to cure herself of the destructive habit. Here's how she learned to create more Christmas magic for her family by spending less.

Bad habits are hard to kick and new data from an informal poll of 700 readers at Get Rich Slowly and Money-Rates has revealed that "poor spending habits" are to blame for a majority of individuals missing their savings goals in 2009, not the recession. "It's a little disturbing that even in tough...

Want to avoid overspending on Black Friday? An amino acid you ingest in Thanksgiving dinners with lots of carbs and turkey could help you fight off that urge to impulse buy, according to a study by two researchers from the University of Utah's School of Business. Aril Mishra and Himanshu Mishra...

Move over AA, NA and other 12-step programs, now there is Debtors Anonymous for those addicted to overspending. Patterned after Alcoholics Anonymous, DA is a 12-step program to help spenders recover from chronic debt and compulsive spending. In DA, the first step for recovery is accurately...

In a crowded market of online budgeting applications, it's hard for a product to stand out, especially when the competition contains heavyweights like Wesabe, Mint and Rudder. But that's what Quicken Online does. Quicken separates itself from its competitors in two important areas; ease of use and...

Plastic is the devil. All of it. Whether it be plastic surgery or plastic credit cards, it is all evil. I've become so accustomed to using my debit card that I use it for literally everything. People tell me, "Just leave it at home," or "Don't use it," but that's hard. Especially since I have...