Recent Articles

It seems so simple, but many Americans were never taught how to balance a checkbook with a pencil or fill out a tax form. We can learn how to conjugate verbs in English class or how to floss at the dentist, but good financial practice is something that you simply pick up along the way. The same...

London is rumored to be one of the most expensive cities in the world, thanks in large part to an exchange rate that is not in Americans' favor. But I think the rumors are mostly exaggerated. Money is no reason to deny yourself the opportunity to see one of the world's finest capitals. If you can...

Since July, the city of London has been installing a system of loaner bikes and widespread docking stations that has locals commuting for the equivalent of 19 cents a day. They're called Barclays Cycle Hire, but Londoners call the cycles "Boris Bikes," after the city's swaggering mayor, Boris...

We've been buying cheap food off carts since the beginning of civilization, but over the past few years, there's been a quantum leap in the quality of the fare on the streets of many American cities. San Francisco, a city known for sophisticated palates and rigorous ethical standards, is home to...

Why is Black Friday called Black Friday? For centuries, the name usually meant a day of calamity, first for political unrest, and later for financial markets. But why is a day of famously sensational shopping deals called something so bleak?

The royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton may be long-awaited, but cash-strapped Britain may have a tough time paying for much of a shindig. In late October, the country announced a catalog of budget cuts that will total $131 billion by 2015. Prime Minister David Cameron's cuts are...

TripAlertz.com, which calls itself "the only online travel community where the prices go down as the number of bookings go up," works a bit like Groupon.com. It offers a deal on a vacation for what's billed as a discount "member price." If enough people decide to book -- in its case, usually 50 --...

A survey released today by Javelin Strategy & Research, which serves financial institutions, found in August that nearly one in five Americans doesn't monitor or manage their personal finances. That rate is double what it was just a year ago. Despite the fact the recession has made it more...

They call it "Christmas creep" -- that gradual advance of the holiday season that, year by year, means the decorations are up earlier and earlier so retailers can get you in a spending mood sooner. Black Friday is now practically bolted into the American calendar as another national holiday, so is...

LivingSocial, a website that offers city-specific pop-up deals based on group participation, has thrown travel deals into the mix. Although deals on the site are normally available for only 24 hours, the travel deals, which it calls "escapes," will be offered for a week at a time. Also unlike the...