Jesse Michelsen
As each new year begins, many statistics regarding the previous year are thrown around. Many people like to correspond numbers with milestones and events to give a sense of order to their lives. Knowing your personal financial statistics, however, is important from a practical point of view.
Knowing financial statistics can help you determine a goal to shoot for, and start you off on the right foot financially in the new year. A great place to start learning financial stats is via PerkStreet, 5 Financial Statistics You Need to Know.
Here are more articles to get your new year rolling in the right direction:
The new year is here, and at the tail end of the holiday season, I’m sure you are tired of partying and want to get back to work, right?
Christmas is upon us, and if our ancestors could see the items we pile beneath the tree for our loved ones, I’m sure they would be amazed at the variety. Some presents that are bound to be under nearly every tree are practical homemade gifts like socks and scarfs, video games, some “iProduct” from Apple, and an ugly sweater or two. Another gift that graces Christmases past and present is cash. 
With the hustle and bustle of the holidays and the emphasis on saving money this time of year, we can sometimes forget that some people don’t even have a penny to save. If there’s any time to give a little extra and make someone’s life better, it’s Christmas.
Buy buy buy! Sometimes, that’s what I feel Christmas has come down to. It’s all about buying that perfect gift at some retailer. I know, this discussion crops up every year: “The spirit of Christmas is dead; it’s all about commercialism now.” Well, it deserves mention yet again, because for many people, holiday spirit still lives!
Saving money during the Christmas shopping seasons is a great idea, and buying used is one way to do just that. There are plenty of things you can buy used that still make for a great gift and aren’t even a bit tacky. Such gifts include used cars, sports gear, electronics, and even upscale used jewelry.
Black Friday, the biggest retail shopping day of the year has just past. Some of you may have hit the stores and stayed up all night to get the killer deals. Others of you may be planning for the biggest online shopping day, Cyber Monday.
I’m all for spending money on things you care about, but most important in my life is spending on experience. Can you easily remember what gifts you gave and received last year? Me neither. But I’ll bet you can remember your aunt Silvia accidentally sitting on that fruitcake or your dad burning the turkey and having to order take-out for Thanksgiving dinner. That’s because memories aren’t created around stuff, they’re created around experiences. Life is memorable because of what happens in it. 
Credit cards are one of those things we have a love-hate relationship with. We love the convenience of being able to pay with plastic, the safety of not carrying around large sums of cash, and the ability to pay online. However, interest fees and credit card company tricks make the decision of using cash or credit much more difficult. 
Lately, the nation has been up in arms about the big banks, the same ones we bailed out with our tax dollars, and which are now charging excessive fees for using debit cards and gaining access to our own money.
Crisis after crisis seems to be the trend this year in financial news. We’ve had our problems here in the United States, and now the Eurozone and Greece are wading through troubled waters. What all this financial turmoil means for us is that inflation will be taking hold sooner or later.
Welcome to the 
The holidays are quickly approaching, and you know what that means: holiday shopping season! How do you decide on picking the right gifts for everyone? Sure, it’s the thought that counts, but if that was really true across the board, we wouldn’t see so many fruit cakes in the trash and unopened Tickle-Me Dog the Bounty Hunter dolls at the local dump.
In a recession, many people and companies try especially harder to do more with less. To cut costs, people are let go and those remaining are required to pick up the slack by taking on the responsibilities left behind. As one of those employees, or even someone going at it yourself freelancing or running your own business, you will need to learn how to get the most out of your time.
Living in the moment is great, and life has a lot to offer. However, as we get older, we have to face reality and start planning for the later years of our lives. The earlier the better in terms of investments and retirement, but there are other things to think about as well.