CTV's Daryl McIntyre interviews Kelley Keehn - too much financial clutter in your life?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTHuMuPuba0

CBC Radioactive - the continuing financial saga of Joshica - in their 50s

Our financial columnist Kelley Keehn has the continuing adventures of Josh and Jessica. The fictional couple is now in their fifties. We look at the financial decisions they’re facing in today’s economy.

Click here to listen: http://www.cbc.ca/radioactive/episode/2011/08/22/kelley-keehn---personal-finances-1/

Goal Setting: How Far Are You Willing to Go to be Accountable?

Do you set goals? If you`re like most Canadians, you know you should; they make sense after all. We can`t just go through life hoping to have a fit, healthy body and bank account without doing anything tangible. But unfortunately, not only do most of us not set clear goals (other than those "never going to happen" New Year`s resolutions), we don`t focus on them long enough to ever give them a chance for success.

Well, with a new, and might I add genius website I recently discovered, that`s all over! Better yet, it`s absolutely free. But I will warn you - it works, but it has a tattletale element (that`s the brilliant part - if only you know you ate the entire tub of Ben and Jerry`s or blew your paycheque internet shopping, what`s the point, or pain, right?). And, if you really want to up the ante, you can put your money where your mouth, uh, goals are.

Read my full article here: http://www.walletpop.ca/blog/2011/08/22/goal-setting-how-far-are-you-willing-to-go-to-be-accountable/

10 Household Items to NEVER Cheap Out On

I know it's August, but I was doing some major spring cleaning last week and noticed a number items that I was cheaping out on. Really, if something is over a year old, on the top rated "germy" list, and not very expensive, should you bother cleaning them at all?

Find out the ten essential household products that can make your indoor environment safer, cleaner, and best of all, most items are under $10.OK, not every item will be under ten dollars, but if you keep an eye open for sales and check out dollar stores, you should be able to get the bulk of the list on the cheap.

Read my full article here: http://www.walletpop.ca/blog/2011/08/17/10-household-items-to-never-cheap-out-on/

Addicted to student discounts

ANITA LI - The Globe and Mail

Cheaper clothes, discount travel rates and lower-priced movie tickets – sometimes, it pays to be a student.

Michael (not his real name) uses his university identification card to take advantage of the student rates offered by Greyhound Canada, an inter-city coach service, and tourist attractions such as the Ontario Science Centre. In April, he flashed his ID to score a discount to see the Tim Burton exhibition at Toronto’s TIFF Bell Lightbox. But Michael, 23, sheepishly emphasizes that he “rarely” uses it any more. That’s because he’s no longer a student.

Read the full article here: http://www.ctv.ca/generic/generated/static/business/article2131037.html

In Search of a Cheaper Flight? Is The New Kid In Town Worth a Few Clicks?

Recently, I saw a billboard for a company called the FlightNetwork touting a one-stop service for booking air travel. They claim to have better pricing and a rate protection guarantee. But are they worth the extra shopping clicks online?I decided to give them a try. I fly a great deal for business and quite often from my hometown Edmonton to Toronto. I'm keenly sensitive of the price for that route and chose a sample trip date for the FlightNetwork departing September 1st from Edmonton to Toronto returning September 9th.

Read my full article here: http://www.walletpop.ca/blog/2011/07/29/in-search-of-a-cheaper-flight-is-the-new-kid-in-town-worth-a-fe/

Second marriage? Why you need to talk money early and often

MADELEINE WHITE - The Globe and Mail

Rhonda Liss, a Toronto mother of three, didn’t meet her “soulmate” until she was 44 and twice-divorced. When she moved in with her new husband, Max Kirschner, she brought more than just furniture. Her youngest daughter, who is still a teenager, also moved into Mr. Kirschner’s house, and Ms. Liss was still financially focused on helping her older daughters through university.

“I’m not one to live off of somebody, I take pride in that,” said Ms. Liss. “But I had this financial commitment [to help my daughters through university] and once that commitment was over ... I took care of some things in the household.”

Money had been a stumbling block in previous marriages, so Ms. Liss hit the jackpot with Mr. Kirschner’s openness about finances and the future. It created a level of trust that helped her tell him that she had not made him executor of her will or her life insurance beneficiary, naming her daughters instead.

This couple is lucky. Many don’t address their complicated money situations when they remarry, financial experts and marriage therapists say.

“Everything can be talked about these days before marriage,” said Edmonton-based personal finance expert Kelley Keehn. “But god forbid you talk about money and finances. They’re worse than politics or religion.”

Read the full article here: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/personal-finance/household-finances/second-marriage-why-you-need-to-talk-money-early-and-often/article2123726/