Building Knowledge articles

These articles should help you get started by providing a good basis of knowledge on some of the key concepts on this site. They are ordered by category so you can read what you like, but if possible you should take a look at all of them. Since our experiences are all interrelated, all the concepts and ideas work together. The key is to find the right balance between them. If you would like to request an article on a specific topic that you don’t see here, let us know by using the contact page.

Personal Finance articles

• The Future Is Finances On The Go - The popularity of mobile banking is booming, and having your finances on your fingertips is the future.
• 5 Ways To Beat The Budgeting Blues - 5 tips to making budgeting more fun, making it more likely that you'll do it.
• Keep Your Checking Account Lean - Advice on how a lean checking account can make you get the most out of your interest rates
• Budgeting Is A Family Activity - Having a family budget is important, but it's also important to make sure the whole family is involved.
• Bad Money Management Dies Hard - Article about the challenges of changing your spending habits.
• My Economic Stimulus Surprise - Commentary about my economic stimulus package and why it's not coming when I thought it was.
• 10 Things The NFL Draft Can Teach You About Money - 10 things that you can learn about money from the NFL Draft
• Credit Card Debt Can Be Good - Commentary on how credit card debt can be good in some instances
• Investing In A Crazy Market - Just Close Your Eyes - Tips on how to invest in a volatile market and how just not looking at it everyday might be your best bet.
• 5 Things You Shouldn’t Go Cheap On - Commentary on the true key to being frugal...knowing when to spend.
• Money Management Basics Revisted - Basic money management tips that can help you solidify your finances.
• How Much Should You Have In Escrow? - Article describing the benefits of making sure your lender isn't holding too much of your money in escrow.
• Doing Your Taxes - A Necessary Evil - Article about my current situation coming up on the tax deadline
• If You Don’t Need It, It’s Not A Great Deal - Article about how a great deal can actually make you spend more money on things you don't need.
• Starting Your Day Off Right - Tips on how to eat a low-cost healthy breakfast and start your day off right in the body and the wallet.
• Roth The Name, Retirement The Game - Article about my current opportunities with Roth IRAs and Roth 401(k)s, and how it's a whole lot of (good sounding) confusion.
• Make Less, Save More - Tips about how you can make less money and save more.
• 7 Smart Places To Put Your Bonus - 7 places to put your bonus money to get the most bang for your buck.
• Pay Off Debt Or Stash The Cash? - Article describing my debt situation and what might be the best option for our extra money
• 5 Ways To Prevent Identity Theft From Happening To You - 5 simple tips to prevent yourself from becoming a victim of identity theft.
• 5 Life-Saving Tips For The Budget Weary - 5 frugal tips that can help relieve the constant pressure of staying within your budget.
• Make Your Finances Easier On Yourself - Article describing tips on how you can make your finances easier on yourself by doing what works best for you.
• 10 Ways To Find More Money In Your Budget - 10 tips on how you can find more money in your budget.
• REITs - An easier way to invest in real estate - Article describing the benefits of REITs for investing in real estate.
• Should you pay off your mortgage early? - Advice on whether paying off your mortgage is the right thing to do.
• Online brokers for beginning investors - Tips on choosing an online investment broker that fits your needs.
• Target retirement funds make your life easier - Article on target retirement funds, what they are, and how they can make your life easier.
• The best investing advice is staying the course - Tips on how to best invest your money and the mindset that tends to work best.
• Ask Us-Balancing emergency savings and credit card debt - Tips on how to balance paying down debt and putting away money for your emergency savings.
• The freedom of cash - Article about the benefits of cash flow and how it can jump start your wealth building.
• Setting a financial goal helps you stop spending - Article on how setting a financial goal can help you stop your unnecessary spending habits.
• TrueCredit 3 in 1 monitoring review Part II - Part II of our review of the TrueCredit 3 in 1 monitoring system.
• TrueCredit 3 in 1 monitoring review Part I - Part I of our review of the TrueCredit 3 in 1 monitoring system.
• Setting up your emergency savings - Article on setting up an emergency savings based on your financial situation.
• Should you consolidate you student loans? - Article on how and why I'm consolidating my student loans.
• Index funds - Smart investing made easy - Article describing index funds and how they make great investments for beginning investors.
• Want a better credit card rate? Try asking - Advice on how to get better interest rates and extras on your credit accounts and loans.
• Simplify your spending - Tips on how consolidating the way you spend can help simplify managing your finances.
• Make sure to put some fun into your budget - Article on how you should reward yourself for managing your money properly by putting some fun in your budget.
• Protect yourself with credit monitoring - Tips on how to make the most of your credit and protect yourself from identity theft by making the most out of credit monitoring.
• A basic retirement plan - Advice on how to set up a solid retirement plan for yourself.
• The road map to financial freedom - Tips on getting your personal finances in order. Debt reduction, making more money, and investing smart are some of the topics discussed.
• Mobile banking, does it matter to you? - Discussing the trends in mobile banking, and how it affects your choice of financial institution.
• How to pick a bank that is right for you - Tips on understanding the important aspects of picking a bank that is right for you. Topics include comparing checking and savings account, online banking, and bill pay.
• Ask Us-Managing multiple credit cards - Tips on how to manage multiple credit cards without hurting your credit and protecting yourself from identity theft.
• Ask Us-Buying a car - Advice on the steps and research you need to do to buy a car the smart way.
• 10 ways to help you get out of debt - Tips on how to manage and pay off your debt.
• How to raise your credit score - Tips on how to raise your FICO credit score
• How to budget your money and pay your bills on time - Advice on creating a financial budget to manage your money and pay your bills on time.

Education articles

• College Is About The Total Experience - Getting a degree is important, but not only because of what you learn in class.
• 5 Reasons Why A College Degree Doesn’t Matter - 5 reasons why a college degree doesn't matter when it comes to being successful.
• 5 Reasons Why A College Degree Is Important - 5 reasons why a college degree is still important to being successful.
• Ask Us-What Major Should I Choose? - Tips on how to choose a college major.
• How much is an MBA worth? An update - Update on my current MBA situation and what I plan to do next.
• Ask Us-Going to college on a budget - Advice on how to get your college education on a limited budget.
• Is an MBA really worth it? Here’s a personal account - Personal account of getting your MBA, the benefits, and the sacrifices.

Employment articles

• Recognition Is What You Make It - Recognition in the workplace is a much talked about topic, but are you really being recognized for something special?
• Go For What You Love Early In Your Career - Article about how going for what you love early on in your career can make the transition easier for you in the long run.
• Playing The Game Is Sometimes Necessary - Article about the necessity of swallowing your pride and playing the corporate game as a way to achieve an end state.
• Most Job Fairs Are A Waste Of Time - Commentary on job fairs and why they can be a big waste of time.
• When Opportunities Knock You Better Be Prepared - Article about the importance of always being prepared in your career, no matter how happy you are in your current position.
• Being A Team Player Only Gets You So Far - Article about the downsides of always being a team player and never trying to break the mold.
• How To Tell Your Boss You’re Ready For A Change - Tips on how to tell you're boss you're ready for a change, and make it beneficial for both of you.
• My Day Job Plan Of Action Part II - Part II of my plan of action for my day job.
• My Day Job Plan Of Action Part I - Article about my plan of action for my day job.
• The Importance of Networking - Article about the importance of networking in your career and in life.
• How To Ace Your Interview Part II - More tips on how to ace your interview and get that great job.
• How To Ace Your Interview Part I - Tips on how to ace your interview and get that great job.
• Ask Us-Should I tell my boss I’m looking for a new job? - Article on how you should handle a situation where you're looking for a new job but don't know whether to tell your boss or not
• Do What You Love and Never Work A Day In Your Life - Advice on how choosing to do what you love can spark your dream life.
• 10 ways to make more money - Tips on ways you can make more money, bringing more income into your budget.
• How to get a great job - Tips on how to get a great job including creating a great resume, interviewing well, and more.

Self Improvement articles

• Communication Is About Knowing Your Audience - Understanding how to communicate effectively deals mostly with understanding your audience.
• Doing What You Enjoy Is Good For Your Health - Commentary on the importance of doing things you enjoy as a part of your overall health.
• Sleep Is Good - Commentary on the relationship of sleep and success.
• Persistence Pays Off - Commentary on the power of persistence.
• The First Step To Getting Better Is Letting Go Of Your Pride - Article about the importance of letting go of your pride when it comes to improving yourself.
• Management Styles And Relating To People - Commentary on the differences in certain management styles and how those that don't relate to people are ineffective in the long run.
• With Age Comes Wisdom…And Some Surprises - The wonders of age and how it affects your opinion on your family and your life.
• Don’t Just Complain, Take Charge - Article about the importance of taking charge of your life and not just being a complainer.
• Know When To Hold (Your Tongue) - Article about the importance of knowing when to open your mouth and when not to.
• The Key To Personal Growth Is Staying Humble - Article about the importance of staying humble in personal growth.
• Be A Leader - Tips on how and why you should be a leader.
• The Happiness Project - What is happiness to you? - Description of Alex Shalman's Happiness Project and a brief explanation of what happiness means to me.
• How to bring about change in your life - Article on how to use your frustration to bring about change in your personal and professional lives.
• The problem with helping people - Article about the downside of helping people, which is basically that our society makes it hard to make a living doing it.
• The key to achieving success? Interpersonal skills - Article on the importance of interpersonal skills and how they can help you achieve your dreams.
• Sometimes nature knows best - Article on how a common head cold helped me deal with the stresses of working, family, school, and starting a business.
• Handling stress is key to your success - Article on how handling day to day stresses can you help you focus and build your dreams.
• Success breeds success Part IV - Part four of the Success breeds success article on how achieving a little success can lead to even more successes in your life.
• Success breeds success Part III - Part three of the Success breeds success article on how achieving a little success can lead to even more successes in your life.
• Success breeds success Part II - Part two of the Success breeds success article on how achieving a little success can lead to even more successes in your life.
• Success breeds success Part I - Article on how achieving a little success can lead to even more successes in your life.
• No matter what your goals, drugs don’t help you get there - Article about the dangers of drugs and how they can derail your hopes and dreams.
• Analyze your daily frustration - Tips on how having a deeper knowledge of yourself can lead you to great improvements in your life.
• Sometimes building your dream is twice the work - Article on how your passion can help you manage a day job with building a business part-time.
• Learn how to move on and expand your horizons - Advice on how moving on from comfortable situations in your life can bring about the biggest growth.
• Understanding your motivation - Article on understanding the roots of your motivation and how you can combat lapses in action by harnessing your greatest fears and ambitions.
• The key to happiness? Be you, just better - Advice on improving your life by having greater self awareness. Understand your strengths and weaknesses, and use that knowledge to make positive gains in your life.

Family articles

• Teach Your Kids Consequences - The importance of consist consequences help to shape and mold our character in ways that aren't always easy to see at first.
• Adopting My Step Child Update - Update on my experience of adopting my step-child.
• Why Time Is Our Most Valuable Commodity - Article about why I'm so driven to free up time in my life by becoming an entrepreneur with passive income streams
• The Family Rundown - A rundown of a few family related items going on in my life right now.
• Bonding With My Son - Article about the ways I'm trying to bond with my son and build a stronger relationship between us.
• Adopting My Step Child - The start of my experience in adopting my step child.
• How A Reality Show Made Me Want To Be A Better Father - Article about how a certain reality show actually made me want to be a better father
• Bring the family together - with a video game? -
• The key to your success? Your family - Article on how a positive personal and/or family life is a key component to your success.
• Ask Us-Teaching your kids about money - Advice on ways you can help teach your children about smart money management.

Making Money articles

• The key to making money is passive income - Understanding passive income and how it can help you reach your financial freedom.

Starting a business articles

• Managing Your Work - Work Balance - Commentary on the challenges of starting a business while working a full-time job, and the affect it has on your personal time.
• So Many Ideas, So Little Time - Article about the challenges of having too many seemingly good ideas when it comes to businesses.
• Jumpstart Your Business With Google Apps Part II - Part II of my review of Google Apps, and how it has helped my business.
• Jumpstart Your Business With Google Apps Part I - My review of Google Apps, and how it has helped my business.
• How To Tell You’re An Entrepreneur - Article about some basic ways you can tell whether or not you're a born entrepreneur.
• When is the right time to quit your job? - Article talking about when you should think about quitting your day job to continue building your dream business.
• Building internet businesses - Article about the benefits of building internet businesses, being that they can feed off of each other.
• Customer service is dead Part II - A recent experience of mine has led me to believe customer service is dead, this is the second part of the series.
• Customer service is dead Part I - A recent experience of mine has led me to believe customer service is dead.
• A good business team makes all the difference - Tips on how having the right business team around you can make or break your chances for success.
• Start your business accounting with free QuickBooks - Make separating your personal and business finances easy by using the free version of Quickbooks Simple Start
• Structuring your business for success - Tips on how to separate your personal and business finances to better reach your goals.
• The old way to do business - Article on how relying on old business practices can hurt your chances for success in your business.
• Part-time job or part-time business? - Comparison of getting a part time job compared to starting up a business on a part-time basis.

Miscellaneous articles

• Carnival of Personal Finance #145 this week - Know The Ledge is featured in the Carnival of Personal Finance #145 this week!
• Email Issues Are Resolved! - If you didn't receive a response to your email, try sending it again!
• Carnival of Personal Finance #144 This Week - Know The Ledge is featured in the Carnival of Personal Finance #144 this week!
• 2008 Goals Update - March - Update of our 2008 goals, and the progress we've seen so far.
• What a Difference a Year Makes - Article about my journey for the past year and the differences you can see with your finances in 12 months
• Know The Ledge Goals for 2008 - Goals for the Know The Ledge site for 2008, including building traffic, getting a steady readership, and making a nice monthly income
• Knowing the ledge…the first steps - Tips on living the life you always dreamed about, including self improvement, financial management, personal finance, and various other topics.