My all-time favorite is
www.debtproofliving.com. The author got herself out of $100,000 in debt and shows you how to manage your money so you can do it, too. I've used this system for many years, even through several long periods of being unemployed. Managing money is all about giving yourself options (the option of taking a leave from work, for example). Being in debt, while it seems really cool at first, cuts off all future options because you have to continue working just to pay -- triple -- for things you don't even have anymore (yes, that $20 book you want to put on your credit card today will cost you $60, if you ever get it paid off, depriving you of the option of buying $40 worth of car repair or dental work).
Basically, five principles apply:
1. Every time you receive any money, save some (say 10%) and give some away. EVERY time.
2. Figure out your irregular, but inevitable, expenses (such as car and house repair, insurance, income taxes, health care) and put something away toward them every month, or every paycheck -- before you spend a dime on anything current (even food). For a very good reason, this is called a freedom account.
3. Rapidly retire your debt - there is an excellent calculator that will tell you how much the debt you have is REALLY costing you and how many YEARS (maybe 20 or more--or never) before it will be all paid off, even if you never put another penny on the card, and another to help you retire the debt.
4. Begin a contingency fund (starting with a few dollars) of three-to-six months of essential expenses as a cushion; only then should you begin to consider "playing" with your money in things like the stock market.
5. Always live UNDER your means (not as hard as it seems at first).
Unfortunately, there is a fee (around $20 per year) to fully use the site, although there are free calculators for rapid-debt reduction and managing a freedom account. But the author also has a very popular book, also called "Debt-proof Living," that tells everything you need to know. For the techies among us, though, the site offers countless calculators for such things as what is saved by paying off a mortgage early, the true cost in the future of buying something now, what a certain investment will be worth after a given number of years, the breakdown of principal and interest of a payment, etc.
The issue of WHERE to put money that you have decided is available for investment is a totally different subject.
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-- and who's that peering through the door? Ah, some inside jokes, too. Looks like Cody's favorite uncle may have financed this little venture.
I had no idea.
