You’ve all heard of this tip. Experts say the surefire way to get rich is to pay yourself first. Normally, people save money after budgeting for the usual monthly expenses. Paying yourself first means you sock away a certain amount before you pay your bills, your groceries, your haircut and manicure.

I can tick off a lot of big names in personal finance – David Bach, Robert Kiyosaki, Suzie Orman. They all say paying yourself first will get you out of the rat race. More than all the scurrying for higher interest earnings and hot stock picking, this one “secret” tip makes a millionaire.

Well, not quite. When MoneySmarts put that tip to the test, the figures showed that behind the simplicity of the plan are several conditions that need to be followed to make this work.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

MONEY Myth Buster of the week: Buying in bulk saves time and money.

Walter Mart, Price Smart, and the now-defunct Super Sale Club attracted a lot of buyers using this marketing strategy. I remember watching frazzled mommies cart away boxes of noodles and bags of different-flavored cereals with my own overflowing cart in tow. Time to do some Money Myth Busting to find out if this tip really holds water.

Money Smarts went shopping (how I love being a journalist! ) and asked a lot of mommies for this blog entry. The result of the Myth Busting session? Goods in sachets are extremely expensive, especially shampoo — but all other sizes have almost the same prices.

[Read the rest of this entry »]