We're thrilled to present this smart LearnVest story here on Savvy! We love the motto “be prepared.” But when it comes to the average American’s wallet, there’s such a thing as over-prepared. From the looks of our bulging billfolds, we must be heading out each day to open a new line of credit, fill out a W-2, shop at several department stores, use a few gift cards, return an item or two, Read more

Something you should be doing is documenting the conversations you have with customer service representatives. Some examples include calls with your health insurance company, bank, or phone provider. Start an excel sheet and be sure to write down the company you're dealing with, date and time of the call, name and the ID number of the representative you spoke to, and the outcome of the call. Go a Read more

Getting a will is not just for those who are on the cusp of retiring. People of all ages should consider writing one, says Business Insider. Here's why. Despite the well-known fact that everyone alive today will kick the bucket at one point or another, nearly 60 percent of Americans admitted in a 2011 poll conducted by online legal service Rocket Lawyer that they didn't have a will. RELATED: 14 Read more

Go the extra mile with your food budget with these tips from LearnVest. For years, many people — my husband, mom, sister and even my son — told me to stop wasting so much food. Throwing away half a piece of chicken here or a handful of grapes there never seemed like such a big deal to me. If I was full or no longer in the mood for that particular food, then I had no problem tossing Read more

It's hard enough to remember to put on sunscreen when you leave the house, but now you also need to make sure your sunscreen is safe to use. The Environmental Working Group has just released its 2012 Sunscreen Guide, and in order to make the list, a sunscreen must be free of oxybenzone and retinyl palmitate, not have an SPF above 50, and must be broad spectrum (protects against both UVA and UVB Read more

If your bill is long past its due date, then expect the debt collectors to come a-knockin'. Hiding from them and pretending they don't exist is not a good solution; it will only aggravate the problem and make things worse. Dealing with the issue head-on might help you catch a break. Here are a couple tips for dealing with those dreaded debt collectors: Know your rights. As consumers, we are Read more

The engagement ring may be one of the biggest expenses of your wedding, and as with buying any big-ticket item, you need to do your homework. We tapped Jerry Ehrenwald, the president of the International Gemological Institute, for some quick guidelines on what couples need to do when they're buying an engagement ring. Learn about the four Cs. "Before purchasing a diamond, learn all about the Read more

If you don't enjoy cleaning, tidying up your place may feel like a time-consuming and mind-numbing task. However, there are little tricks you can do to lessen your load and expend less effort toward cleaning yet still have a sparkling clean residence. Here are some ways to have a clean place without cleaning: Everything has its place: Remember that every item has its place in your home, and if Read more

We are pumped to share one of our fave stories from Prevention here on FitSugar! Even the most nutrition-savvy women can get lost in the headlines. Here's what you really need to know. By Sharon Liao, Prevention You heard that eggs can be high in cholesterol, so you dutifully switched to whole grains for breakfast. Next, you swapped out red meat for fish — only to later learn that fish can Read more

Data has been breached at a payments processing firm and the personal information of up to 10 million users can potentially be compromised, says security blog Krebs on Security. Apparently, the scale of the breach is "massive" and major credit card companies like Visa and MasterCard have been alerting their customers about this development and to reassure them that the actual Visa and Read more