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Get A Jumpstart On Your 2009 Tax Return By Getting Organized Early
Another year has ended and that means it will soon be time to file your 2009 taxes. It may not be the most exciting thing that the new year brings, but it is a necessary evil nonetheless. However, tax preparation does not have to be dreadful event that most people...
Ask Questions Before Letting Someone Do Your Taxes
Yes, it’s getting close to that time again. Christmas has passed, New Years is in the rear view mirror, and pretty soon, you will be getting a bigger-than usual envelope from your employer. No, I’m sorry to say that I’m not referring to a cash bonus, although that...
One Man’s Experience With The Making Homes Affordable Program
At the end of May 2008, I was laid off from my job of 4 1/2 years due to the company’s inability to maintain it’s then-current employee base. I wasn’t too worried, as I had plenty of savings to cover almost 6 months worth of expenses in my HSBC...
The Truth Behind Tax Deduction Advice
While it may be a little early in the year for tax talk for some, I personally believe that it is never a bad time to plan or even talk about taxes. Today, I happened to see a tweet linking to an article on Kiplinger’s Website for a section...
An Open Letter To The Credit Industry
Dear credit provider, In light of the housing and credit crises of the past few years, I am left wondering about some of your practices in regard to the way you choose how to extend credit lines and how you deem certain applicants to be worthy of receiving a line of...
My 1st Million At 33 - yes, you can do it too
US dollar crisis in this decade
As I have said well before the financial crisis hits back in 2006 on my blog, this game between the liars (housing speculators) and the cheaters (the bankers who totally expected to pass the AAA-rated toxic mortgage loans to Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac & other mortgage investors, but somehow...
Why consumers are paying down credit card before mortgage
Here is the article from Marketwatch.com, reporting consumer behavior is changing, putting credit card debt before mortgage. Why would anybody put the priority of unsecured debt over debt that is secured by the home & the roof over someone’s head? It is puzzling to all the bankers and...
I thought that what happened in US since 2007 (and in Japan back in 1990) would have taught people some lessons. But human greed knows no bound. Either they don’t read news, or they’re too greedy. There are still booming undying bubbles in China, Taiwan, Canada, Australia. It...
A buying strategy for the current housing market
Very infrequently I come across some articles that are so well written that I feel obliged to recommend them to people. And I found it at Irvine Housing Blog. IrvineRenter, the owner of the blog has written a couple of excellent articles that should be must-read for every...
“Golden” conversation with my friends & relatives
Because I haven’t been blogging often, some of my friends & relatives have been going through the insider track via phoning me or emailing me directly. I have been spending an extraordinary amount of time on watching over stocks and my own portfolio. This year will be “the...
Few technical indicators give a clear picture on the movement of stocks. Unfortunately, all indicators are often too late by the time when the markets have made their initial move. The more averaging the indicator does, the later it will give you a signal, but the signal becomes...
Freedom From Creditors Blog
Mortgage lenders pursue homeowners even after foreclosure
Debtors with mortgage deficiencies are not in the clear as they think they are. Creditors are waiting for the opportune time to take the unknowing debtor to the cleaners and garnish everything they own and have worked hard for. If debtors don’t protect their assets and them self...
Out of control interest rates?
One card that we recently found out about has a 79.9% interest rate. Now if that is not a legal loan shark what is? To read more about this credit card company scam check out this article. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34468260/ns/business-personal_finance/...
What is the Uniform Commercial Code In The United States?
The Uniform Commercial Code is a set of uniform laws written by the American Law Institute and the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws governing commercial transactions. It took over ten years to originally draft the UCC, and a further fourteen years for the UCC to be implemented...
A judgment lien is a court ordered lien that is placed against the home or property when the homeowner simply fails to pay a debt. This doesn’t seem like a big deal, but when the homeowner has a judgment lien against his or her home and wants to sell it,...
Banks are Getting Hammered with Loan Losses
It’s’ no big surprise that banks are trying to collect from the hoards of debtors who have defaulted on loans recently. As you can see from this article , Bank of America has lost 36 Billion dollars. Don’t feel bad if your among these borrowers. The government...
Is It Immoral To Simply Write Off Your Debts?
You may be uneasy about the morals of trying to get something for nothing – I certainly was until I had a close look at the industry. The banks, credit card companies and collection agents all play on your guilt and fear. It’s not OK to owe money you can’t...
Being Frugal.net
Being Frugal and Raising Healthy Kids
This guest post was written by ABCs of Investing, a site where you can learn about the very basics of investing and how to apply to your personal finances. Feel free to subscribe to the feed. One of the difficulties with being a parent is that you want to keep your...
Kyle’s Coupons: Frugal Home Buying Tips
The following is a regular feature by Kyle of Rather-Be-Shopping. Be sure to check his site if you are in need of online coupons or codes! It is a very exciting time for my family. My wife and I are in the process of buying our first home! With the distressed...
Are You Less Frugal Now Than You Were a Year Ago?
If so, read on. A reporter for a major news organization is working on a story about how shoppers are starting to crawl back to some of their favorite major brands (food, clothing etc) and stores as they no longer are panic-stricken about the economy. She would like to speak to...
Review: Unautomate Your Finances
Today is a big day for Baker at Man vs. Debt. He is releasing his first premium guide called Unautomate Your Finances. I had the privilege of taking a sneak peek before the big launch today. I was impressed. Unautomate Your Finances Synopsis Unauatomate Your Finances is divided into three parts. In...
10 Benefits of Raised Garden Beds
Today, if the weather cooperates, my kids and I will be starting our Square Foot Garden. We have a lot of work to do, as the boxes aren’t even on the ground yet. In fact, we still have to build a square foot garden box. Though it’s tempting to just hoe...
Using Your Tools to Achieve Financial Goals – Textbook Personal Finance
This guest post is part of the textbook personal finance series, written by Mrs. Micah. The series covers basic personal finance skills by going through an actual textbook, chapter-by-chapter. Check out the intro post for more information. Over the last few weeks, we’ve been assembling a basic personal finance and tools....
Amateur Asset Allocator
Those who are in retirement know too well that just because you retire, doesn’t mean that your bills and rent will go away. There are always bills after retirement, boosted many times with the cost of health care bills that are incurred due to ADL impairments...
At the risk of stating the obvious, claiming bankruptcy is a process not to be taken lightly. Bankruptcy is the last option that should be considered due to the potential negative affect it can have on your credit and financial future. In fact, if you decide to file, the bankruptcy...
4 Tips For Inexpensive Auto Insurance
There’s no getting around purchasing auto insurance if you drive a car. Not only is car insurance required by law, the cost of being in an accident can quickly surpass the amount you pay for insurance premiums. How much you pay for car insurance is determined by several...
There are different types of IRAs for individual retirement plans which incorporate various tax advantages that offer efficient retirement savings of the United States taxpayers. They are all the same, however, in terms of available investment options. IRA Types The original Individual Retirement Account was developed and established in 1974. Since then...
How To Save Money On Your Cell Phone Bill
Do you cringe every time your cell phone statement comes in the mail? Chances are, you are paying more than absolutely necessary for your cell phone bill. With the following tips, you can reduce your phone bill whether you’re currently shopping for a new cell contract or looking...
Understanding Lending Terms and Mortgage Rates Current and Future
Buying a house or apartment for the first time can be a daunting, even scary experience. The amount of responsibility it brings, along with what is usually a serious amount of debt, is enough for many people to stay in rented accommodation, where there is a benevolent landlord to deal...
Personal Finance 101
Take The “Slap Chop” Out of Investing!
The latest issue of Consumer Reports magazine features an article that looks at why infomercials(and the legend of Billy Mays) are so popular. These ads are carefully scripted to set-off a chemical in your brain called dopamine that typically leads to irrational, compulsive decision-making. This dopamine “high” only lasts for...
Making A Case For Higher Commodity Prices
The following is a case presented to support why we should continue to see an upward investment trend in commodities and how this positive long-term trend is due largely to the supply and demand imbalances that persist in industries that produce commodities. In addition, the market turmoil of the past two years...
French Investors Turn To Cash Cows…Literally!
In spite of the many articles published here at Dividend Money and the powerful rally that took place over the summer across global equity markets, some investors are still not ready to plunge back into equities. However, long-term Investors who choose to sit in perceived ‘safe’ investment like savings accounts, CDs and money market funds...
3 Key Issues That Influence the Stock Market
As we head into the fall and we look forward toward next year, it is important to take a look at the general econimc landscape, assess the data that we have access to, and develop our views on the performance of our investments going forward. The following are three high-level economic...
A Look at the Market’s Big Picture
Just a few days into August and markets seem to have picked up where they left off in July. Here’s a summary of market action and key developments from last month, including monthly benchmarks. Investors saw more data indicating that healing is underway in the global economy. Increased optimism paved the way...
Fix My Personal Finance - Personal Finance Advice - Money Management Advice
Woo your valentine with 10 most romantic frugal ideas
As Valentine’s Day is round the corner, lovers across the planet get busy in thinking about gift that they can give to say those magical three words “I Love You”. When it comes to gifts, it means money. The more expensive gifts, the more money you let out. But...
There are so many different savings accounts available it can be difficult to know which one is best for you - The price comparison site Moneysupermarket.com advises that you use their search tool in order to find which savings option would suit you best. Of course, you can compare accounts all...
How to Obtain Low Cost Teenage Car Insurance
Life is tough as it is without having to pay for insurance, but one way or another they give you peace of mind. There’s the fact, however, that there are just some types of insurance required by the law, such as auto insurance. One topic that you might want to...
Child care assistance. A few years ago, workers at Xerox got what the American rank and file would kill for: child care grants (up to $2,500 per year) for any employee earning under $50,000. Most companies aren’t quite so generous, yet fully eight out of 10 today provide some type...
In this age of diminishing corporate givebacks, there is some good news. More companies are willing to offer so-called family-friendly benefits -perks that tend to be easy on the corporate coffers and, in turn, raise job satisfaction among employees. Some of these perks may be unwritten, and still others may...
If you work for a company that will help finance your golden years, consider yourself lucky. Since 1990 nearly 50,000 U.S. Firms have axed the traditional, company-paid pension. This benefit is quickly becoming a relic of the past. In 1988 close to 80% of the nation’s small- and medium-size companies...
Generation X Finance
How to Negotiate Remote Work With An Employer
Working Remotely is the Holy Grail for Many Workers Travel is liberating. It allows us to experience places and cultural happenings beyond our wildest imaginations. It puts things in perspective and gives us countless stories to recant to friends and family members who want to know what it feels like to...
3 Possible Market Bubbles on the Horizon
This is a guest post by The Financial Blogger: I’m working in the financial industry and I am specialized in personal finance. I’m always trying to find way to make money differently than receiving my pay check every two weeks. I recently hit a 6 figure income at the age of...
Do You Really Need a Mortgage In Your Twenties?
This is a guest post from MD of Studenomics. A personal finance blog for 20-somethings that want to kill debt, make some cash, and enjoy life. If you like the article, please consider subscribing for free updates. In the North American society it’s no secret that owning a home has become apart of life. For...
28 Tips to Save Money on Car Expenses and Save Thousands of Dollars
There Are Many Ways to Save on Car Costs Do you own a car? You probably do, and that means you probably know how expensive it can be. Did you know that the average person will spend over $500,000 on vehicles and vehicle-related expenses over their lifetime. It really starts to...
Birthday Freebies Worth Checking Out
Even though birthdays come only once a year, businesses make your “big day” one to remember by offering you complimentary meals, gifts, and free admission. Here are a few things offered to birthday club and mailing list members: Cedar Point Amusement Park’s exclusive indoor waterpark resort, Castaway Bay, has a Birthday Club...
Crock Pot BBQ Pulled Pork Recipe for Under $15 – Easy and Frugal
Cheap BBQ Pulled Pork Recipe Can Feed a Crowd One of the best ways to save money cooking at home is by using recipes that utilize an inexpensive cut of meat. The problem is that many people think cheap cuts of meat equals tough, or otherwise poor quality meat. This is...
Free Money Finance
Thrift, an Old-Time Virtue Making a Comeback
For those of you new to Free Money Finance, I post on The Bible and Money every Sunday. Here's why. The following is a guest post from Marotta Wealth Management. "Thrifty" isn't a virtue we hear about very often these......
How to Find a Professional Financial Advisor
The following is an excerpt from The Financial Crossroads. How then, can you determine how to find a truly professional advisor, or if you already have an advisor, how do you know that he or she is a professional? Here......
Avoid Budget Busters by Curbing Your Worst Impulses
The following is a guest post from Marotta Wealth Management. Frugality is the new status symbol, or at least it ought to be. It is green. It is compassionate. And it brings with it a financial margin for when life......
Free Money Finance March Money Madness, Round 2, Posts 29-32
Here we go with the second round of Free Money Finance March Money Madness (if you wonder what's going on in these posts, see my article announcing March Money Madness and/or click on my March Money Madness category link and......
Having a Bad Credit Score Can Cost You $200k
Here's a piece from MSN Money that says the lifetime cost of bad credit is over $200,000. They detail how they got to this number, but the short version is that if you have a bad credit score you end......
Star Money Articles and Carnivals for the Week of Mar 8
For weekday updates of what I find to be some of the most interesting personal finance articles on the web, follow me on Twitter. Here are some pieces I found especially worthwhile and some of the carnivals Free Money Finance......
FreelanceSwitch
On FreelanceSwitch, you’ll meet a lot of boss-shunning, solo-working rebels. But there may come a time when the freest of freelancers will need to hire employees. Or subcontractors. Or you might want to sell your freelancing business, and the buyer will want to know how you’ve been handling things. In short, these...
5 Ways to Regain Your Creative Joy
One of the most difficult parts of freelancing is the tendency of the freelancer to eventually lose joy for the work. You may have come, like me, from a gig that paid well but didn’t fully capitalize on your talents. You decided to start working as a freelancer in order...
Our Latest Book: How to Write Great Copy for the Web
Last week I introduced you to the latest collaboration between Rockable Press and FreelanceSwitch, How to Write Great Copy for the Web by Donna Spencer. I am happy to announce that the book has been launched today and Rockin’ List members get a $5 discount on the digital book, bringing...
How to Give Yourself a Raise Without Losing Business
This post is an excerpt from my eBook, The Blog Business Funnel. It teaches freelancers how to run a profitable freelance business, fed entirely by a healthy and thriving blog. This excerpt is from Chapter 7: Scaling Up. FreelanceSwitch readers can claim a special discount at the end of this...
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The Perils and Plusses of a Persistent Project
As a freelancer, I’ve tackled plenty of projects. Not all have been enjoyable, naturally, but I’ve been able to keep a steady flow of work. I don’t think every job has to be perfect, and as long as I’m making good money and maintaining my freedom, I’m generally satisfied with...
Funny about Money
I see that Fabulously Broke is running a giveaway contest: prizes are $25 gift cards to Best Buy or Kohl’s. Check it out. BTW, if’ you’re not already subscribing to Fabulously Broke, take time to explore the site, one of three FB operates. IMHO, it has one of the best “about”...
Yay! It’s spring break! One of the little blandishments of teaching that I’d forgotten about, it having disappeared in a fog of 9-to-5 overwork quite some time ago. Remembering it, however, after Departmental Chair kindly gave me three sections to plan for this semester, I set things up so that no...
Be sure to drop by Free Money Finance to vote in Round 2 of March Madness! FMF says he intends to declare a winner on Monday, so if you’re going to vote, do it soon. Funny is up against a line-up of very strong candidates and needs your help! ...
I’ve been horribly remiss in failing to thank the hosts of the two carnivals where Funny appeared most recently! Got no excuse: just lazy, I’m afraid. SimplyForties hosted a spectacular Carnival of Money Stories featuring wonderful photos and quotes from some of the women I most admire. This edition is pretty...
FMF reports that Funny’s post is up in Round 2 of the March Madness contest. Just came from there and…yipe! There are some REALLY good posts! Please go on over to the site and vote for your favorites. FMF asks that we vote only once in each round (duh!) for our...
Frugal Scholar had a bit of a meltdown as rumors of 25 percent cutbacks swirled through her campus. This kind of talk is unnerving, especially since we know that when layoffs loom, the talk that precedes them often comes to pass. There’s certainly no real evidence that the economy’s alleged recovery...
Twitter / trenttsd
trenttsd: This is a good piece of investigative journalism on Robert Kiyosaki's seminar series (which I've written about before): http://bit.ly/awPHZX...
trenttsd: A big thanks to all my readers. I just topped the 75,000 subscriber mark. Thank you for all your support!...
trenttsd: Anyone know anything about the "mysteriously" missing Iowa State student? I'm following this (being an ISU alum) - http://bit.ly/a45CXP...
trenttsd: I'm fine - thanks to all of you who expressed concern. I'm sitting here tweeting in my truck, waiting for the salt to melt a bit of ice....
trenttsd: Just put my truck in the ditch ... *sigh* ... I hate winter driving and black ice.
trenttsd: Just put my truck in the ditch ... *sigh* ... I hate winter driving and black ice....
trenttsd: @charliepark Not really. I don't view non-liquid assets (your home) as something that should be counted in net worth....
Pecuniarities
Thinking inside the box: Some Uses for Cardboard Cartons
When you purchase food, you are paying not only for the part of the product you intend to eat but also for the packaging, the bags, wrappers, and boxes which usually go straight in the trash. While plastic wrap and bags have little use beyond stuffing them full of trash,...
Monopoly Game Expansion #4: Personal Credit Card Account
Expansion Difficulty/Complexity: Medium-Hard This is a credit card add-on for the game of Monopoly wherein players have both cash and credit and may opt to “charge” certain expenses in lieu of paying cash in order to keep the cash flow for investing in property and buildings. For being such a careful...
Lesson 1: When Not to DIY In the past year, we only went out an average of 1-2 times per month to run errands and our garage door therefore got very little exercise. One day last month, when I was leaving for my monthly grocery shopping trip, the door wouldn’t close....
Booking Flights Early Could End Up Costing More
For years, savvy travelers have been booking flights as many as 6 months ahead of time to take advantage of early booking discounts. This year, however, what used to be a smart move could end up costing travelers more money as airlines begin to cut back and cancel flights this...
My Favorite Money and Time Saving Websites
Next to the TV, DVD, flushing toilet, hot shower, computer and properly working automatic garage door, the internet is one of the best inventions ever. In fact, living in the desert as I do, I couldn’t get along without the internet. Even with the rising cost of internet service, the...
Beware of Fake IRS (Internal Revenue Service) Phishing Email Scams
Now that tax time is coming around, I’ve noticed an increase in tax related scam emails in my inbox and spam folder. They come in various forms with different sender names and subjects, claiming to be important notifications about your taxpayer account, your tax refund, and new this year, your...
My Dollar Plan
This week’s Free Money Friday is a really great one! SunTrust is offering a $150 bonus for becoming an online banking customer with them! How to Get Your $150 Bonus Open a new SunTrust personal checking account between February 1, 2010 and April 30, 2010. You’ll receive $50 when you enroll the...
Would You Walk Away from Your Home?
When Jill wrote about how to fix your credit after a foreclosure, a reader, Marke, left the following comment: I am right now considering whether I should walk right now. Since millions of homeowners are in a situation where their house is worth less than they owe on their mortgage, I’m...
What an incredibly complex tax year for our household. Before 2009, we lived in an apartment, worked two jobs, and could only deduct student loan interest. But in 2009, we purchased a home, earned freelance income, and donated to charity. We were eligible to take the home office tax deduction...
How to Save Money on a Wedding, From a Future Bride
Planning a wedding is one of the most fun, and financially stressful events of my life! I feel that I am constantly balancing traditions, ‘must-haves’, wants, and our budget. I find that if I remember what the day is actually about—love, the union of two people, choosing to spend the rest...
It’s Free Money Friday! And back this week is an old favorite. It was 2008 when we last featured the Discover sign up bonus. Here is the new $50 Cash Back Bonus from Discover More for those of you who missed it a couple years ago. How to Get Your...
Would You Join a Barter Exchange?
I had lunch with a friend this week, and she told me about a barter exchange that her husband joined. The concept is pretty simple: you provide a service and earn barter credits, then you spend barter credits to purchase services from other businesses. And in a down economy, barter...
Get Rich Slowly
Reader Story: How I Ruined My Credit Score, and How It Didn’t Ruin My Life
This guest post from the redoubtable Tyler K is part of the new “reader stories” feature here at Get Rich Slowly. Some reader stories contain general “how I did X” advice, and others will be examples of how a GRS reader achieved financial success — or failure. Tyler is an...
The Consumerism Commentary Podcast
It looks like The Personal Finance Hour, my weekly podcast with Jim from Bargaineering, is on permanent hiatus. Both Jim and I have other work that has consumed our attention over the past few months. If you’re craving a similar financial podcast — and aren’t opposed to higher quality — check...
Ask the Readers: How Do You Figure the Calculus of Kids?
I keep intending to retain “ask the readers” as a regular Friday feature — and I keep failing. You folks send me tons of great questions, and I’d love to share more of them. This week, for example, Lisa wrote with the following. “Having kids has made spending choices much...
This post is from GRS staff writer April Dykman. I usually have an idea of what I want to accomplish once I get home from work. It goes something like this: Practice yoga. Get some writing done. Make a fabulous, healthy dinner. Work on my business. Read something thought-provoking. But I never seemed to accomplish all I set out...
How To Check Your Federal IRS Tax Refund Status
For years, I loved to get a tax refund. In fact, it seemed the only way I could save was by having extra withheld from my paycheck so that I’d get a big refund at the end of the year. Using this method, I was able to buy a new...
The Hidden Cost of Spending While In Debt
This article is by staff writer Adam Baker, who recently released an 83-page guide entitled Unautomate Your Finances. Courtney and I are big fans of what we call “mental filters”. These are simple little tips and tricks that we can use to increase our financial awareness. (J.D. likes to call these...
The Wisdom Journal
Roundup and Link Love: New Roundup Submission Form!
Today is the debut of my new Roundup Submission form found on the top navigation bar of each page on this site. If you would like to be included in my next roundup, head on over to the Roundup Requests page and enter your information. I usually compile a roundup...
Get A $25 Gift Certificate for TWO BUCKS
Restaurant.com has opened up their site once again, offering $25 gift certificates to great restaurants for the unbelievable price of TWO DOLLARS. If you want to get $25 in food for a tiny fraction of the price, head on over to Restaurant.com and use the coupon code: BITE when you...
What If Governments Used YNAB?
Sounds far fetched, I know, almost as crazy as our current administration banning the great American pastime of fishing. With bad news coming out of Washington so fast and furious that it’s hard to keep up, maybe someone from YNAB needs to educate our legislative and executive branches on what...
Now I Know Where Our Government Learned Math
It’s a funny little video, but it seems to represent how everyone involved in federal, state, and even local governments does math – badly. States and municipalities are increasingly running out of cash and on the verge of bankruptcy. Some municipalities have raised sales taxes as high as 12 percent!...
Two Thousand One Hundred Forty Two Reasons You Should Check Out NetQuote
That’s how many of your fellow readers checked out NetQuote last year after reading about it here at The Wisdom Journal. That’s a lot of people! One reader even took the time to email me about how much money he saved on his homeowners insurance using their service. And what exactly...
How To Submit A Roundup Request
My bi-weekly roundups are great fun – no really. I enjoy the reading part, but the coding part sometimes takes up a lot of time. So, taking a cue from my friend Paul at Fiscal Geek, I created a roundup submission form similar (eerily similar, no?) to his. Matt from...
CreditCardZoom.com
If you have a solid credit score you can often take advantage of 0% APR balance transfers offers to reduce your interest payments for 6 to 12 months. Unfortunatley, due to the new credit card legislation and the economic downturn, most issuers have pulled back many of the promotions that...
Changing Your Credit Card Due Date
If you are like most people, you have a lot of bills with a lot of different due dates. Rent and mortgage payments are usually due on the first of the month. Credit card companies each set their own due dates for your credit cards. If you find yourself in...
Are Credit Cards the Next Credit Crunch?
Meredith Whitney, one of the first financial analysts to accurately report on the credit crunch back in Oct 2007, wrote an interesting opinion piece for the WSJ. Ms. Whitney believes that Washington needs to act now to avoid another credit crunch. Six months earlier, she estimated that credit card...
Credit Card Foreign Transaction Fees
If you use your credit card while traveling abroad, your credit card company will often charge you a foreign currency transaction fee. This fee can be as high as 3% of the total amount of the purchase. Here is a quick summary of the fees charged by major credit card...
How Many Credit Cards Should You Own?
How many credit cards should you own? According to Suze Orman, you should own (or at least carry) only two credit cards: one for regular purchases and one for backup. She is particularly critical of department credit cards that lure consumers into getting a discount at the cash register...
Cash back credit cards offer cash-back rewards for the purchases you charge. Credit card companies will typically either send you a check at the end of the year or deduct the cash back you have earned from your credit card balance. Note that some credit cards require you to call...
Hustler Money Blog
Change Your Sprint Plan to $30 SERO YMMV
I know I know, I'm beating this subject to death but this plan is very very good. I've written in-depth about why you should join here. As you know, the $30 plan is dead. However, many people from different forums have reported to have some success after a few...
Astounding Freebie Around the Web
Here are the latest freebies on the web. As always, use a junk email and never give out your real phone number or credit card number. Use your real address for sending you freebies is okay. Make sure to check out MyDealsBlog daily for up to date everyday freebies. ...
Hot Deals WhiteStrips, Magazine, Samsung 55′ HDTV, Inspiron Laptop, Priority Points
Are you using shopping portals such as Fatwallet or Ebates? I highly recommend you to switch to Mr. Rebates ($5 bonus). They give you the highest cash back at most big name stores including Ebay, Best Buy, Priceline, etc. Mr. Rebates is easy, fast and very profitable with most cash...
New Chase $125 Bonus til 5/15/2010
The old $125 link is dead, however here's the new $100 bonus from Chase good until November 30th. I'm pretty sure they will take it down before the expiration date. With this $100 bonus, you can apply online. You must deposit $100 and set up direct deposit with the new...
Gevalia, AY410 Speaker System, OCZ Vertex Series, JetBlue $10, Motoroks S305
If you do shopping online, then you must shop through Mr. Rebates ($5 bonus). They give you the highest cash back at most big name stores including Ebay, Best Buy, Priceline, etc. For most of the items below, you can get 3-15% cash back by using Mr. Rebates. Simply log-in...
Using Sprint BlackBerry without BIS
I just got a Blackberry Tour over the weekend, and currently using the Blackberry on my Sprint family plan. I got the phone for free using www.sprint.com/accenture link. Although I'm not sure if people still can go through the site using bogus email with since Sprint is cracking down...
Christian Personal Finance
How To Pick Out A Computer: Money-Saving Tips
Desktop for Him, desktop for Her, family computer, laptop for each college student; The list goes on. Most Americans have access to a computer, if not their own, and like all things in life, computers die. They fail, they become obsolete and we have to dip into savings for a...
There are many charitable gifting techniques with varying degrees of complications, but you may be able to provide a relatively large sum of money to your Church utilizing life insurance for leverage. I will start with the two easiest examples, and then if there is an interest I can get...
How to Assess Your Investment Risk
Doesn't it seem like folks love to take risks when markets are booming, but absolutely hate it when markets stink? A question I often get is, "What kind of investment will give me good returns without the risk of losing my money!?" Well, when you find something like that let...
How to Handle Overdrawing Your Checking Account
Have you overdrawn your checking account before? You log into your checking account online and see big red numbers with a negative sign. It’s your account balance and you’ve overdrawn! But you’re a good money manager, right? You have your finances in order. How could...
What’s the Best Way to Help the Poor?
If you're a Christian, you can't help but read the Bible and be overwhelmed by God's concern for the poor, weak and marginalized in society. He tells us to be concerned for the widow and the orphan. Jesus himself said in Matthew 25 that, "As you did to one of...
Life’s Meaning and Stockholm Syndrome
I talk with hundreds of people each week. Yet few are living their ideal life. Few people inspire me. I see a lot of people going through the motions - living for the moment yet no passion, no purpose, and no plan. I hear a lot of negativity, a ton...
Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck
Last weekend for early bird filing discount
We continue to receive accolades (and new clients) for our tax preparation service which features a 30 minute consultation with me about anything on your financial mind. We’ve saved our clients thousands of dollars and seemingly routinely amend their prior year returns (those prepared by themselves or by another tax...
The best kind of tax deduction – a deduction for saving
Over at the Retirement Planning site at About.com, I just posted an article about the best kind of tax deductions: those that come from saving. Think about it. Most tax deductions require you to spend money in order to obtain the deduction. In my practice, the most common and largest deductions...
One of my relatives recently was charged a substantial fee for rolling his 401(k) plan out to an IRA. In my opinion, that’s total nonsense, even if it’s disclosed. It’s the equivalent of an “account closing fee.” Can you imagine? You: I’d like to close my account. Bank: I see you have...
Keeping it reasonably fun and affordable without power
Twice in the last two winters, we’ve lost power for about 36 hours. You: You should just pay the damn electric bill. I know you like to negotiate everything, but you’ve got two little kids – Massive ice storm last year. Massive windstorm last weekend. My write-up of the December 2008 event: Visiting...
Friday Q & A: Saving for a home – How to Save for a home
Saving for a home or, more precisely, how to save for a home is today’s Q & A. You: Q & A? Although Friday comes every week, Friday Q &A comes around only when someone submits a good question AND I have time to answer it. Both happened this week, so here...
Schedules L & M Will Help Millions of Taxpayers This Year – Will They Help You?
Schedules L & M are now available at the IRS web site, and post offices and libraries near you. You’ve never filed these forms before. You: How do you know? Schedules L and M didn’t exist before this filing season. You: Correct. Thanks. You: What are these schedules? You don’t know? You: Of course I don’t know!...