Jul 2nd, 2009
Professional poker players often quip: “Don’t throw good money after bad”. At the poker table, you have to know when to stop betting a hand and admit that an opponent has you beat. The same holds true in your financial life. Whatever financial mistakes you made in the past are over. What matters is how you play going forward. Continue Reading »
Posted in Personal Finance | 2 Comments »
Jun 24th, 2009
I can’t imagine life without a checking account. But millions of Americans don’t use direct deposit, write checks, or use a debit card. Some because they’d prefer not to. And some because they can’t. For those that can’t have a checking account, chances are they bounced one too many checks and are flagged in ChexSystems—the “credit bureau” for checking accounts. What is ChexSystems? And why does it matter? Continue Reading »
Posted in Credit | 1 Comment »
Jun 23rd, 2009
The guy with the $50,000 luxury car. The couple with the $3,000 a month loft apartment. The girl who spends $200 a week on locally-grown food. The guy who spends $200 a month on gym memberships and fitness classes. The guy with four motorcycles. Do you know them? These are extreme examples, but most of us have one or two spending weaknesses. Even if we’re otherwise smart with our money—even if we know better—we splurge in a few areas. As long as you limit your splurges and as long as you are sure of the value of those splurges to you personally, your spending weakness is probably a good thing. Continue Reading »
Posted in Budgeting, Frugal Living | 4 Comments »
Jun 22nd, 2009
I logged into my free Quicken Online account yesterday for the first time in a while. Now that Quicken has about 90 days of data from all of my financial accounts, I started to play around with the trends feature. And I loved it. The “trends” tab on Quicken Online is arguably the free budgeting tool’s best feature, and provides a way to look at your spending that would be incredibly difficult–if not impossible–to create on your own. Continue Reading »
Posted in Budgeting | 1 Comment »
Jun 17th, 2009
For better or worse, debt settlement is all the rage these days. The New York Times wrote yesterday about a debt-ridden freelance writer who settled a $5,000 credit card debt for half of the original balance. The Today Show discussed debt settlement on its program this morning. What is debt settlement? Does it work? And what are the consequences of settling a debt for less than you owe? Continue Reading »
Posted in Debt Help | 1 Comment »
Jun 17th, 2009
We saw it coming. Last month Congress and President Obama changed the rules for credit cards by signing the CARD Act into law. A few weeks later, the credit card companies are already responding by increasing interest rates on existing customers. Have you been hit with a rate jacking in the last month? Please share your story in a comment. Here are a couple examples I’ve already seen. Continue Reading »
Posted in Credit, Debt Help | 10 Comments »
Jun 16th, 2009
Everybody I know that has bought or will soon be buying a home spends countless hours searching for the perfect home. Few, if any, spend much time searching for the perfect mortgage. Make no mistake; finding the right first home is important. But your dream home could be for naught if you end up in a less-than-ideal mortgage. If you’re in the market to buy your first home, make sure you master the art of how to find the best mortgage for you before you set foot in your first open house. Continue Reading »
Posted in Credit, Real Estate | No Comments »
Jun 16th, 2009
Even as our economy got really hairy this Winter, we avoided repeating the Great Depression in part because Americans didn’t make a run on banks and withdraw cash to hide under the mattress. Keeping all of your liquid assets in cash may not be the smartest move, but that’s not necessarily the case for stashing a small wad of cash in a safe place. Continue Reading »
Posted in Personal Finance | 2 Comments »
Jun 11th, 2009
My father drives an old Lincoln town car that has over 300,000 miles on it. That’s right, 300,000. Not only does he drive it, but he commutes over 90 miles each way in it, every day. Everybody who knows him thinks he should have gotten a new car oh, about 100,000 miles ago. But my dad is fanatically frugal and, perhaps more importantly, he simply likes his car. He’s determined to drive that old Lincoln until it simply doesn’t want to drive anymore. Unless the so-called “cash-for-clunkers” bill becomes law. The bill (which the House passed it today) could offer drivers like my dad up to $4,500 towards a new, more fuel-efficient ride. What’s the cash-for-clunkers bill all about? And could you benefit? Continue Reading »
Posted in Cars, Economy, Taxes | 11 Comments »
Jun 8th, 2009
Summer has arrived in Maine. Of course, that means it’s time for a bite of a Guinness World Record-breaking 60-foot long lobster roll. No kidding! I just watched a troupe of roller derby players unload the world’s longest seafood sandwich from the back of a flatbed truck. Obviously, it would have been easier to craft individual rolls for attendants of Portland’s annual Old Port Festival. But the world’s longest lobster roll was not built to be practical, it was built to be celebratory; much like the Carnival of Personal Finance. Continue Reading »
Posted in Roundups and Carnivals | 13 Comments »
I'm David, an ex- financial journalist and recovering debtaholic. I'll help you get out of debt, get saving, and get on with life. Sound good? Please subscribe (RSS or e-mail) or follow me on Twitter.
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