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Does your debit card have a daily spending limit? Most likely, yes. A debit card spending maximum is set by the individual bank or credit union that issues the debit card. Some debit cards have spending capped at $1,000, $2,000, or $3,000 daily.

Try to spend more than the maximum allowed, and your debit card will be declined even if you have enough money in your checking account. Very embarrassing. There are, however, some steps you can take to deal with debit card spending limits. [...]

The reason I ask is how much money you have earned so far in your lifetime is not to focus in on “how much” income each of us has made or hasn’t made.

I ask because most of us don’t know off the top of our heads, and because taking five minutes to add it up gives you an interesting perspective on the value of money–perspective I wish I’d had ten, eight, even just five years ago. And don’t worry, tallying up your lifetime income isn’t impossible because it just needs to be an estimate. [...]

Check the personal finance section of your local bookstore, and you’ll find it’s brimming with hundreds of titles guaranteeing to help you get out of debt, get rich on your current salary, or beat the stock market. Truth is, most are regurgitating the same financial principles you can find on this and other Web sites for free.

But in case you really want to know what you’re missing, here are the “Cliff notes” versions of five of the bestselling personal finance reads. [...]

There is a bright side to all of this economic doom and gloom going around. If you’re poised to buy a home—or even a car—in the next few months, you’re going to get quite a deal. [...]

Rather than explain mortgage rates every time I write about home financing, let me briefly explain the differences between fixed and adjustable rate mortgages, and mortgage points here. [...]

Do you, by choice, not carry (or use) a credit card at all? I would like to hear from people who have made the decision to go credit card-free. How long have you been without plastic? Why did you kiss credit cards goodbye? How has living credit card-free working? Has it created any problems? [...]

Kiplinger’s magazine has voted FNBO Direct the “best online savings account of 2008″. [...]

The federal funds rate is just 1%—as low as it has been in fifty years. Theoretically, credit card interest rates should be at all-time lows, too. Trouble is, major credit card issuers, battling soaring delinquencies and charge offs, are raising, not lowering, rates. Pay your credit card over time? The difference between 8% and 15% interest will add up. Here are two credit cards with a couple of the lowest regular credit card APRs I’ve seen—6.5% and 8%. [...]

To everyone who called because I haven’t written lately: Thank you, I’m okay! Truth is, I’ve been preoccupied shopping, wrangling work, and planning an out-of-state move. But today, I saw a Salvation Army bell ringer (some of whom, incidentally, now accept credit cards). It reminded me to forget all the selfish stuff for a moment. Charities feel the recession, too; all the more reason to help however we can. And, as it turns out, you don’t have to fork over your own hard-earned cash to make a difference. [...]