So Washington Mutual, once the nation's largest savings and loan, yesterday became the nation's latest bank failure. If you have money deposited with WaMu---or use the bank for any other financial products like loans, credit cards, or your … [Read more...]

Banks are failing, the economy is lifeless, and taxpayers are getting the bill. Were this 1929, we’d have our money under our mattresses, and we’d be sitting on them. Assuming, of course, we still owned homes with mattresses! Now, the question … [Read more...]

My twenty something friends sometimes ask me whether they should hire a financial advisor. Usually, they have just read an article or heard a high-pressure marketing spiel. The fact is, unless you have over $100,000 in investments, you don’t need a … [Read more...]

I find it interesting that even though the Federal Reserve opted not to lower interest rates this week, some banks are adjusting their interest rates anyway. HSBC Direct lowered its online savings rate from 3.50% to 3.25%, giving competitor FNBO an … [Read more...]

Lehman Brothers’ and Merrill Lynch’s employees and investors are having a bad, bad day. But if you’re not one of them, how do the failures of these Wall Street giants affect your wallet today? Hopefully, you won’t even notice it. … [Read more...]

Online checking accounts are popping up like dandelions. Banks hope that promises to pay interest or waive fees on any balance will lure consumers away from brick and mortar checking accounts. Often, standard checking accounts at big banks are not … [Read more...]

Wanna watch 134 YouTube videos about people saving money? The videos are responses to a contest sponsored FNBO Direct, a high yield savings account that will give away $5,000 to five finalists to be selected in October. … [Read more...]

I think there's some truth to the title of Larry Wignet's book You're Broke Because You Want to Be. Heck, I'm broke because I made the (albeit uninformed) decision to buy things I couldn't afford for about five years. But I don't want to be broke … [Read more...]

Thanks to Emily from Taking Change for the guest post at Free Money Finance highlighting an important survey showing that young people are in financial dire straights. The report, released by the financial advocacy group Qvisory, indicates that … [Read more...]

I do not subscribe to the Suze Orman personal finance methodology. Unfortunately, I think most personal finance bloggers do. What am I talking about? It's the notion that: "If you spend money, you're stupid; If you're in debt, you're stupid." … [Read more...]