Here are some of my favorite FiveCentNickel (subscribe) posts from a year ago this past week:
» Become an Amazon.com Price Drop Ninja
» Lessons from the Most Talked About Topics of 2006
» The Many Versions of Monopoly
» Why do Credit Cards Expire?
» Warning: Airline Miles Expiring
And here’s what was going on two years ago:
» Use Coinstar [...]
Archive for December 2007
From the Archives (December 16th – December 22nd)
Filed under: Best of...
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Christmas Shopping Roundup
Given that we’re heading into the last weekend before Christmas, I thought I’d throw together a special roundup of articles focusing on Christmas shopping.
For starters, JD put together a nice article about the four things that kids want for Chrismas. The trouble is, JD doesn’t have kids, so he doesn’t really know what he’s talking [...]
Filed under: Link Love
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What is the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)?
Yesterday I noted that Congress has passed a temporary fix for the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). This is actually something that’s been weighing pretty heavily on my mind lately so, when a commenter asked about what the AMT is, I thought I’d spend a little time pulling together some details…
For starters, exactly what is the [...]
Filed under: Taxes
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HSBC Direct Drops Savings Rate
Given the recent rates cuts by the Federal Reserve, this isn’t terribly surprising, but…
HSBC Direct has reduced their savings rate from 4.50% to 4.25% 3.55% 3.5% 2.60%.
If you’re curious how HSBC Direct stacks up against other features, be sure to check out my roundup of the best online savings accounts. And for updated rates, be [...]
Filed under: Banking
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Congress Passes Temporary Fix for the Alternative Minimum Tax
In case you haven’t heard, Congress pushed through a one year stay of execution for millions of middle class tax payers that otherwise would’ve been snagged by the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). Without this fix, the number of filers subject to the AMT in would’ve jumped from 4 million in 2006 to 25 million in [...]
Filed under: Taxes
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More Great Books About Money
I’m in the process of reading The Four Pillars of Investing (an excellent book, by the way) and I thought I’d share with you some of William Bernstein’s insights into investing. According to Bernstein, you really only need guidance in two areas: asset allocation and self-discipline. And how should you go about learning about these [...]
Filed under: Reviews, Saving & Investing
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Another Blockbuster Price Increase
I just got an e-mail from Blockbuster that purportedly contained “Important Account Information.” Upon opening it, I discovered that, in order to continue providing us with “the unmatched convenience of both online and in-store DVD rentals,” they’ll be raising our monthly rate from $17.99 to $19.99. Yuck. For reference, we’re on the unlimited 3-at-a-time by [...]
Filed under: Online
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More Credit Cards With Signup Bonuses
This is just a quick note to let you know that American Express has rolled out another couple of promotions… For a limited time, if you apply for the Amex Preferred Rewards Gold Card you’ll get 10,000 bonus points, which can be exchanged for a $100 gift card, after your first purchase.
Here are the details [...]
Filed under: Credit Cards
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Thoughts on the New Energy Bill
In case you haven’t heard, Congress recently approved an 822 page energy bill (known as the Energy Independence and Security Act) that President Bush is expected to sign into law. This bill is expected to reduce energy usage by 7% and carbon dioxide emissions by 9% in 2030. Excuse me? It’s going to take 23 [...]
Filed under: Energy
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Singing the Praises of PriceProtectr
Last year I relied very heavily upon Amazon.com for my Christmas shopping. And now that we’ve signed up for Amazon Prime, I’m relying on them even more heavily this year. The combination of convenience, generally low prices, and their price drop guarantee is pretty hard to resist.
Filed under: Frugality, Online
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Top Cards by Category
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- How to Become a Millionaire
- How to Get Out of Debt
- The Best Dollars I've Ever Spent
- How Our Estate Plan is Structured
- How We Paid Our Mortgage In Less than 10 Years
- Money Making Ideas
- How to Manage Your Asset Allocation with Multiple Accounts
- Consumption Smoothing - Save While the Saving's Good
- How to Save on Groceries
- How Much Life Insurance Do You Need?
- Eleven Great Books About Money
- Dave Ramsey is Bad at Math
- Dish Network Customer Service SUCKS
- $8,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Pay Off Mortgage Early or Invest?
- How to Claim the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Reduced Credit Limits? Share Your Experience
- $15,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit
- Ethanol Blended Gas = Lower Mileage?
- Termite Control: Sentricon vs. Termidor
- How Much Should You Pay a Babysitter?
- Federal Income Tax Rates Went Down but Your Federal Tax Withholding Increased. Here's Why...
- Would the "Fair Tax" Gut the Economy?
How to save money on insurance
- Double-Check Your Ally CDs
- Stocks are Not Bonds, CDs, or Savings Accounts
- The Best Values in Colleges - 2012 Edition
- Five Myths About Renter's Insurance
- Own Your Investments, Rent Your Fun
- Citibank to Issue Credit Cards in China
- Heartstrings and Pursestrings
- Saving Money at the Grocery Store: Store Brand Pricing on the Rise
- Missing Tax Paperwork?
- Is Your Investment Allocation Right?
