The other day, I asked about the difference between “frugal” and “cheap”. There were a number of great answers, but one in particular stood out to me…

According to Kyle of Amateur Asset Allocator:

“My definition is simple: if I do it, it’s frugal. If somebody else does it, it’s cheap.”

Hmmm… I’m not so sure that Kyle is kidding.

On a slightly more serious note, Dylan had this to say:

“Being frugal is about maximizing value. Being cheap is about the lowest price.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

A few weeks back, a reader named Randy sent me a tip about an article dealing with money and (in)fidelity. While the concept of infidelity is typically used in the context of adultery, infidelity is more generally defined as disloyalty. The article then goes on to discuss the concept of financial infidelity — that is, keeping financial secrets from your spouse. [more]

Not long ago, I asked readers to list their favorite online brokers. The results are now in, so I thought I’d compile the results here, for your edification. What follows is a list of online brokers that garnered multiple recommendations. There were a number of broker that received a single recommendation, but I’m only including those that got at least two votes. [more]

This past week I finally gave in and joined all the cool kids who have a Twitter account. In case you’re not aware, Twitter is a “micro-blogging” service where you can make short (140 character max) text-based posts using a variety of methods (web, 3rd party app, IM, or text message). This is an interesting little service that provides an outlet for the sort of minutiae that you just have to share with someone, but which isn’t really worth bothering anyone.

If you’re curious, you can follow me on twitter by going here: http://www.twitter.com/fcn

And with that, let’s get to the roundup… [more]

FiveCentNickel participated in five carnivals this week. Here they are along with links to my articles that were included in each.

The Carnival of Personal Finance included “Ten Things to Do With Your Tax Refund.” Also included was “Beware the Promise of Interest Free Purchases” from creditaddict.com.

The Festival of Frugality included “Five Frugal Shopping Tips.”

The Best of Me Symphony included “Twelve Tips for Preparing Your House for Sale.” Also included was “FICO Credit Score Changes Looming” from creditaddict.com.

The Tips for Green Living Carnival included “The Lazy Cheapskate’s Guide to Saving the Planet.”

The Carnival of Financial Planning included “Building an Emergency Fund.”

If you’re expecting a tax stimulus rebate payment, your wait just got shorter. While the original tax rebate payment schedule called for payments to begin on May 2nd, a new computer system has allowed the feds to accelerate the schedule. Payments are now supposed to commence this coming Monday, four days early. [more]

I just ran across an interesting article about renewable energy over at the Green Tech weblog. In it, they break down the type of investment that would be required to replace the energy provided by a cubic mile of oil (CMO).

In case you’re not aware (as I wasn’t), a CMO is a measure of energy consumption. Apparently the world consumes slightly more than one CMO worth of energy from oil per year, and the equivalent of three CMOs from all energy sources. Over 80% of this total energy usage comes from fossil fuels, including oil, coal, and natural gas (see graph, below). [more]

While we haven’t officially in a recession, we’re still standing on pretty shaky economic ground. As such, I thought I’d post a recent list of the best careers to have in a recession from Money Magazine. In general terms, this list reflects the careers with the best combination of pay and expected growth rate over the next decade.

1. Financial adviser - 47% growth rate - $74,000 median income
2. Software program manager - 29% growth rate - $103,000 median income
3. Database administrator - 29% growth rate - $77,000 median income
4. Physical therapist - 27% growth rate - $67,000 median income
5. Physician’s assistant - 25% growth rate - $84,000 median income
6. Environmental specialist - 25% growth rate - $53,000 median income
7. Hydrologist - 24% growth rate - $59,600 median income
8. College professor - 23% growth rate - $79,000 median income
9. Certified public accountant - 18% growth rate - $64,000 median income
10. Teacher - 12% growth rate - $48,000 median income

Looking at the list, it’s largely comprised of white collar service-type postitions, presumably in response to a growing (and aging) population. Honestly, I was a bit surprised that there weren’t more medical professions on the list — what about doctors and/or registered nurses? I would think that those that specialize in non-elective procedures would fare quite well in an economic downturn. Yes, they’re getting squeezed by insurance companies, but people aren’t going to stop needing medical care.

A reader named Elizabeth recently left a comment about Kroger’s tax rebate promotion.

For those of you that are unaware, Kroger (KR) is a large grocery chain based out of Cincinnati, with nearly 2,500 stores spread across multiple states.

Starting May 2nd, Kroger will allow customers to exchange their “economic stimulus” rebate check for store gift cards with an extra 10% added to it. So your $300 rebate is good for $330 at Kroger, $600 = $660, and so on. But wait! It gets better… [more]

As many of you know, we renovated our house this past fall. The work that we had done included an addition, replacement of our deck, conversion of our old laundry room into a powder room, and the construction of a small outbuilding.

Over this past weekend, our property tax re-assessment showed up in our mailbox. While I was expecting to see an increase, I wasn’t prepared for what I saw when I opened the envelope, especially given current market conditions. [more]