Archive for June 2009

Gardening for Health, Wealth, and Independence

Written by Matt Jabs - 18 Comments

“How fair is a garden amid the toils and passions of existence.”
-Benjamin Disraeli

In recent years, the adoption of an independent and sustainable lifestyle has become increasingly attractive to a growing number of people. I am one of the many who seek such a lifestyle and, though I am far from reaching this goal, my journey [...]

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Published on June 11th, 2009 - 18 Comments
Filed under: Frugality, House & Home
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Lending Club Historical Repayment Rates

Written by Nickel - 10 Comments

As a followup to my recent posts about investing through Lending Club, I thought it would be interesting to crunch some numbers related to historical loan performance. One obvious concern when it comes to peer-to-peer lending is that the borrowers will default. At best, this will severely dent the return of your overall portfolio. At [...]

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Published on June 10th, 2009 - 10 Comments
Filed under: Saving & Investing
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Tips for Hosting a Dinner Party

Written by Laura Martinez - 5 Comments

Hosting a dinner party is a great way to spend time with family and friends. It gives you a chance to relax over a good meal and catch up with everyone, and doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. With that in mind, I’ve asked friends to help me out as I try [...]

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Published on June 9th, 2009
Modified on October 4th, 2011 - 5 Comments
Filed under: Miscellany
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Ally Bank Review: New Name, Same Great Bank

Written by Nickel - 11 Comments

A few weeks ago, we received a letter saying that GMAC Bank had been re-branded as Ally Bank. We actually opened a GMAC account last fall (more on this below), so I was quite interested when I heard this news.
If you’re in a rush, and just want the executive summary, here it is:
Ally Bank is [...]

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Published on June 8th, 2009 - 11 Comments
Filed under: Banking, Reviews
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Weekly Roundup – Top Ten Edition

Written by Nickel - 3 Comments

A few months back, I was invited to do a “Guest Top Ten” list for Blogs.com, but I lost track of the e-mail and forgot to do it. Fast forward to last week when the e-mail resurfaced… Intrigued by the opportunity, I decided that it would be a great chance to give a shout out [...]

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Published on June 7th, 2009 - 3 Comments
Filed under: Link Love
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The Financial Snapshot

Written by Guest Contributor - 14 Comments

This is a guest post by J. Money of Budgets are Sexy. If you like what you see here, please consider subscribing to his RSS feed.
The financial snapshot. It’s a new trend, baby! Okay, maybe not… At least not yet… But if it were, I guarantee that people would be in a MUCH better shape [...]

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Published on June 5th, 2009
Modified on August 31st, 2009 - 14 Comments
Filed under: Planning
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Save Money (and Water!) With a Rain Barrel

Written by Matt Jabs - 64 Comments

Installing a rain barrel is an excellent way to reduce runoff, keep storm water out of the municipal system, and save money. Pure rain collected from your rooftop has relatively few contaminants, and is perfect for a variety of outdoor uses.
The idea of harnessing rainwater has intrigued me for years now, but I’ve never gotten [...]

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Published on June 4th, 2009
Modified on June 11th, 2009 - 64 Comments
Filed under: Frugality, House & Home
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Lending Club Portfolio Fully Funded

Written by Nickel - 7 Comments

This is a just a quick note to say that my Lending Club portfolio is now fully funded. I have twenty $25 notes in my “Low Risk” portfolio with an average rate of 9.85%, and twenty $25 loans in my “High Risk” portfolio with an average rate of 15.16%.
Since these loans didn’t all fund at [...]

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Published on June 3rd, 2009 - 7 Comments
Filed under: Saving & Investing
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How to Pay Off Your Mortgage Early

Written by Nickel - 117 Comments

Should you payoff your mortgage early? I asked that question a couple of weeks ago, and the majority of respondents said “yes.” With that in mind, I thought I’d put together a list of strategies for doing just that…
Refinance your mortgage to a shorter term
If you refinance your mortgage to a shorter term, say from [...]

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Published on June 3rd, 2009
Modified on June 23rd, 2011 - 117 Comments
Filed under: Debt Reduction, House & Home, Mortgages
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Planning a Family Vacation Without Breaking the Bank

Written by Laura Martinez - 13 Comments

Taking a summer vacation can be a great way to get away and spend some time together as a family. In some cases, however, vacations end up draining savings accounts and causing more stress then they relieve.
The good news is that it doesn’t have expensive to go on a great vacation. I’ve listed below some [...]

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Published on June 2nd, 2009
Modified on October 4th, 2011 - 13 Comments
Filed under: Frugality, Travel
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