Archive for 2012

Being Too Frugal Can End Up Costing You Money

Written by Hank Coleman - 4 Comments

I recently came across a coworker who was burning the midnight oil. I thought that I was the only one who had to work late that night. When I asked him what he was doing, he told me that he did not have an internet connection at home, so he was using our work internet [...]

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Published on May 15th, 2012 - 4 Comments
Filed under: Frugality
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Check Fraud: Use a Shredder — and Hope Everyone Else Does, Too!

Written by Nickel - 4 Comments

I’ve suggested in the past that you should think twice before writing a check to a complete stranger. After all, your checks contain both your account number and your banks routing number — exactly what someone would need to help themselves to your money.
This is especially troubling given the ease with which checks can be [...]

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Published on May 14th, 2012 - 4 Comments
Filed under: Banking, Identity Theft
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HSA Contribution Limits for 2013

Written by Nickel - 14 Comments

It’s never too early to look ahead to next year. With that in mind, I wanted to highlight the 2013 HSA contribution limits. As many of you know, we’ve been using our health savings account as an additional retirement investment vehicle. That is, we’ve been contributing to it and saving up the documentation related to [...]

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Published on May 11th, 2012 - 14 Comments
Filed under: Insurance, Saving & Investing, Taxes
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How to Close an Ally CD Early

Written by Nickel - 6 Comments

I’ve talked a lot in the past about using long-term CDs to improve your short-term savings yields. In particular, I’ve talked about using five year CDs from Ally thanks to their low early withdrawal penalty.
Until now, however, much of that strategy was theoretical. Yes, I had bought the five year CDs to hold some of [...]

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Published on May 10th, 2012 - 6 Comments
Filed under: Banking
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Seven Ways to Make Big Bucks at Your Garage Sale

Written by Ed Avis - 5 Comments

As the weather grows warmer, many people start thinking about unloading those assorted, needless items they’ve accumulated over the last year by holding a garage sale. How many wicker baskets and bud vases does one family need, after all?
Most garage sales fail to produce the windfall the proprietors are seeking however, because they just wing [...]

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Published on May 10th, 2012 - 5 Comments
Filed under: Frugality
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What’s the Lowest Possible Credit Score?

Written by Nickel - 6 Comments

Dave Ramsey is famous for claiming that he has a credit score of zero, by which he means he avoids credit all together. But is it actually possible to have a credit score of zero?
According to FICO spokesman Barry Paperno, the answer is “no.” FICO credit scores range from 300-850, so the lowest possible score [...]

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Published on May 9th, 2012 - 6 Comments
Filed under: Credit Cards
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$250 Signup Bonus from Citi ThankYou Preferred

Written by Nickel - One Comment

It’s time for another bonus offer from Citi… This time it’s 25,000 bonus points from the Citi ThankYou Preferred card — enough for $250 in store gift cards through the ThankYou network. Here’s the deal…
Simply apply for the card, get approved, and spend $2,000 within the first four months to get the bonus. There’s no [...]

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Published on May 8th, 2012 - One Comment
Filed under: Credit Cards
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How to Help Your Family Financially – and Stay Sane

Written by Sarah Gilbert - 5 Comments

This is a guest post from Sarah Gilbert.
My husband and I both grew up in large families, and both of them were poor throughout our childhoods; my parents for beliefs (my dad was a Baptist missionary and a part-time minister for many years) and his because of a fractured family and substance abuse.
In both cases, [...]

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Published on May 8th, 2012
Modified on May 9th, 2012 - 5 Comments
Filed under: Miscellany
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Average Price of a New Car?

Written by Nickel - 9 Comments

Having just bought two cars in the past month, I was interested to read a handful of interesting car-related tidbits this weekend. For starters, the average price of a new car or light truck in April was just a shade over $30k. $30,303 to be exact, which represents a $1200 increase over last year.
Needless to [...]

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Published on May 7th, 2012 - 9 Comments
Filed under: Automotive
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Lending Club Recovered Funds from Defaulted Loans

Written by Nickel - 8 Comments

While updating our investment portfolio last month, I discovered that Lending Club had actually recovered some funds from previously defaulted loans. We’re not talking about a huge amount here — around $18 minus ca. $5 in collection fees — but it was still a welcome occurrence.
The total amount recovered was mostly from a single loan, [...]

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Published on May 4th, 2012 - 8 Comments
Filed under: Saving & Investing
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