This is a guest post from Suba Iyer.
When I graduated and started looking for my first job a few years ago, I ended up with 2 jobs – one in a very prestigious University and another in private sector. The decision was quite easy, the University offered me $52,000 after negotiation and the private company [...]

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This is a bit of a rant, so please bear with me…
As you’re likely aware, we have four school-aged kids. As such, it’s not uncommon to have one virus or another making its way through our house. And sometimes this results in having sick kids who need to stay home from school.
In an [...]

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The typical washer-dryer combo unit lasts about eight years. The one in my home was in its 14th year, and living on borrowed time when it finally expired last year.
Its demise meant a large unexpected expense I hadn’t counted on. I bit the bullet and called the same appliance retailer I’d bought my last combo [...]

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Okay, not a very cheery title, but the fact that death is a bummer subject is the problem. The mere fact that people don’t want to discuss it prevents them from taking care of some of the financial responsibilities associated with dying. So, if have avoided the subject so far, and in particular if you [...]

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As I’ve asserted in this space before, news on the healthcare front has often seemed unrelentingly bad. And it’s been that way a long time. First came the demise of the house call, then the soaring cost of care delivered anywhere but where folks would like it, in the home. Ensuing decades brought more bad [...]

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Earlier this week, I ran across an interesting article over at Investor Junkie. In it, Larry described the destruction of his Long Island rental property by Hurricane Sandy.
One of the most interesting points in all of this (at least to me) was that his renter did have a renter’s insurance policy, but their losses weren’t [...]

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I mentioned this in passing when I recently wrote about open enrollment season, but I wanted to remind you that healthcare flexible spending account (FSA) contribution limits have been capped at $2500 for 2013. In most cases, this will be a reduction vs. what’s been possible in the past.
This change actually traces back to the [...]

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I’m not sure about you, but my employer’s open enrollment period is in full swing. In fact, there’s just over a week remaining for those that want to change their elections.
I’m not sure about you, but we’re not changing anything — at least not in terms of our health insurance. We will, however, ratchet up [...]

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I was just perusing my employers HR web page looking for information on our upcoming open enrollment period when I ran across a link to information on COBRA coverage for employees who have separated from their employer. While I’ve never had to use COBRA coverage myself, it’s a valuable option to have.
In case you’re not [...]

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I’ve always been fascinated by the weather. It should thus come as no surprised that my eyes are glued to the TV (or web) whenever a hurricane approaches land. The last few days have been no exception, as Isaac made his way across the Gulf and took aim for Louisiana.
With that as a backdrop, I [...]

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