According to a press release, the Treasury will no longer sell paper U.S. savings bonds through banks and other financial institutions as of January 1, 2012. You can still buy electronic savings bonds through TreasuryDirect.gov. I didn't see … [Read the rest]
Wow, I Actually Found Some Unclaimed Money
Posted on July 12, 2011 // 17 Comments
Over the years, I've read numerous articles about "missing money" that the government may be holding for me. I would always enter my name, but there was never any unclaimed property for me... until today! I was reading an Businessweek article … [Read the rest]
Tinkering With Site Design
Posted on July 12, 2011 // 16 Comments
I changed up some of the design of the website last night, not really sure why, I had some free time and have been meaning to try some things out. I don't have the motivation to do a complete redesign, but wanted to update things slightly to … [Read the rest]
Don’t Let 401(k) Auto-Enrollment Decide Your Contribution Rate For You
Posted on July 11, 2011 // 13 Comments
The Wall Street Journal has a rather surprising article 401(k) Law Suppresses Saving for Retirement regarding a recent law that allowed employers to automatically enroll their employees into their 401(k) retirement plans. The goal was to encourage … [Read the rest]
How Not To Select A Good Mutual Fund
Posted on July 8, 2011 // 9 Comments
I was looking through the Barnes & Noble bargain bin and found a book called "How to do just about everything". Okay, how to unplug a toilet... how to carve a turkey... hey, a personal finance section! Wow, quite awful. After coming home and … [Read the rest]
Certified Financial Planner (CFP) Education on the Cheap
Posted on July 6, 2011 // 27 Comments
Over the long weekend, a few conversations rekindled my curiosity about gaining a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation. Now, I really don't want to be a financial planner. I'm quite happy with my current career right now. I primarily … [Read the rest]
Weekend Reading: The American Dream, Dollar Coins, Fidelity Problems, and United/Continental Merger
Posted on July 4, 2011 // 12 Comments
Happy Birthday America! Here's some of what I've been reading over the long weekend: The Death of the American Dream I A good long-ish editorial from the The American Interest magazine about the "American Dream". The American Dream used to … [Read the rest]
California vs. Amazon.com in Sales Tax Battle
Posted on July 1, 2011 // 45 Comments
California, along with many other states, is broke. As part of an attempt to create more revenue, California passed a more aggressive law to force online merchants to collect sales tax. A 1992 Supreme Court decision stated that retailers that … [Read the rest]
Capital One 360 Financial Independence Day Promotions
Posted on July 1, 2011 // 4 Comments
Capital One 360 is running their usual "Financial" Independence Day promotion. Valid only July 1st & 2nd, 2011 (why not until the 4th? who knows). New 360 checking account customers will receive an opening bonus of $50 when they make three … [Read the rest]
Mortgage Down Payment Size vs. Delinquency Rate
Posted on June 30, 2011 // 14 Comments
As part of new reforms, the government is debating what downpayment size should be required for a "qualified" residential mortgage. If a mortgage doesn't meet the new standards, the lending bank would have to retain 5% ownership even if selling … [Read the rest]
Book Review: SuperFreakonomics – Economics Lessons
Posted on June 29, 2011 // 9 Comments
Super Freakonomics is the follow-up to the 2005 bestseller, Freakonomics by Levitt and Dubner. This review will not be a summary of all the stories inside, although they are indeed entertaining. Given that they compare Santas and prostitutes, … [Read the rest]
Top Credit Card Bonuses Roundup – June 2011
Posted on June 28, 2011 // 7 Comments
If you have a good credit score and the discipline not to get into consumer debt, you can profit from your responsibility by participating in various credit card promos where their ad dollars go into your pocket. There have been some exceptionally … [Read the rest]
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