My Money Blog

How To Get Bumped Off Your Flight On Purpose

Posted on December 24, 2006 // 31 Comments

Well, Friday was a interesting day. An accident on the freeway almost keeps us from making it to the airport on time, and then when we do get there we are almost bumped off our flight for $600. Did you know that airlines regularly overbook their … [Read the rest]

Free 1 Year Membership to Entertainment Book Online

Posted on December 22, 2006 // 7 Comments

SBC is currently offering free access to the Entertainment Book online. If you don't know, this is basically a big coupon book that people usually buy for $20-$40. I'm not a big Entertainment Book fan, as I rarely frequent the restaurants on their … [Read the rest]

Plenty of Holiday Weekend Reading

Posted on December 22, 2006 // 4 Comments

Here are some of the posts that I've enjoyed reading through recently: TiredButHappy is getting flack for her used car. Why must we judge? I secretly like the fact that our cars aren't worth very much, if only to see if people care. Is that … [Read the rest]

2006 In Review: A Year of My Money Blog

Posted on December 21, 2006 // 30 Comments

Out of the 637 posts that I scribbled this year, here are the ones that represent the good, the bad, and the fun of our 2006 financial adventure: The Good First, I started it off right by making financial goals (which give you something to focus … [Read the rest]

Median Housing Price to Income Ratios For Various Cities

Posted on December 21, 2006 // 26 Comments

A good source for population, housing, and economic data for your area is FactFinder.Census.gov. From the 2005 data provided, I decided to compare the median value of housing to the median household incomes for various cities (with a West Coast … [Read the rest]

Update to My Rough Guide To Money and Investing

Posted on December 20, 2006 // 6 Comments

I just made an update to My Rough Guide to Money and Investing, a loose framework of some of my more general money-management tips. Hopefully this is more organized and easier for everyone to digest than trying to dig through the archives. So … [Read the rest]

$250 Bonus for American Express Business Card

Posted on December 20, 2006 // 11 Comments

The American Express Platinum Business Premium Cash Rebate Card is again offering a $250 statement credit (update: removed) after your first purchase, with no annual fee. If you got in on this last time like I did, you may not be able to get it … [Read the rest]

December 2006 Investment Portfolio Snapshot

Posted on December 18, 2006 // 18 Comments

Now how about a snapshot of our investments, as of the end of the day 12/15. Remarkably, our investments have increased $4,911 (7.3%) since my last update in October. Another example of how I can't predict the stock market. We're already done … [Read the rest]

Specific Mutual Fund Investment Ideas For Beginners

Posted on December 18, 2006 // 54 Comments

(Note: This is an older post from my archives, and was last revised in 2007, so some things may be out of date. Please check out my investing guide for more recent material.) Although I get asked regularly to do so, I'm always wary of making … [Read the rest]

Bank of America $250 Best Mortgage Value Guarantee

Posted on December 17, 2006 // 12 Comments

I was chatting with my local Bank of America banker about mortgages, and she mentioned that they have a Best Mortgage Value Guarantee where if you apply for a mortgage with them, but end up going with another lender, they will give you a check for … [Read the rest]

StartSampling: Get Free Product Samples

Posted on December 17, 2006 // 5 Comments

I got some reader requests for more Bored Money entries. Remember, this category is for stuff that I feel has a relatively low reward-to-effort ratio. This usually includes things that involve taking surveys or that involve smaller or … [Read the rest]

Why Your CLUE Report Is Important

Posted on December 16, 2006 // 5 Comments

Follow-up: Not being a homeowner, I may not have adequately expressed the importance of knowing what's on your free CLUE report. For a better explanation, see this MSN article titled "Insurers keep a secret history of your home". If they decide … [Read the rest]