From the category archives:

Personal Finance

3 Painless Tips to Save Up for Something Special

I was having a conversation with my 5 year old tonight about his piggybank and he said he wasn’t ready to go to the bank yet since he didn’t save enough money yet. That triggered some memories (and an savings tip article idea!) about different ways I used to save money when I didn’t have [...]

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To Tip or Not to Tip – Tip Jars in Odd Places

In this installment of “To Tip or Not to Tip” where I examine the odd places I’ve been seeing tip jars show up, I ran into three tipping etiquette situations this weekend at a Casino where I wanted to solicit your feedback on a) who to tip and whether a tip is appropriate in a [...]

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Cash for Appliances is Coming – Hold Off on that Purchase!

Cash for Appliances, the sequel to Cash-for-clunkers (and now, the predecessor to cash for caulkers) is just around the corner. The US Department of Energy will be unveiling the Energy Star Appliance Rebate Program, which is projected to be a $300 Million stimulus package meant to further stimulate the economy. The government indicated that by [...]

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How Much is that Puppy? The Most Detailed Dog Cost Analysis You’ve Ever Seen

Owning a dog can be both the most rewarding purchase and life experience one could imagine while the full implications of dog costs and puppy costs can also be one of the most poorly and misunderstood family purchases one makes in a life time. Would you be surprised if I told you that raising this [...]

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Oil Gas Price Correlation: How to Estimate the Impact of Oil Prices on Your Wallet

Have you ever wondered what would happen to gas prices if oil prices skyrocketed to $200 as Goldman Sachs had predicated last year, or if oil prices plummeted to $20? It’s not easy to discern the oil-gas price correlation since there are other factors at play ranging from refining and distribution to taxes. Therefore, the [...]

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Carnival of Personal Finance #212: Independence Day Around the World Edition

Welcome to the 212th Carnival of Personal Finance! This week’s theme is based Independence Day of course – but, since we’ve gone global and this isn’t just a US-based readership, I thought I’d highlight how countries around the world have achieved Independence throughout history. Please feel free to check out the rest of my site, [...]

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How FSA Plan Account Contributions Can Save You Thousands

A Health Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA) can save you thousands of dollars via tax deductions each year in an effortless manner. While many employers offer the Flexible Spending Account as an additional perk, many employees simply don’t take advantage of it. The reasons vary from lack of understanding to downright apathy since it’s something [...]

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Start Investing Today: An Amazing Comparison of 25 vs 35 Year Old Starters

When I was in my late teens, my father shared with me some retirement savings advice that was so compelling that I said, “I need to start investing today!” and I while I didn’t really know how to start investing, I did some basic research with “Value Line”, sought out an actual broker (this was [...]

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6 Prudent Uses for your Tax Refund This Year

Now that tax day is finally behind us (well, except for the uber-procrastinators), the next consideration is what to do with that tax refund check. First of all, I hope people didn’t take their tax preparer up on the offer to get a rapid refund at exorbitant rates. As outlined here, it’s a total ripoff. [...]

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