The Sun’s Financial Diary

Okay, I love the holiday season. Love it. And I am the biggest sucker for holiday related consumer goods. Holiday themed peppermint flavored drinks? Yes please. Jingle bell shaped earrings? I’ll take two. The Nutcracker on ice starring that guy who did the voice of Papa Smurf? Oh, I wouldn’t dream of not buying tickets.
This [...]

Earlier this year, the Labor Department announced that standard deductions, federal income tax brackets, and personal exemptions for most tax filers will remain unchanged in 2010. These amounts typically rise by the rate of inflation every year. This year though with the economy still sluggish taxpayers will see no increase in these amounts [...]

Early last week American Express introduced a new card called ZYNC, a card that aims at young consumers in their 20’s and 30’s who are looking for credit cards that offer flexible rewards program yet don’t cost a lot to own. Since it’s a charge card, not a credit card, the cardholder is required to [...]

While giving to those less fortunate is always important, the holidays provide a unique opportunity to reflect on our own blessings and to give to others who may not be as fortunate. For the past several years, I’ve enjoyed taking my son out to toy stores where I helped him select two toys, one for [...]

The holiday is right around the corner and it’s time to prepare some holiday gifts for the kids’ school teachers. In the past, we always teamed with other parents to give the teacher one gift card with contributions from everybody in the group. This year, things are little different because we are relatively new and [...]

Citibank is running a special holiday promotion for two of its student credit cards: the Citi Forward Card and the mtvU Card. From now till January 15, 2010, if you apply and are approved for either one of the two cards, you can receive extra rewards (in ThankYou Points) when using the card during the [...]

Recently, CNN Money declared that “Cash is King for the Holidays“. According to a new survey done by the National Retail Federation, one out of four consumers intend to pay for their holiday gifts using cash, that’s 9.1% increase from last year. Another 42.5% of Americans intend to use their debit or check cards for [...]

Are you a college student who are shopping for your first credit card?
If you are, Citibank has a credit card for you, which not only gives you generous cash back for items you are likely to shop very often, but also rewards you for having a good grade. The card is called Citi mtvU Platinum [...]

I am using Fidelity 529 plan to save for our older daughter’s future education. The investing started nearly four years ago and it’s still going every month now. When I read an article on Morningstar.com yesterday that Fidelity is reducing costs of its direct-sold 529 plans, I was quite happy to hear the news because, [...]

Americans have short memories like goldfish, and the same thing is true about American investors and savers. With unemployment at its highest level since 1983, more people have been squirreling away money in rainy day funds and other investments recently. The recession, unemployment, and dwindling 401(k) plans have had everyone scared to spend [...]