The Sun's Financial Diary » PF blogoshpere

Weekend Linkage - May 18, 2008

Sun — Mon, 19 May 2008 03:10:19 +0000

Original post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

Check out the following articles form The Money Writers and beyond.

Reader Mail: How Do I Reduce Investment Fees? @ Million Dollar Journey
Stay away from load funds, buy funds with lower expense ratio, and avoid frequent trading of stocks (unless you do zero-commission trading). Well, these are actually my ideas

Save Money on Gas - How I Saved 11.9% at the Pump With a Sneaky Trick @ Money Smart Life
Not too shabby with gas price approaching the $4/gallon mark. I only get 3% back with my Chase Freedom card.

Increase Your Salary Without Increasing Your Work @ The Digerati Life
The known secret is “work smart, not harder.”

4 Investing Ideas for Your Economic Stimulus Tax Rebate Check @ Lazy Man and Money
Did you make up your mind on the money yet? I haven’t got our check, but it will probably stay in my bank account as I have nothing particular to buy (including stock/mutual fund).

Investing in the Stock Market Over the Past 10 Years: How Did Dollar-Cost Averaging Fare? @ Generation X Finance
I looked at the same issue of dollar cost averaging last year with VFINX and the conclusion is: Invest as early as you can.

Credit Card Arbitrage Q&A @ My Dollar Plan
I LOVE getting free money from credit card companies. They charge ridiculously high interest rates and credit cad arbitrage makes them pay a little back

10 Career Quotes, My Take, and TGIF @ Brip Blap
What do you expect from your career? Are you still motivated?

Balancing a Checkbook @ Money Ning
Do you?

Finally, I participated in the last Carnival of Personal Finance, held at Money Under 30 with a post on tips on save money on gas.

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Weekend Linkage - May 11, 2007

Sun — Sun, 11 May 2008 15:43:51 +0000

Original post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

Personal Finance Across Borders I - Retirement Accounts Million Dollar Journey compared retirement saving accounts offered in the U.S. and Canada. No much difference I have to say.

7 Tips to Simplify Today Brip Blap offers some ideas to live a simple life. The one I like the most is “Stop trading, start Investing.”

Money Tips for New College Graduates - Spending, Saving, & Budgeting Advice Money Smart Life talked about what newly graduated students needs to know about money in post-college life.

How To Deal With Debt Collection Problems: Don’t Get Harassed! The Digerati Life shares her experience in dealing with collection agencies.

Lessons From the Microsoft - Yahoo Negotiations Lazy Man and Money looked at the collapsed talk and found some values from it.

Get a Jump on Summer With These Warm Weather Money Saving Tips Generation X Finance knows how to save money when it’s getting warm outside and he lets us know what to do.

Plan Ahead: 6 Steps to Secure Your Financial Future My Dollar Plan said they start to save for college before their children were born.

Personal Finance is About Freedom — What Will You Do With Yours? Good question, Mrs. Micah. But, on the other hand, getting out of debt isn’t what personal finance is all about.

We’re building a house! (and how to negotiate with a builder) Not many people will choose to build their own house, but the story from The Penny Saved is an interesting read.

The Financial Realities Of Having A New Baby No Credit Needed analyzed the impact of having a new baby on their finance.

Using money as a reward for good behavior Mighty Bargain Hunter has a give-or-take-back discussion. Somehow, I prefer the take-back approach when the child doesn’t behave.

Finally, I participated in the last Carnival of Personal Finance, held at Alpha Consumer with my post on solar energy ETF.

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Weekend Linkage - May 4, 2008

Sun — Mon, 05 May 2008 02:33:32 +0000

Original post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

Health Insurance for New College Graduates - Shopping Around for Affordable Coverage Money Smart Life provided tips for newly grads can get health insurance.

Finovate Demos Lazy Man and Money blogged live from Finovate Startup last week. Lots of new names in the business of personal finance.

Is it Smart to Buy Disability Insurance? Generation X Finance offered his take on this issue, explaining the pros and cons.

Financial Infidelity - The Leading Cause of Divorce? An interesting discussion at Million Dollar Journey.

Be Prepared to Retire in Two Weeks! That’s what My Dollar Plan said. You have to read the post to find out how.

10 Things To Tell A Graduating High School Senior Brip Blap has some advices for high school seniors heading to college.

The Vanguard Principles - An Excellent Investor’s Resource The Dividend Guy looked at a new resource for investors.

How To Make Money From Balance Transfer Credit Cards I am no stranger on this topic, but Money Blue Book’s explanation is quire thorough.

Will 2008 Be A Good Time To Buy Real Estate? My Wealth Builder shared why he won’t jump in though the slump in housing market seems created quite some opportunities.

Debt Reduction Guide: Planning For The Future No Credit Needed shared his debt reduction strategy.

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Weekend Linkage - April 27, 2008

Sun — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 03:19:47 +0000

Original post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

Best Gas Credit Cards to Save You Money at the Pump Money Smart Life suggested use credit cards to save money when filling up your car. Some of them are also covered in my previous post. With gas price near $4/gallon, a 3% rebate isn’t too small to let go.

Military: Save Money With (Almost) Free Vacations Lazy Man and Money showed the benefits of being a member of military (not himself though), from hotel to car rental. With all of these, he can almost get a free vacation

Maybe Higher Food Prices Are Actually Good For Us as a Society Generation X Finance looked at the other side of what a higher food price could do to the society. How about stop us from wasting food that costs more money now?

Ask the Readers: Giving Money as a Gift, How Much? Million Dollar Journey discussed the size of a gift for different occasions. How much will you give for a friend’s wedding?

Create Your Own Dollar Plan: Step 1 My Dollar Plan went through the process of setting up your own dollar plan.

A Look At The Real Estate Market: Time To Buy? Real estate has gone down, a lot. The Digerati Life looked at the issue and wondered whether it’s time to buy.

How I Managed To Spend Almost $9000 On Lunch This Year Brip Blap, that’s a lot of money to “spend” on lunch, though the actual out-of-pocket is much lower

Forever Stamp: You Pay for Choice With postage going up again next month, Mighty Bargain Hunter asked whether it makes sense to stock up the Forever stamps. I will buy some

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Weekend Linkage - April 20, 2008

Sun — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 03:20:32 +0000

Original post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

Ten Ways You Can Teach Your Kids About Money Money Smart Life discussed how to prepare your kids the financial life they will live later on with some practical ways that you can use to teach them about money today.

Play the Annual Invest Lazy Man’s Money Game If you have $4,000 now, how would you like the money be invested? Lazy Man and Money is looking for suggestions on how to invest his 2007 IRA contributions.

Thank You, Yahoo!, for Perpetuating the Use of Home Equity as Cash Generation X Finance doesn’t like what he saw on Yahoo because falling home price has already made many home owners struggle to pay their bills after what they did exactly what Yahoo suggested.

Calculating Your Adjusted Cost Base (ACB) Million Dollar Journey showed how calculation should be done if you bought the same security more than once.

What I Learned About Taxes This Year… My Dollar Plan shared her lessons. I wish I had contributed to my 401(k) when I was eligible so we wouldn’t have had to recharacterize our Roth IRA contributions.

Eliminate Credit Card Debt! 4 Methods I’ve Used To Reduce My Debt Check out what The Digerati Life has done to get rid of “bad debt.”

Tracking Tool For Our Investment Performance 2 million’s Personal Finance Blog showed his Excel spreadsheet that he is using to track their investment performance. I should have used a spreadsheet from the beginning. Now I stuck with Quicken.

Investigating Mutual Fund Correlations Five Cent Nickel looked at correlations between different asset classes. A zero correlation, meaning two investment classes move completely randomly, would be ideal for investments. Unfortunately, that doesn’t exist.

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Weekend Linkage - April 13, 2008

Sun — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 18:59:37 +0000

Original post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

Lending Club is Dead Are you using the social lending site to borrow/lend money? Lazy Man and Money saw signs that the site may be in trouble.

Woman Refuses to Roll Over 401k Saying She Would Lose Half of Her Money Generation X Finance encountered a person who told him just that. Unbelievable!

The Best Time to Start is Now Million Dollar Journey said one should look for the long-term benefit of starting early.

Open a Separate Bank Account for Your Tax Payment or Refund Money Smart Life presented an interesting idea on how to manage your tax due.

The Gold Rush of 2008 Brip Blap had one of my favorite topics. But I don’t think the rise of gold price in recent years is all because of speculation.

Recycling Soda Cans To Purchase A New Lawn Mower - 64,000 Aluminum Cans Equal $1400 Well, the amount of money may be equivalent, I am not going to follow No Credit Needed’s plan if I need a lawn mower.

Need last minute tax help? Call the IRS! Now it’s really the crunch time. Mighty Bargain Hunter pointed out where to get last minute tax help if you still haven’t done your taxes yet.

Understanding Is the Key to Saving More Money Money Ning discussed how understanding your need and want can help you save money.

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Around the PFBlogosphere: April 7, 2008

Sun — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 02:13:36 +0000

Original post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

Check out these interesting discussions:

Want to stretch your dollars? The Digerati Life listed frugal some tips to make your ordinary things last a little longer so you don’t have to spend a lot of money to replace them. Meanwhile, My Dollar Plan also shared 30 money saving ideas she gathered from readers. Very practical stuff.
With so many unsold houses on the market, there seems to be a lot of choices available, but do you have an idea on how much house you can afford? The Penny Saved considered all the pieces when determining the price of the house he can afford.
Young Money answered a question: Should I save my money or invest it instead? In the post, two factors that determines whether saving or investing is the right course of action are discussed: time horizon and risk tolerance.
Are you looking for personal finance books to read in spare time? If so, head to Free Money Finance where you can find 5 personal finance books that can change your life summarized by MSN Money.
Got too much debt and have no idea which one to tackle first? Prime Time Money discussed the process of prioritizing the debt for payoff. Of course, the largest debt may not necessarily be the one with the highest priority.

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Weekend Linkage - March 30, 2008

Sun — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:46:08 +0000

Original post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

Is Generation X Responsible for the Real Estate and Mortgage Problems? Generation X Finance talked about the trouble of the housing market and the place of Gen X in the economy.

How Money Challenges Prevent You From Building The Life You Love The Digerati Life offered her opinion on the financial challenges we are facing everyday while building our wealth.

Saving Strategy: Avoid Upgrading Your Housing Million Dollar Journey explained why it’s hard to live a frugal life when buying a new house or upgrading your current housing.

Are You Considering a Refinance? My Dollar Plan discussed under what circumstance a refinance makes sense.

Moving Debt Is Not The Same As Paying It Off I agreed with what No Credit Needed’s arguments.

Prosper P2P Lending Update #2: Scary Graph and Stats My Money Blog presented a chart that no potential P2P lender wants to see.

Eleven Ways to Ease Your Commute Mighty Bargain Hunter listed some money saving tips when the national average price of regular gas is way over $3/gallon.

Yield Chasing AskDong shared his thought on how to make his money work a little harder when interest rates keep falling.

When Does Married Filing Separately Make Sense? Blueprint for Financial Prosperity analyzed the scenarios and gave his take on not to filling jointly.

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Around the PF Blogosphere: March 27, 2008

Sun — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 02:55:46 +0000

Original post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

Hope you enjoy these articles:

Don’t know how to determine the asset allocation of your portfolio? The Dividend Guy says you probably can get some ideas from asset allocations of pension funds. Another place I can suggest is the portfolios of lifecycle funds (or target-date funds) which adjust their holdings based the target date.
Moneymonk has a post with the title “Any person who isn’t their own boss is underpaid.” What do you think? I don’t think I will be rewarded properly even if I work 24/7 for myself. Not everybody can success even if they give their best effort.
How much do you think it will cost to raise a kid to the age of 18? I don’t know exactly, but it could be a lot. Sense to Save cited a U.S. government report as saying to cost could be as high as $298K in 2007.
Mighty Bargain Hunter discusses how to deal with friends and family members who are not so savvy with their money. Well, it’s always tough to talk about money problems, even with closed ones. If the talk doesn’t go well, it could strain the relationship.
I have accounts with both Prosper and Lending Club, but I never got myself into the person-to-person lending business. Lazy Man and Money, who is active in social lending, dusted off his crystal ball and looked at the future of P2P lending.

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Weekend Linkage - March 23, 2008

Sun — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 02:14:15 +0000

Original post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

crowdsourcing at Birp Blap

Crowdsourcing is - at a very basic level - throwing a task or request for information out into the public, and accumulating and selecting the best results. The theory is similar to “getting a second opinion.”

Managing Your Money is Easier Said Than Done at Money Smart Life

Have you ever given anyone advice, then looked back later and seen that advice from a whole different point of view? Maybe it was good, maybe it was bad, or maybe it was part right and part wrong.

Feeling Poor: Here Are The Two Largest Reasons Why at Lazy Man and Money

I asked myself a simple question, “Are people having problems with their personal finance because the available tools are not helpful?” I would love to believe that better tools could solve people’s money woes. I think most people need to focus on two things to escape a life of little financial worry.

Informal In-Trust Accounts at Million Dollar Journey

An informal in-trust account is an investment account that is opened for a child (beneficiary). Once the beneficiary turns the age of majority (determined by province), the account automatically gets transferred to his/her name.

Upromise Rewards: Free Money at My Dollar Plan

Upromise is a free service that helps families earn extra money for education. It’s that simple. You earn rewards from partner companies when you buy certain products or services. Common rewards we earn are from buying gas and groceries, dining out, and shopping online.

Beware Of The Laundry Detergent Cap at No Credit Needed

On the back of the detergent bottle, there are ‘recommended’ amounts for various types of ‘laundry loads’. For a medium-sized load, the manufacturer suggested that I fill the cap to line “1″. I looked on the outside of the cap and I couldn’t find any numbers. But, on the inside, there they were. Very faintly, there were three lines - 1, 2, and 3.

Simplest Way to Wealth at Money Ning

Earn it.
Save it.
Have fun with it.

Vanguard Brokerage Account Review at 2million’s Personal Finance Blog

There is a lot of appeal to me to make this our primary joint money management account. We can get all our direct deposits redirected to this account from our checking accounts and immediately earn money market rates on the account balance. No more shifting money around between accounts — I can get almost all our cash flow put in to this account, make immediate investments through the brokerage account, write checks our use the online billpay to handle expenses.

Great Website For Teaching Kids About Giving And Charity at My Two Dollars

The company is called markmakers.org, and adults buy the kids what amounts to a debit card that works on the site, and the kids get to “shop” the different charities.

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Around the PF Blogosphere: March 20, 2008

Sun — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 03:05:28 +0000

Original post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

Here are some articles I found worth reading:

Consumerism Commentary has a post on a study which shows that payday loans cause more bankruptcies. The conclusion should be of no surprise if you know what payday loan is and how it works.
Haven’t filed your tax return yet? Check out a review of TurboTax by The Digerati Life for what you can expect from a popular tax preparation software, which is also my choice for the past two year (BTW, Generation X Finance is giving away 3 TaxCut Federal + Stat flash drives).
Quest For Four Pillars wondered whether Visa (V) is a Buy now. I don’t know, but the hype was certainly there before the IPO and the instant winners are no doubt those big banks which underwrote the deal. For small investors like me, the question I asked was “Is this a good business that I want to own?” The answer is Yes and I bought the stock yesterday.
When Bear Stearns defaulted and sold itself for 2 bucks a share to JPMorgan Chase early this week, big losers are not only those investors who held the stock last Friday at around $30, but Bear’s employees who have the majority of their 401(k) money invested in their own company. Who could imagine a stock that less than one year ago was around $170 now becomes worthless. The lesson? Diversify, says The Penny Saved.

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Weekend Linkage - March 16, 2008

Sun — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 20:30:41 +0000

Original post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

Ben at Money Smart Life has some idea on how to spend a bonus check. I am quit boring and I don’t treat a bonus check any differently than other checks I receive every other week: put it in my bank.

Lazy Man at Lazy Man and Money wondered whether he’s officially cheap, just becomes more frugal. It’s hard to the tell if the focus is mainly on the cost, instead of the cost/quality ratio.

Jeremy at Generation X Finance used a guest post to show how to make your creditor work for you: “the only way to fight creditors is to get down in the trenches with them and fight dirty.”

In the market for a hot job? Silicon Valley Blogger at The Digerati Life suggested you find a headhunter and shared her brief experience of actually helping people find a job.

Steve at Birp Blap continued his discussion of 31 causes of failure with a post on the lack of ambition: If you want to fail, plan to do “just enough to get by.”

Frugal Trader at Million Dollar Journey looked at the Smith Manoeuvre money flow and discussed the idea of capitalizing the interest, i.e., fund the investment loan with the loan itself.

Want to achieve financial success? My Dollar Plan listed five fundamentals of financial success that include goals, commitment, and action, which I consider to be the core.

NCN at No Credit Needed shared with us the lessons he learned from watching TV shopping networks.

FMF at Free Money Finance offered his thoughts on money and marriage.

What’s a passbook savings account? MBH at Mighty Bargain Hunter explained the term that I heard quite often but don’t know exactly what it is.

Finally, Alltop.com recently launched a Personal Finance directory which aggregates most recent stories from many blogs that dedicate to issues of personal finance. This blog is included in the category along with other familiar names.

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Around the PF Blogosphere: March 13, 2008

Sun — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 02:22:20 +0000

Original post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

Here are some articles that I found interesting today:

AllFinancialMatters built a all-ETF retirement portfolio model with equal allocation to six sectors plus cash. I am not surprised by the portfolio’s calculated return so far this year given how much commodities have gained. It also emphasizes the importance of having a diversified portfolio.
Sense to Save talked about why they love using ING Direct. I have to disagree with their first reason “Better interest rate.” Really? Maybe years ago, but definitely not now. In fact, ING probably has the worst interest rate among major online banks. But interest rate isn’t the only thing to evaluate a bank.
How much money should you have to be considered as rich? Boston Girl’s Open Wallet has a post which suggests you will have to have $25M to join the elite club. Guess I can forget about that
Advanced Personal Finance discussed whether Traditional IRA and Roth IRA should have same asset allocation. I never thought about that, though I treat my taxable accounts and retirement accounts differently (not just on the tax efficiency front).
My Money Blog asked “Should All Home Owner Buy Flood Insurance?” My answer is Of course not. I don’t have a comprehensive car insurance, though the chance of me getting into an accident is much higher than my house being flooded.

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Weekend Linkage - March 9, 2008

Sun — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 18:42:36 +0000

Original post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

Do you file your tax return yourself? Or you get a pro to do the job for you? Ben at Money Smart Life wondered whether the cost of expert tax advice worth it. If they can lower my tax bill, then Yes.

How do you like the idea that IRS plans to spend $42 million sending out reminders to people waiting for the tax rebate check: You have to file your tax return to receive the check? Jeremy at Generation X Finance thinks it’s wasted money that can be put for better use.

Silicon Valley Blogger at The Digerati Life said cheaper toys are better for your kids. Isn’t it the case? Money doesn’t always bring happiness, the same kids as for adults

Lazy Man at Lazy Man and Money asked What’s social capital? I had a little idea of what it is before I read his post. No wonder social networking sites, such as Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc, are booming. People are accumulating their social capital

NCN at No Credit Needed talked about his biggest financial regret being not to fully his retirement account for a decade.

FMF at Free Money Finance had examples to show that poor people can also get ahead financially.

MBH at Mighty Bargain Hunter asked an interesting question: Should you write your own tax software? I used to file our taxes manually without any software. I assume if the rules are clear, that shouldn’t be a difficult task.

Steve at Birp Blap looked at the double-digit myth. Is that, a double-digital annual return, you are looking for from you stock investments as well?

The Honest Dollar discussed price discrimination and the existence of coupons. Are you using coupons when shopping?

Made a little side income from your blog? Ciaran at Chance Favor outlined ways to reduce taxable blogging income. I am considering set up a SEP IRA for myself

Finally, Mrs. Micah launched The Finwikian, a personal finance wiki. Check it out and you will find lot of your familiar blogs over there.

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Around the PF Blogosphere: December 3, 2007

Sun — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 03:58:04 +0000

Original post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

Take a look at how some PF bloggers did last month:

Sense To Dollar: Up slightly at 0.64%;
Finance of A Russian Girl: An impressive 6% increase;
Boston Girl’s Open Wallet: o.25%, but still a positive growth rate;
The Div Guy: A drop of 2.7%;
Single Ma’s Fabulous Financials: A moderate decline of 0.58%;
2million: Down a tiny 0.34%;
Enough Wealth: A gain of 1.17%;
My Money Blog: An even more impressive gain of 7.7%;
A Private Portfolio: A 1.8% increase;
Consumerism Commentary: Another 1.8% gain.

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Around the PF Blogosphere: November 26, 2007

Sun — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 03:05:33 +0000

Original post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

Silicon Valley Blogger at The Digerati Life talked about ways to increase your income so you can get ahead.

Are Americans saving too much for retirement? Jeremy at Generation X Finance had a post that Yes, at least according to one man’s account.

Lazy Man at Lazy Man and Money shared his experience on how to save money in Aruba after his recent trip.

Golbguru at Money, Matter and More Musings looked at the sandwich generation, those “who are struggling to maintain their own financial well being, in addition to looking after their parents and their kids.”

Ben at Money Smart Life discussed ways to live within your budget at the time when spending is expected to going up.

Jim at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity offered a brief history of three major indices.

Nickel at Five Cents Nickel dealt with a collection agency while protecting their credit.

My Wealth Builder posted on how to avoid wash shares while taking losses from investments.

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Around the PF Blogosphere: November 15, 2007

Sun — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 03:29:36 +0000

Original post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

Today’s reading:

Wise Bread suggested rolling your own cost-of-living index. The idea is fine (because you have to track your spending first), but it’s much easier said than done and the result could be misleading.
Mipgirl’s Fiscal Challenge has an excellent idea on what you can do when you stuck in traffic on your way home: save some money.
Being Frugal asked whether frugal living becomes a new trend. I don’t know if it’s a trend since different people have different views on money and living. Personally, I don’t think saving money is everything. What’s the meaning of having the money but not being able to enjoy life?
Plonkee Money introduced her car, which really is a pair of boots, and told the story of not owning one.
The Dividend Guy shared his experience (or mistakes) in investing in dividend-paying equities. When I was searching for a dividend oriented mutual funds last year, it finally came to two funds, CAIBX and ADVDX. I eventually chose ADVDX for the reason that it’s a no-load fund. I will never buy a load fund, no matter how promising it seems to be.

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Around the PF Blogosphere: November 6, 2007

Sun — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 02:20:51 +0000

Original post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

Good reads from my blogroll:

My Wealth Builder talked about the importance of having a goal, developing a plan and tracking the progress in achieving his early financial freedom.
My Money Blog decided to rebuild his portfolio and the first step he took is decide the right mix of equity and bond.
As the holiday season quietly approaches, Grad Money Matters discussed how to kick off a stress-free holiday shopping season.
Should you buy index funds or individual stocks in hoping to beat the market? Money Ning chose the former and had a good reason for doing so.
My Open Wallet shared her thoughts on how to split the bill between a single and a couple.

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Around the PF Blogosphere: November 1, 2007

Sun — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 02:07:03 +0000

Original post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

It’s the first day of the month and some bloggers have reported their net worth today:

Single Guy Money: Gained 5.49% from prior month;
Moomin Valley: Net worth increased by 6.82%;
PFBlogs: A 9.2% growth in October;
Growth in Value: A growth of 3.93%;
Finance Travels: Increased net worth by 4.01%;
Loonies And Sense: An impressive 13.67% positive change;
The Div Guy: Gained 2.15% in the month of October;
The Financial Journey: A slight decrease of 1.42%;
Piggbankblues: Net worth rose 1.96% last month;
Moolanomy: Added 1.75% to his nest egg;

Finanlly, Money Ning is giving away a total of $200. Check it out to see how you can win

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Around the PF Blogosphere: October 23, 2007

Sun — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 02:49:38 +0000

Original post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

Here are some interesting articles to enjoy:

Personal Finance Advice discussed how to get out of paying your bills forever. No, you are not just letting your bills go. The bills are still have to be paid, but automatically.
My Two Dollars started a Money Mistake Monday series with a post on the girlfriend syndrome. Does she really care how much you pay for it?
If you become debt free today, what would you do? Money Ning shared his thoughts on whether he will do anything different than yesterday.
Grad Money Matters wondered how much credit a student can get. But is there anything wrong with getting a huge amount of credit?
The Dough Roll warned that some 0% credit cards can cost your a fortune. Depending on how the free money will be *used*, the 3% fee may be worth it (BTW, there’s nothing new to pay 3% fee for 0% balance transfer).

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Posts I Enjoyed Last Week

Sun — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 01:55:43 +0000

Original post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

Silicon Valley Blogger at The Digerati Life asked why we worked so hard in terms of the number of working hours comparing to other developed countries. Is it for money?

Jeremy at Generation X Finance answered a reader question on how to evaluate the progress of your investments.

Lazy Man at Lazy Man and Money has a money saving idea: making your own beer and the quality of the beer actually isn’t bad, according to Lazy.

Ben at Money Smart Life continued the discussion on how to make money on eBay with a post on saving money on shipping supplies.

Golbguru at Money, Matter and More Musings had a guest post which discussed the kind of financial lessons one could learn from a difficult childhood.

Jim at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity said credit card debt is about nothing but responsibility.

Nickel at Five Cent Nickel talked about Roth IRA conversion and related issues.

FMF at Free Money Finance offered some tips on how to use and save money with Chase Freedom card.

MBH at Mighty Bargain Hunter listed some money-related forums and discussion boards.

NCN at No Credit Needed revealed how a simple budgeting system helped him avoid credit cards.

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Around the PF Blogosphere: October 16, 2007

Sun — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 02:21:06 +0000

Original post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

Articles I like today:

Financial Physician offered his opinion on how to invest in the market that’s full of uncertainties. In addition to make the right choices using the right account, a fruitful investment also requires discipline, especially in uncertain times.
AllFinancialMatters has a radical idea to deal with the soaring gas price. Cool idea, JLP, though it will never work.
Millionster has some good words for USAA, the financial institute for military personnel only. Yes, I heard they have very good customer service as well. Too bad I can’t use it.
Money Blue Book used a hypothetical example to show the power of compounding. With compounding, a small, regular contribution today could become a pile of money tomorrow.
Cash Money Life talked about how a voluntary paycut helped them get prepared for a salary reduction later on. That could also be an excellent money saving idea: Direct deposit 15% of your pay check into a savings or investment account like you never have that money and you probably won’t even notice any difference in the quality of your life.

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