The Sun's Financial Diary

Market Recap U.S. stock market stretched its gain into third month after consumer confidence improved unexpectedly last month and the Fed said that the worst of the recession may be behind us. Stocks were also boosted by quarterly earnings news as two-third companies in the S&P 500 have reported strong numbers so far. For the [...]

When talking about living on a budget, people sometimes mistakenly equal it to living cheap. The fact is living on a budget has nothing to do with living cheap. Instead, it means living organized. Particularly, for those who live from paycheck to paycheck, a budget is the tool that lets them prioritize their spending and, [...]

Prosper, once the largest operator of peer-to-peer lending until it shut down its operation in October 2008 amid regulatory scrutiny, has relaunched yesterday and now it’s called Prosper Loans Marketplace, with a twist on how to lend and borrow. However, since the Prosper is still in the process of completing registration with the Security and [...]

Here are a few bonuses in case you are looking for a new checking account with cash incentive. PNC Bank is offering a $75 bonus for a new personal checking account (Free Checking, Performance Checking, or Performance Select Checking)  with direct deposit. In order to qualify for this bonus offer, you must open an account [...]

Last week, Morningstar released its annual evaluation of the nation’s 529 college savings plans and named Ohio CollegeAdvantage Plan, the one we are using to save for our younger daughter, one of the 5 best college savings plans. The Morningstar report cited the following features as what makes the plan stand out from the crowd: [...]

Insurance is one of those necessary evils that people feel they must have, but resent paying for – especially during tough economic times. The law demands we have automotive insurance and most mortgages require a homeowner’s policy. With the current recession, the coverage that tends to get the ax first in the cost-cutting process is [...]

Over the past several years, I have acquired a couple of travel rewards credit cards, including AMEX Delta SkyMiles Card, Discover Miles Card, and Citi PremierPass Card. Though I don’t travel a lot, I’d like to have a card that gives better rewards for travel than a everyday card like the Fidelity 529 Card I am [...]

Two months ago, I wrote an article on when social security recipients will receive the $250 payment as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Since then some readers have left comments, mostly concerning who are eligible for the economic recovery one-time payment. While I am glad that post helped some people [...]