Most articles around this time of year talk about what to do or not do with your tax refund. I’ve already talked about that, so instead I’m going to help you come up with ways to avoid paying taxes next year. I don’t mean stashing all your money in offshore savings account but we can […]
March CPI down 0.2%: May I Bond Rates Announced
On Tuesday, the labor department announced the latest CPI-U numbers. With these numbers, you can calculate the upcoming inflation portion of I bonds and determine whether it’s better to buy your bonds now or wait until May. As you may know, I bonds are composed of an inflation rate and a fixed rate. The fixed rate […]
5 Ways to Make Buying in Bulk Work For Regular People
The following article is a guest post. If interested in submitting a guest post, please read my guest posting policy and then contact me. Buying items in bulk is almost always less expensive per unit than buying a single item. But a great deal in bulk is only a great deal if you eventually save money and spend […]
How to Cash in Your Change For Free with a CoinStar Machine
I’m sure you’ve seen CoinStar machines at your local grocery store and some of you may already use their services, but the hefty fee has always kept me away. I typically pay for all my purchases with my Barclaycard, but for some reason I still seem to accumulate quite a bit of change. When I […]
Save Time and Money When Traveling Through Airports
Maybe I haven’t traveled in a while but when did airports become such a rip-off? Just this month, I’ve traveled over 7,000 miles on 3 round trips with another trip to Philadelphia scheduled for next week and everywhere I go I can’t believe how expensive things are. I probably sound like a grumpy old man […]
Get a Guaranteed 4% Return on $5,000 thru Sharebuilder
I’m on a quest for higher returns(similar to TFB’s double bond movement) and so far I’ve explored peer to peer lending, binary options & REIT’s to name just a few. There seems to be a ton of ways to earn above average returns but unfortunately, most of them also come with additional risk. I’m looking […]
5 Easy Ways to Save Money Every Month
Today, I have a guest post from fellow blogger Kyle at Rather Be Shopping. Feel free to head on over to his blog after reading this article and check out some of his other posts! Having recently gone through a major blow to my income, my wife and I had to do some serious re-accessing […]
What’s the Best Way to Get to the Airport in San Diego?
I don’t travel much for my day job, but I do for my part-time gig(coaching). This year we have trips planned to Vegas(x2), Philadelphia and Dallas along with a personal trip to New York. Even though most of my airfare will be free thanks to Southwest(plus my companion), I’m still looking for ways to maximize my savings […]
An Argument for the Social Security Program to Continue
There are very few programs in the US which are understood less than the Social Security program. You’ll hear a lot of mis-information about Social Security. “You’ll never get what you put into it!” “I’ll be lucky to get anything.” So on and so forth. The mis-information you hear contributes to giving the Social Security […]
Be Wary of Frontloading Your 401(k) Contribution and Losing Company Match
January is a great time to re-assess your retirement accounts. It’s important to review your 401k contribution and at least consider re-balancing your accounts at the beginning of every year. You’ve probably made a couple New Year’s resolutions so why not add this one to your list? 2013 will be the first official year I’m able […]
Reader Question: Is a 5% Return from a Secondary Market Annuity Too Good to Be True?
Reader PR writes in: “Harry, what are your thoughts on secondary market annuities? I’m looking for some higher returns for my savings. Some of the SMA’s I’m looking at right now are returning 4 or 5%. It seems like they are a pretty safe investment, but maybe I’m missing something.” I’ll be honest, when I first […]
Employee Benefits: Do You Have the Option to Purchase Additional Vacation Days
A lot of people are talking about employee benefits right now. They are deciding which medical plan to choose(the answer should be HSA!), reviewing their investment choices and maybe even increasing their 401k contribution. But I’m here to talk about a different type of benefit today: vacation days. You might not think of purchasing vacation […]
Why The Average Investor Should Choose Index Funds Over Picking Individual Stocks
When it comes to picking stocks for a portfolio, the average investor is at a big disadvantage. Now I’m not talking about investing in mutual funds, which can have big ol’ expense ratios baked into them. I’m talking about good ‘old fashioned stock picking’, where you research companies, pick out which ones you like and […]
Investing in I Bonds: An Intro to I Bonds for Young Investors
For an update on I bonds rates as of(10/18/12), please see: November 2012 I bonds rates are announced: 1.76%. Believe it or not, the money in your savings and checking accounts is actually losing money. It doesn’t even matter what bank you have. Whether you bank online, or brick and mortar; they’re all losing […]
Why Borrowing From Your 401k is a Bad Idea
A reader writes in: “Can you talk about when to take a loan from your 401k? I took one a while back and I think it would be a good topic for discussion.” There aren’t many loans out there that allow you to borrow without a credit check and pay yourself interest, but that’s what […]
Get Rich Investing in Human Capital
Instead of talking about stock or real estate investments today, I’ll be diving into an often forgotten investment. Human capital is the knowledge, skills or health that you have acquired in your lifetime. Most people think of capital as a CD account, retirement savings or property. But tangible forms of capital aren’t the only kinds […]
Do You Have a Second Source of Income?
I know there are people struggling out there for a main source of income, but I think the job market has significantly picked up for college educated young professionals. If you’ve used any of my networking tips, you may have already landed your first job and started thinking about your next one. It’s human nature […]
How I Got My Comic Con Tickets For Free
The annual Comic Con convention was held this past weekend in San Diego, CA. 125,000 comic fans descended on San Diego and it was a pretty cool time to be walking around and exploring the city. I was able to get a Thursday and Sunday badge for the event by planning ahead and I sold […]
10 Apps That Help Me Save Time and Money
When you’re not playing Angry Birds or Draw Something, your smartphone can actually be used to your advantage. Most of us take our phones for granted but there was a day when you had to print out directions from Mapquest or even look them up in a book. Now, all I have to do is […]
How to Save Money on Cable TV and High Speed Internet
Update(5/28/2013): My 6 month promotion just ended so I called in to see what their offer would be this time. The CS rep only offered me free wireless boxes(2 x $7/month savings) so I told them I wanted to cancel. They transferred me to retention department where a really nice CS lady gave me U200 […]