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Posted
Aug 09 2008, 05:02 PM
by
Karen Datko
A few banks have failed in this rough economy, and some others may follow suit. So how can you tell if your bank is among them? Ron at The Wisdom Journal provides "21 sure signs your bank is about to fail." Here are two we really liked: "When you tell them you'd like to open a CD, they hand you a complimentary copy of Barry Manilow's "Greatest Hits" still wrapped in cellophane," and "The drive-through window now allows deposits and serves burgers and fries."
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Posted
Jun 25 2008, 04:28 PM
by
Karen Datko
Talk about secondary sources of income, a contest co-hosted by our sister MSN Money writer Liz Pulliam Weston offers the potential of lots of prize money and "not too much fame." All you've got to do is decide to save money and post a video about it at YouTube. Well, it's a little more complicated than that. Let us explain.
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Posted
Jun 25 2008, 12:35 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
You're brown-bagging your lunch, driving less and clipping more coupons, but you're still not cutting expenses enough to compensate for higher gas and food prices. That's a common lament of many of our readers, who often ask, "Isn't there more I can do?" Hopefully you can find some inspiration in "101 ways I saved money this year" by "The Village Idiot" at an entertaining blog called Save, You Fool!
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Posted
Mar 20 2008, 07:28 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Times are tough. The economy is "recessionesque," writes Nick at Punny Money. To save your job, you need to stay on the boss's radar. Nick says, "There's a fine line between brown-nosing and hiding in your cubicle, and you're going to want to ride it like a horse made of money when tough times are on the horizon." There's some wisdom to be found in his 11 satirical tips about what to do when your company is considering layoffs. (We also think his stick-figure cartoon is reason enough to check out his post.) Another tip: Become popular. Work and play well with others. Nick writes: "As long as he's pulling his weight on paper, nobody's going to lay off the office 'friend to all.' But you know Bertha down in Accounting who talks too loud on the phone and tries to convert everyone to her cult? Yeah, she's totally gone in the first round of layoffs."
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Posted
Mar 19 2008, 05:10 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Mrs. Micah clearly touched a nerve when she opened a discussion about how to save money to leave -- and ultimately divorce -- an abusive spouse. She and her readers -- including social workers, and former victims and their children -- provided lots of ideas to consider, as well as personal stories of successfully leaving or being found out. We'll summarize some of their suggestions here, but we recommend you read the entire series. Set up a P.O. box and get a bank account and safe deposit box using that address. Do not check your bank statements on your home computer. Readers left stories about tech-savvy abusers who installed programs to track their spouse's keystrokes. Stash a bag of clothing, cash and copies of important documents at the home of a trusted friend. Be extremely careful about sharing your plans; word can leak out. The daughter of an abused woman offered another perspective: Don't wait until you've saved money.
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Posted
Mar 13 2008, 01:05 PM
by
Karen Datko
We have a friend who is determined to buy a home, and this causes us to worry. Are prices going to drop where she lives (they haven't -- yet) after she buys? Renting is cheaper than buying in her city. Is she better off continuing to rent and investing the difference? Thus, posts on this subject intrigue us. One we recommend is Pinching Copper's "Why we rent," one of the top picks in the recent Carnival of Personal Finance. Of course, there are plenty of good arguments on both sides of the issue. Seb at Pinching Copper makes an interesting case by comparing what it costs to buy vs. rent a home with the same floor plan in each of three different major markets.
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Posted
Feb 27 2008, 12:49 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Mike Richard at Master Your Card was intrigued by the LifeLock commercial in which the company CEO shares his Social Security number with the viewing public, as if to say, "LifeLock's services are so good that I dare you to try to steal my identity." So Mike decided to check out LifeLock's anti-identity-theft service -- which costs $120 -- to find out what all the fuss is about. "As it turns out," he writes, "every preventive service they offer is relatively easy, convenient and readily available for consumers to do themselves."
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Posted
Feb 06 2008, 06:01 PM
by
Karen Datko
Single Ma at Fabulous Financials apparently took it as a personal slight when her bank informed her in a letter that -- due to rate cuts by the Federal Reserve -- her online savings account was, so to speak, losing interest. So Single Ma responded with a Dear John letter online. She noted that her bank first attracted her with a 5.05% APY. In the past five months, it has dropped four times, now to 3.55%. She wrote: "I really enjoyed our love affair while it lasted: the 5.05% APY, our biweekly exchanges, your generous deposits, the sneak peaks at my growing balance -- ah, the memories. But it's over now."
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