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• Why I turn down free money

  Posted Jul 31 2008, 06:19 AM by Karen Datko
  Filed under: Debt, Banking, Credit, Wise Bread
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  This post comes from Philip Brewer at partner blog Wise Bread.

  There are certain ways to get free money or free stuff simply by paying attention, keeping track, and being careful. I don't do these things. It's not because they don't work; it's not even because the risk-adjusted earnings don't pay for the time spent.

  It's because time -- and especially time spent paying attention -- is very precious. 

  The clearest example of the sort of thing I'm talking about is getting a cash advance from a new credit card with a 0% teaser rate. Slap that money in your high-interest savings account, pay off the loan when it's due, and you can pocket the interest. Borrow $100,000, and you could pick up close to $2,000 of free money in six months.   Read More...

  Discuss ( 5 comments) 3,018 Views Digg this | Email this | Link to this

• What's the best way to get out of debt?

  Posted Jun 26 2008, 05:42 AM by Karen Datko
  Filed under: Debt, Banking, Credit, Wise Bread
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  This post comes from Linsey Knerl at partner blog Wise Bread.

  Debt is the hottest topic on personal-finance blogs around the world. Why? I would venture to guess it's because so many people are drowning in it.

  The unfortunate truth is that few people care to read about debt until it has already had a negative effect on their financial situation. This can make the final solution to their debt problems even more difficult to hear about.   Read More...

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• Realistic budgeting: The marriage saver

  Posted Mar 06 2008, 07:31 AM by Karen Datko
  Filed under: Spending, Credit, Wise Bread, Groceries
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  This post comes from Margaret Garcia-Couoh at partner blog Wise Bread.

  Twelve years ago, a priest who did marriage counseling told me what he saw as the personal truth to marriages that stay together and marriages that break apart. "It's about a little thing," he said, "a little thing called money." No way, I thought. Wouldn't the big things be infidelity, children, catastrophes?

  Nope. Divorce, he informed me, starts in the checkbook.

  Fast forward two marriages and a mortgage later, and darn it if Father Peter wasn't right.   Read More...

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• Is PayPal making impulse buyers of us all?

  Posted Sep 25 2007, 09:17 AM by Karen Datko
  Filed under: Spending, Credit, Saving, Wise Bread
  Rating:

  This post comes from partner blog Wise Bread.

  I’d like to start this article by pointing out that PayPal is a fabulous resource and I use it often. I feel safe buying items, especially items on eBay, with my PayPal account. But over the past few months I’ve noticed that more and more places accept PayPal and I began to wonder: Is this going to create a generation of impulse buyers?

  PayPal was founded in December of 1998. It was acquired by eBay in 2002 and quickly became a phenomenon. Now, with more than 31 million accounts and growing, it’s a quick, easy way to pay for anything from cheap novelties to new cars.

  Initial impulse

  But is it too easy?   Read More...

  Discuss ( 21 comments) 5,045 Views Digg this | Email this | Link to this