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Posted
Jul 23 2008, 06:27 AM
by
Karen Datko
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This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller. Did you ever receive a gift card for a store where you never shop? Or have you ever had a gift card for a store that filed for bankruptcy? When a retailer files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, gift cardholders get in line with every other unsecured creditor. What does that mean? It means you can kiss the value of your gift card goodbye. One solution is to run out and spend the gift card if you hear the retailer is in financial turmoil. But there is another solution.
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Posted
Jun 11 2008, 05:20 AM
by
Karen Datko
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This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller. Recently, I took my son, Gavin, to the Coinstar machine to turn the random coins he's been getting into paper money. Added to the last two years of birthday money, his total was right around $150. As he stared at that money (and lamented the fact that now all he had was paper instead of a huge jar of coins), I realized that it was time to start teaching Gavin about money.
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Posted
May 30 2008, 04:07 PM
by
Karen Datko
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Shannon Christman isn't poor, but she is frugal, and sometimes other people confuse the two. On occasion, salespeople have snubbed her -- and missed out on making a sale. Sometimes generous people offer help when it's not needed. Her thought-provoking post at Saving Advice should raise questions in any thinking person's mind about how quickly we make judgments about others. She also says, "The assumptions others make about my frugality -- usually that I have much less money than I actually do -- can be a benefit to me."
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Posted
Mar 25 2008, 08:16 PM
by
Karen Datko
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"Fox" at Squawkfox isn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but this time she can't help it. Her brother-in-law and his wife gave her a Sirius satellite radio receiver and four months of free service for the holidays. Now she's got to pay $12 a month if she wants that gift to keep on giving. "I'm just wondering, should we give gifts that keep costing the recipient?" she asks. "Here are reasons to Sirius(ly) reconsider giving gifts like satellite radio, and to start looking certain gift horses in the mouth."
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Posted
Mar 25 2008, 02:00 PM
by
Karen Datko
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Are you one of those folks who aren't interested in getting more stuff when they get married or have a baby? Would you be happy to get a "gently used" book or baby crib rather than a brand-new version? Penny Nickel at Money and Values tells readers about the Alternative Gift Registry run by the Center for a New American Dream, whose motto is "More fun, less stuff." You can create a gift registry that emphasizes nontraditional gifts, whether your concern is the environment or you want to ease the financial burden on those who will be giving you gifts. If you'd rather have someone give you a casserole or mow your lawn after the baby is born, you can say so. To see a sample registry, click here.
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Posted
Jan 23 2008, 01:05 PM
by
Karen Datko
Every workplace has a busybody whose self-appointed mission is to collect money for gifts for other employees who are having birthdays or babies or surgery. Steve at brip blap has given at the office, and he resents it. "Sometimes the reason for the gift is trivial -- someone is having a birthday. What, are we 12?" he asks. Sometimes he doesn't like the recipient. Sometimes the system is unfair: Higher-ups or popular people get more expensive gifts. "If the busybody is encouraged, soon you are shelling out $10 to $20 a week for 'voluntary' gifts," he observes.
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Posted
Jan 17 2008, 11:29 AM
by
Karen Datko
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Paul Navone is one of those quiet millionaires next door. His friends had no idea he had money until he started giving it away -- $1 million to a college and another $1 million to a prep school. The 78-year-old retiree never made more than $11 an hour while working in the New Jersey mills, according to a story by Joe Logan in the Philadelphia Inquirer, and to this day Navone buys his clothing at thrift stores, and doesn't have a TV or a phone.
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Posted
Dec 29 2007, 12:17 PM
by
Karen Datko
Kay Bell of Don't Mess With Taxes, an exceptional source of tax-related information, reminds us that there's little time left to make several possible end-of-year moves to reduce your tax liability for 2007. Luckily, Dec. 31 falls on a Monday, giving procrastinators one more business day as the year winds to a close. Bell also gives us the good news that the IRS will start processing most tax returns on time, despite problems caused by Congress' last-minute vote on the alternative minimum tax. (About 13.5 million taxpayers will have to wait until February to file.) So, what can you do to reduce your 2007 tax burden?
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Posted
Dec 20 2007, 07:02 AM
by
Karen Datko
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This post comes from Linsey Knerl at partner blog Wise Bread. Kids may think they know what they want to get for the holidays this year, but that doesn't mean they have a clue about what they need. Use this gift-giving opportunity as a chance to invest in them and help change their financial futures. Here is a rundown of some of the best money-management gifts I have used for kids under 12. The Money Savvy Kids @ Home program by Money Savvy Generation. One of the most comprehensive financial-education packages on the market, it's designed to be used as a complete curriculum on money. Home educators will find that it is very similar to a unit study, complete with parent handbook, student workbook, CD-ROM and cool piggy bank. I've tried this program and found it to be one of the most interesting. Covering the basic money principles -- save, spend, donate, invest -- reminded me of my financial goals, and I learned some quirky facts about the history of money in the process. This is a well- thought-out program with much to offer kids ages 6 to 11.
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Posted
Nov 27 2007, 02:32 PM
by
Karen Datko
Do you read those posts about homemade, handmade gifts and think, "Martha Stewart and I have very little in common"? (In some ways, we might add, this is not a bad thing.) If so, we recommend you read " 25 great gifts for $5 or less " at Wise Bread if you're looking to reduce holiday spending but not the thoughtfulness of your gifts. Some items on blogger Julie Rains' list are simple, like a jump rope, an easily assembled fruit basket, or a green oven mitt partnered with red and green Hershey's Kisses. Some are exotic: a drinking glass made by an artisan in Bangladesh and a terra cotta bird whistle, both sold through Ten Thousand Villages , allowing you to help impoverished families while staying on a budget. Rains includes two food items she swears are easy to prepare -- chocolate chess pie and potato soup in a jar. This post is exceptionally helpful because she also tells you the best places to buy the items to get the best bargains.
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