Even if you won’t plan to shop much this holiday season, you still can potentially save some money (e.g. gift cards) with this offer… (read full article)

Good money $$$ at: http://www.goodmoneyblog.com.

Think: Auto, Banking ,Bonds ,Budgeting ,Career ,Credit Cards ,Deals & Offers ,Debts ,Education ,Frugal Living ,Goals ,Good Money 101 ,Groceries ,Home & Garden ,Insurance ,Investing ,Mortgages ,Politics ,Real Estate ,Retirement ,Saving ,Simple Living ,Spending ,Stocks, Taxes, Tools & Calculators

Spend $40 or more two times at Walmart Stores or walmart.com and get a $20 statement credit on your card account… (read full article)

Good money $$$ at: http://www.goodmoneyblog.com.

Think: Auto, Banking ,Bonds ,Budgeting ,Career ,Credit Cards ,Deals & Offers ,Debts ,Education ,Frugal Living ,Goals ,Good Money 101 ,Groceries ,Home & Garden ,Insurance ,Investing ,Mortgages ,Politics ,Real Estate ,Retirement ,Saving ,Simple Living ,Spending ,Stocks, Taxes, Tools & Calculators

With the latest credit crunch, it now takes a higher credit score to be considered a good credit risk. For instance, if you want to go buy a car today, you need at least a credit score of 700 to get a loan. Mortgages are also hard to come by… (read full article)

Good money $$$ at: http://www.goodmoneyblog.com.

Think: Auto, Banking ,Bonds ,Budgeting ,Career ,Credit Cards ,Deals & Offers ,Debts ,Education ,Frugal Living ,Goals ,Good Money 101 ,Groceries ,Home & Garden ,Insurance ,Investing ,Mortgages ,Politics ,Real Estate ,Retirement ,Saving ,Simple Living ,Spending ,Stocks, Taxes, Tools & Calculators

As described by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), “personal saving” is the amount of money out of your income that you don’t spend and don’t pay in taxes. It’s what you can put in the bank or stock market. The personal saving rate is personal saving expressed as a percentage of disposable personal income… (read full article)

Good money $$$ at: http://www.goodmoneyblog.com.

Think: Auto, Banking ,Bonds ,Budgeting ,Career ,Credit Cards ,Deals & Offers ,Debts ,Education ,Frugal Living ,Goals ,Good Money 101 ,Groceries ,Home & Garden ,Insurance ,Investing ,Mortgages ,Politics ,Real Estate ,Retirement ,Saving ,Simple Living ,Spending ,Stocks, Taxes, Tools & Calculators

Bills.com introduced the BillsIQ test to help people measure their financial health. Since I read that people who’d completed this test claimed that it is accurate, I gave it a try. The test consists of 25 questions and is separated into 5 major sections… (read full article)

Good money $$$ at: http://www.goodmoneyblog.com.

Think: Auto, Banking ,Bonds ,Budgeting ,Career ,Credit Cards ,Deals & Offers ,Debts ,Education ,Frugal Living ,Goals ,Good Money 101 ,Groceries ,Home & Garden ,Insurance ,Investing ,Mortgages ,Politics ,Real Estate ,Retirement ,Saving ,Simple Living ,Spending ,Stocks, Taxes, Tools & Calculators

My old college roommate asked me several times recently if I’d be interested in moving from the Midwest to New York City. Speaking of relocation, I understand that everyone has different situations – job, family ties, and lifestyle. If I move to an area with higher living costs, I could very likely end up with a lower standard of living – even if I’m making more money. On the other hand, a lower cost location can help me live rich – even if I am not. So, how can I possibly look at it from a financial standpoint… (read full article)

Good money $$$ at: http://www.goodmoneyblog.com.

Think: Auto, Banking ,Bonds ,Budgeting ,Career ,Credit Cards ,Deals & Offers ,Debts ,Education ,Frugal Living ,Goals ,Good Money 101 ,Groceries ,Home & Garden ,Insurance ,Investing ,Mortgages ,Politics ,Real Estate ,Retirement ,Saving ,Simple Living ,Spending ,Stocks, Taxes, Tools & Calculators

IndyMac Bancorp (IMB), the latest victim of the subprime mortgage crisis, has been shut down by the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) today. To avoid selling IndyMac’s assets at fire-sale prices, the FDIC will take over its operations and run the bank until it can find a buyer. The bank will be reopened on Monday as IndyMac Federal Bank, a successor institution… (read full article)

Good money $$$ at: http://www.goodmoneyblog.com.

Think: Auto, Banking ,Bonds ,Budgeting ,Career ,Credit Cards ,Deals & Offers ,Debts ,Education ,Frugal Living ,Goals ,Good Money 101 ,Groceries ,Home & Garden ,Insurance ,Investing ,Mortgages ,Politics ,Real Estate ,Retirement ,Saving ,Simple Living ,Spending ,Stocks, Taxes, Tools & Calculators

Credit cards can work or against us. It depends how we use them.

As a consumer who pays off balance every month (except 0% APR deals), I have been taking advantage of cash reward credit cards for years. In the past 12 months alone, I earned 2.68% cash back (equivalent to a pre-tax return of 3.83%) for all my purchases charged to credit cards - Here we’re talking about $500-$1,000+ per year… (read full article)

Good money $$$ at: http://www.goodmoneyblog.com.

Think: Auto, Banking ,Bonds ,Budgeting ,Career ,Credit Cards ,Deals & Offers ,Debts ,Education ,Frugal Living ,Goals ,Good Money 101 ,Groceries ,Home & Garden ,Insurance ,Investing ,Mortgages ,Politics ,Real Estate ,Retirement ,Saving ,Simple Living ,Spending ,Stocks, Taxes, Tools & Calculators

Following HSBC Direct, which raised its rate to 3.50% APY last month, E*Trade Bank will increase the rate of its Complete Savings Account from 3.15% to 3.30% APY tomorrow… (read full article)

Good money $$$ at: http://www.goodmoneyblog.com.

Think: Auto, Banking, Bonds, Budgeting, Career, Credit Cards, Deals & Offers, Debts, Education, Frugal Living, Goals, Good Money 101, Groceries, Home & Garden, Insurance, Investing, Mortgages, Real Estate, Retirement, Saving, Simple Living, Spending, Stocks, Taxes, Tools & Calculators

After a long wait, I finally received my $1,200 economic stimulus payment check in the mail last week. Although some retailers offer various tax rebate bonuses, discounts, and special deals, I decided to just spend $200 on special purchases – lawn and garden at Lowe’s… (read full article)

Good money $$$ at: http://www.goodmoneyblog.com.

Think: Auto, Banking, Bonds, Budgeting, Career, Credit Cards, Deals & Offers, Debts, Education, Frugal Living, Goals, Good Money 101, Groceries, Home & Garden, Insurance, Investing, Mortgages, Real Estate, Retirement, Saving, Simple Living, Spending, Stocks, Taxes, Tools & Calculators

As a recognized expert and leader on investment issues, John Mauldin has more than 1 million readers for his weekly e-letter, “Thoughts From the Frontline“. He was voted 2nd only behind Warren Buffett as the ”Investor of the Year” by The Motley Fool’s readers in 2007.

The following chart from John Mauldin’s mid-2006 e-letters divides the economic cycle into four major stages… (read full article)

Good money $$$ at: http://www.goodmoneyblog.com.

Think: Auto, Banking, Bonds, Budgeting, Career, Credit Cards, Deals & Offers, Debts, Education, Frugal Living, Goals, Good Money 101, Groceries, Home & Garden, Insurance, Investing, Mortgages, Real Estate, Retirement, Saving, Simple Living, Spending, Stocks, Taxes, Tools & Calculators

We’ve examined the possible financial impacts of the Presidential candidates in a previous post.

Today, Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan policy group made up of nationally recognized experts in tax, budget, and social policy, released a report that illustrated how the average tax bill of different income groups could change in 2009 if either John McCain’s or Barack Obama’s tax proposals were fully in place… (read full article)

Good money $$$ at: http://www.goodmoneyblog.com.

Think: Auto, Banking, Bonds, Budgeting, Career, Credit Cards, Deals & Offers, Debts, Education, Frugal Living, Goals, Good Money 101, Groceries, Home & Garden, Insurance, Investing, Mortgages, Real Estate, Retirement, Saving, Simple Living, Spending, Stocks, Taxes, Tools & Calculators

Many wealth seekers say $1 million is no longer enough to be considered wealthy. Is $5 million really the new $1 million?

Everyone has own definition of “rich.” Let’s think about this, “rich” is a relative term, it means having more money than a defined group of people – our neighbors, co-workers, friends, etc. Ultimately, it really depends on who we are comparing ourselves to… (read full article)

Good money $$$ at: http://www.goodmoneyblog.com.

Think: Auto, Banking, Bonds, Budgeting, Career, Credit Cards, Deals & Offers, Debts, Education, Frugal Living, Goals, Good Money 101, Groceries, Home & Garden, Insurance, Investing, Mortgages, Real Estate, Retirement, Saving, Simple Living, Spending, Stocks, Taxes, Tools & Calculators

As Obama claimed the Democratic presidential nomination, it’s time to look ahead to the general election race in November. According to realclearpolitics.com, Obama has the support of 46.6 percent of voters, compared with McCain’s 45.2 percent. This latest head-to-head poll shows that the two presidential nominees are currently neck and neck. With a range of campaign issues that guide this year’s presidential race, let’s look at the following issue tracker and find out what issues are most important to voters… (read full article)

Good money $$$ at: http://www.goodmoneyblog.com.

Think: Auto, Banking, Bonds, Budgeting, Career, Credit Cards, Deals & Offers, Debts, Education, Frugal Living, Goals, Good Money 101, Groceries, Home & Garden, Insurance, Investing, Mortgages, Real Estate, Retirement, Saving, Simple Living, Spending, Stocks, Taxes, Tools & Calculators