Raising Money-Smart Kids
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal had some good ideas for helping kids cultivate wise money management habits. Whenever your son or daughter tells you about something they desperately want, add it to a written wish list. A few days or weeks later go over the list to see what they’d still like […]
Getting Ready for Your Rebate
Are you among the 130 million taxpayers who will receive a rebate as part of the government’s economic stimulus plan? (Check eligibility requirements here) If so, with the government poised to begin sending checks in May, now would be a good time to decide what you’ll do with the money. Single tax payers will receive […]
Too Few Playing the Savings Game
Just 28 percent of all Americans say they save at least 10 percent of their income. That’s one of the findings from a new survey by the American Savings Education Council. What percentage of your monthly gross income do you save each month? For most people, 10 percent should be the absolute minimum. Do you […]
Click and Save
With food prices on the rise, it’s time to reconsider the lowly coupon. You know, those “free standing inserts” that come in the Sunday paper only to end up on the bottom of the birdcage. According to an article in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, a mere two percent of coupons get redeemed. Perhaps the redemption rate […]
Appealing Your Property Taxes
Fewer than two percent of homeowners try to appeal their property assessments, according to an article in Money magazine. However, the National Taxpayers Union reports that 60 percent of properties are overvalued. The Money article said an appeal will require five to 20 hours of work and most of the time you won’t need a […]
Cash Back for Overseas Travelers
If you traveled overseas between February 1, 1996 and November 8, 2006 and used a Visa-, MasterCard-, or Diners Club-branded credit or debit card, you may be owed at least $25. It’s the result of a class action lawsuit claiming that foreign-currency transaction fees were not properly disclosed. As reported by the Washington Post, the […]
Financial Infidelity
Financial unfaithfulness is widespread. That’s the apparent conclusion of a new survey conducted by Yahoo and research firm Decipher. It found that about half of all people in a serious relationship have committed some kind of financial indiscretion. According to an article about the survey on Yahoo Finance, the deceptions include lying about he cost […]
Savings Momentum
A hot topic among “consumer behavior” researchers is “shopping momentum.” The idea is that once a shopper makes a purchase they cross an important threshold making it much more likely that they’ll make other purchases on the same trip. While marketers work at spurring faster first purchases, I wonder if the same concept might apply […]
Free Tech Support
Since leaving corporate America two and a half years ago, there’s a lot that I don’t miss: the commute, the meetings. But among the things I do miss is tech support. That’s why an article on MSNBC caught my eye. It pointed to a free online tech support service called Protonic. After creating a user […]
You Can Pay Me Now or…
Spending money on vehicle maintenance is like flossing our teeth. A little bit of unpleasantness on a regular basis can ward off a whole lot of unpleasantness down the road. According to a Bankrate.com article, $1,000 of vehicle maintenance can prevent $8,000 of repairs. The article highlighted the need for regular oil changes, tire rotations […]