About four weeks ago, I was rounding up my expenses for the month of February and tallying up how much my wife and I had saved for the month. We wound up saving about 9% of our after-tax income. Not too shabby, considering the national average is around 4%. Ever the optimist, I tried to figure out ways we could save even more, and I remembered a great idea. Read More…
Recently, I’ve been exploring a few ways to develop several streams of income, passive or otherwise. In that spirit, I began writing for eHow a few weeks ago. eHow’s Writer Compensation Program offers writers the chance to publish how-to articles on just about any topic. Read More…
April is Financial Literacy Month. In following effort to highlight financial education, the following describes some of the basics of stock options.
For some people, investing is as simple as buying and selling common stocks through their broker. But there are many more vehicles that one can use to take advantage of investment opportunities. Put options on common stocks are among them, and when used properly, can allow increased exposure to or protection against stock prices. Read More…
Last week I filed my taxes on my own, first attempting to use TurboTax’s online software, which went terribly, and later downloading H&R Block’s TaxCut software, which worked out very well for me. If you are going to do your own taxes, I highly recommend downloading software rather than using an online tool, since the latter is very crippled compared to the former. With your own software, you can tweak and test different returns as you see fit. This isn’t always possible with online versions. Furthermore, the downloaded software usually costs the same price or less. This was the first time I filed my own taxes, and I thought it would be a breeze after speaking to a friend who has been doing it for years.
But I ran into a snag. Read More…
About 6 years ago, I switched from using a PC to a Mac and I’ve never looked back, at least not with fond memories. Apple’s computers are so well-designed that I remember my Windows days with a bad taste in my mouth. The Mac user interface is built so cleanly that tasks you intuitively think should be simple are, well, simple. There are no cryptic error messages when something goes wrong – and things seem to go wrong much less often too. Plus, Macs are aesthetically nicer. But the best argument I can make in favor of a Mac is this. When I come home, I actually want to sit down and use my computer. The experience is great. When I had a PC, I never felt that way. Read More…
For those of you looking to make a few bucks with all that time spent on the Internet, taking surveys for cash might be of interest.
There are several companies out there that will pay you for survey taking and for product evaluation. (Getting a free product that you would otherwise buy is like being paid all in itself). These companies allow you to register with them via their website. They’ll take your home address so that when it comes time to be paid or when they have a product to evaluate, they can mail you a check or the goods. Many also offer payment via PayPal.
Before taking a look at some of survey websites, let’s get one thing out of the way. Read More…
No doubt there is plenty of information out there in print and on the Internet surrounding the business philosophies one of the world’s best investors, Warren Buffett. For those who are unfamiliar with them, the video below is an excellent introduction. In it, Buffett answers many questions about how he values a business, what makes strong long-term investments, and much more. This video was recorded during a talk Buffett gave at the University of Florida around 1998 I estimate. Despite its age, the advice it contains is timeless. The video is part 1 of 10 and the rest can be found here. It’s an informative and entertaining watch. Check it out. And thanks to Neville’s Financial Blog for the link.
Everyone likes to save money. And these days, the Internet makes it quite easy to find coupons, discounts, and cash back programs for many purchases people make. I recently wrote a post about the Rewards Network, which gives you 10-40% cash back when dining out. There are some credit card offers just a click away that have great cash rewards programs attached to them. The Chase Visa Freedom card, American Express Blue card, and Discover card are among the best. And there are websites like FatWallet and MyPoints that offer varying percentages of money back for online purchases. Read More…
There are several reward programs out there that savers can use to earn money back on everyday purchases, like Fatwallet and MyPoints. I’m going to focus on one that I like to use for eating out – Rewards Network. It’s a great way to effortlessly get a few bucks back when dining out at a restaurant or bar.
Here’s how it works. Read More…
In light of the current economic turmoil, home values have dropped along with the prices of many other assets. According to the Case-Shiller measure of home prices for 20 cities around the US, nationwide home prices have dropped 29% since their peak in the summer of 2006. With such a large drop behind us, is now a good time to buy a home? Can current homeowners be comfortable that the value of their homes will not fall by much more?
Of course, no one knows the answer to these questions. But there is one measure used by Wall Street traders that gives an indication of where professionals expect home prices to be in the future. Read More…
Personal finance is a passion of mine, and Wrinkly Dollar is my outlet. Here, I’ll be discussing a variety of finance topics, ranging from savings, investing, money management, etc. Hope you enjoy the ride…
