I recently called to cancel an old American Express card. The moment I got on the phone, the appeals to stay started.
5 Keys To Overcoming The Urge To Splurge
Christmas Is For Debt? Christmas will soon be upon us with all of the good cheer, family get-togethers and presents! All of the big department stores are already in full-on Christmas mode, with aisles upon aisles of decorations in the front of the store and Christmas music pumping over the PA systems. It’s hard not […]
Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University™ – Program Review
I would recommend The Financial Peace University™ class put out by Dave Ramsey to just about anyone who is interested in getting their finances under control.
Bankruptcy, Not Bailout?
Many are saying that if we don’t come up with a bailout package, that the economy will crash because of the lack of credit available to companies and consumers. Others are saying that a bailout of struggling companies by taxpayers isn’t a good idea either, and that a plan involving insuring the troubled assets would […]
I Guess I Spoke Too Soon!? No Deal on $700 Billion Bailout.. Yet.
Yesterday I posted the news that we had all been waiting to hear. Congress had finally come to an agreement and had settled on a bailout deal to help jump-start our faltering markets. The price tag? A mere $700 billion dollars. At the announcement of proposed deal the Dow Jones industrials enjoyed a 196-point gain […]
The Markets Are Crashing Due To The Sub Prime Lending Mess
What happened while I was gone? I’ve been gone for the past couple of weeks on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean. We saw the sites, relaxed and had a great time. Because we were in the middle of the Mediterranean on our ship (see below), we got little or no news of what was […]
Still Think Credit Card Companies Aren’t Evil? Read This.
News flash – credit card companies are not looking out for your best interests A common theme that I have on this blog is that credit card companies are never looking out for your best interests, and you need to make sure you always keep a wary eye on them. Think those rewards cards have […]
Your Credit Card May Give You Perks You Didn’t Even Know About
I recently was unfortunate enough to have some personal items stolen from my car, including a GPS and digital camera. I had only recently purchased the GPS, and digital cameras aren’t cheap to replace. I called my homeowner’s insurance to see if they would cover the replacement cost, but my deductible was too high […]
Credit Crunch to Continue Getting Worse?
This year has been a tough one economically. We’ve had the foreclosure crisis, and now the credit crunch. People are bracing for the worst. Now leading academics are saying that the credit crunch may not be over yet. The deepening toll from the global financial crisis could trigger the failure of a large US bank […]
Are You Building Your Credit, Or Just Going Into Debt?
People love to spend money, and they’ll come up with any number of reasons that they just NEED to go into debt. They will tell you things like, “I’m only using this credit card so that I can build my credit!”. Or, “I’m only buying this new car because they’re giving me such a low […]
A Credit Card You Can Use To Help Others, And Get A Good Rate Too!
A couple of weeks back we had a post on this blog talking about micro-lending. The post talked about how micro-loans through companies like Kiva or Grameen Bank, can help people in developing countries to get on their feet, get their business up and running, and how it can be much more effective than just giving […]
Financial Crisis: First Foreclosure, Now Credit Cards?
The next big crisis? The past year has been a tough one for our economy. We have seen the companies suffer as the mortgage industry undergoes a huge crisis. Thousands of foreclosures have happened to people who got into mortgages they couldn’t afford. Adjustable rate mortgage and interest only loan rates started going up, and […]
Fraud, Identity Theft Grow At ATMs
I recently posted on this blog about how identity thieves had made some attempts at stealing people’s credit card information and identities by putting “credit card skimmers” on the Redbox movie rental machines at local Mcdonalds, and grocery stores. After reading an article at MSN Money today, it sounds like this type of crime is […]
Credit Card Rewards – Are They Really Worth It?
These last few weeks I’ve been thinking a lot about our credit cards, and whether or not we should just close the rest of our credit accounts. My philosophy is becoming more and more anti-debt, and the idea of going credit card free is appealing, albeit a bit scary. It’s becoming less scary as we […]
