I don’t think I have ever talked about CDs on this blog in the psat, and that is for a reason.  I don’t like them.  With the advent of online savings accounts and well-performing mutual funds, CDs do not offer many advantages over other financial products.  Basically, they are a financial product that banks use [...]

Good Morning America has been running a series called “Take More Control of Your Life” and this morning’s feature was starting a home-based business for $200 or less.  You have heard me talk about it before, and it is a reality that you can become an entrepreneur for very little money.  You don’t need thousands [...]

The sad fact of our culture today is that we are addicted to cheap-thrill entertainment.  I’ll admit it, I am addicted to roller coasters.  I love ‘em.  I don’t go to the amusement park every weekend, but I don’t mind spending the money when I do go.  I’m also a junkie for action-packed movies.  There’s [...]

Many of you like to disagree and mock my disgust for credit cards.  I will face the facts that I am still well in the minority of people who think that credit cards are a horrible financial tool and they only do more harm than good.  But, I’m okay with being in the minority on [...]

I was reading the local newspaperr, the Gainesville Sun, and it showed a poll given to teens about how many of them thought that they would be wealthy when they were older. Their biggest dreams were to be rich as the number one reason, famous as the number two answer, and then helping others [...]

I started investing in my 401(k) plan about 14 months ago.  In 2006, my portfolio earned about 11% which is outstanding, well, good enough for me to be happy.  Some of you might think that’s a waste.  But, this is a retirement account, so if it averages 11%, i’ll be very happy.  I invest in [...]

I don’t want to say that I am preparing for the worst, but I think it’s important to be prepared for anything that might come up in one’s end-of-the-year performance evaluation.  My evaluation is on tuesday, and I am a little nervous about it.  The biggest raise that I can get really isn’t that much, [...]

Around this time of year, I usually hear people boasting about how much money they are going to get back from their tax refund.  The problem with this is that you shouldn’t be getting back a huge refund if you are properly withholding your federal taxes.  Do you really want to give Uncle Sam a [...]

If you’ve read enough personal finance blogs, then you’ve probably read enough scenarios about giving up your grande mocha-chino in order to save more money.  I understand the reasoning for being more conscious about controlling the spending on life’s smaller luxuries.  I tend to think in bigger terms when it comes to saving money.  There [...]

Yes, you read that right.  A long-distance excise tax on phone bills has finally been overturned by Congress, and now the IRS is paying everyone back who paid the tax since 2003.  This was a tax  that was put in effect back in 1898 to help pay for the Spanish-American War, and it was largely [...]