Personal Finance Blog, Your Guide to Financial Fitness
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David Bakke
David Bakke
Looking to save money and de-clutter your life? It may be time to organize and streamline your financial picture, and the services offered by Manilla can help.
Personal finance can be a dull and tedious subject, but if you get all the information for your various accounts in one place, you can easily manage your finances and keep up with due dates. Manilla offers bill payment reminders and stores all of your documents and statements.
David Bakke
With many financial institutions experiencing a decrease in profits, banks are vying for your business. This is good news for you, because instead of just offering standard perks like no fees, free checking, or a free pen when you sign up for an account, some banks are raising the stakes with cold hard cash, giveaways, and great interest-bearing products.
April is a good month for bank promotions from both big and small banks. Banks are giving away a lot of free cash to attract new customers and get them to open up accounts. The banks listed below have some pretty sweet deals that you should take advantage of if you are in the market for a new bank.
David Bakke
Black Friday is the best day of the year to get all the holiday gifts on your list at the lowest cost. If you want to make the most of the day, you shouldn’t head into the retail holiday without a shopping strategy and a schedule.
Plenty of people will face the frenzy, so to help you minimize the madness, I have compiled a list of stores that offer the best deals on specific products, as well as the time they’ll open their doors on November 23rd.
David Bakke
There are so many components to prudent money management that it’s difficult to determine which is the most important. However, there is one thing that virtually everyone deals with, and it can make or break your finances. Whether it’s to buy a new home, afford a college education, or spend a day at the mall, acquiring debt can help you do things when you don’t have the requisite cash on hand.
David Bakke
Americans have begun to express a growing dissatisfaction with traditional banks. In just the last three months of 2011, more than 600,000 people abandoned their bank to go with an alternative option, such as an online bank. If you’re currently dissatisfied with your bank, consider CIT Bank. It offers both high-yield savings accounts and certificates of deposits.
David Bakke
The average tuition cost for one year at a public university is now $17,000, and the average annual price of private colleges is twice that amount. However, rather than waving your white flag and giving up on the thought of ever attending school, know that there are many ways to save money on the costs of college – including acquiring cheap textbooks.
If money isn’t an object, by all means, purchase brand new textbooks from your college’s campus bookstore. The prudent buyer, however, knows that buying new textbooks is not essential, and will instead look into the numerous other ways of acquiring the needed books at a greatly reduced price.
David Bakke
One of the best ways to save money is to reduce your monthly bills. However, researching and investigating the many different discounts and pricing plans for services such as Internet, TV, gas, and electricity can be a time-consuming project.
To save time as well as money, consider utilizing the website WhiteFence. It can help you compare service providers in your area for deals on utility and home services, and it can show you how much you may save by downgrading services or switching providers.
David Bakke
In today’s tough economic times, getting a loan from a bank is much more difficult than it once was. And if you happen to have a less-than-stellar credit score, you may find yourself out of luck.
If you find yourself in such a situation, Borro may be able to help. The website offers short-term collateral loans against a wide array of high-end valuables. There’s no credit check involved, and you can receive money within 24 hours or less.
However, this is an extremely expensive method to get cash. If you have other options, pursue those first. But if you’re out of options, Borro is worth checking out.
David Bakke
An increasing amount of people are buying cars via the Internet, sight unseen beyond digital photographs. In fact, Craigslist and eBay Motors have both experienced recent rises in auto sales. If you’re considering an out-of-state auto purchase or would like peace of mind on a local sale, consider a pre-purchase inspection. While most sellers are honest, some simply are not – and others may not even know the condition of the car they want to sell you.
If you’re concerned about the condition of a vehicle you wish to purchase, Lemon Squad may be just what you need. The company offers a variety of different inspection packages for both automobiles and RVs.
David Bakke
When you consider that the biggest purchase most people make in their lives is a home, it makes perfect sense to invest extra money in a home inspection and home insurance. Despite the somewhat high cost, it is crucial to protect your investment.
Next to a home, an automobile is the second-biggest purchase you are likely to make in your life, and just like a home purchase, it’s important to make sure you get what you pay for and protect your investment. So if you’re looking for an extended warranty or a pre-purchase car inspection, consider CARCHEX.
David Bakke
If you have money to invest, but can’t commit to long-term investment vehicles such as a 401k plan or Roth IRA, a high-yield savings account or certificate of deposit could meet your needs. Each is a viable option if you’re seeking a conservative investment that won’t tie up your money for a long period of time.
American Express Personal Savings is one banking services company that offers both accounts, and may make sense particularly if you already have an existing Amex account, or if you’re seeking an account without a minimum deposit requirement.
David Bakke
Finding quality dental care can be a difficult task, and many people forgo trips to the dentist entirely. In fact, half of all Americans do not receive regular oral health care. However, if you are among those who avoid dental care for reasons pertaining to cost and inconvenience, DentalPlans.com may help you return to the dentist.
David Bakke
When it comes to managing your money, verifying your credit card and debit card statements is an important part of the process. But how many of us really do this on a consistent basis? I know I don’t. Sure, I look through my statements, but if I see a charge that I don’t specifically remember, rarely do I do the research to verify it.
If you’re like me, BillGuard is worth checking out. It monitors all of your registered credit and debit cards for hidden charges, billing errors, and outright fraud. And the best part about it is that it’s 100% free.
David Bakke
As of 2010, Americans owed almost $1 trillion on revolving lines of credit, and $68 billion of it was past due. On top of that, 13% of all Americans currently carry more than $10,000 in credit card debt.
However, everyone’s situation is a little different. If yours is not that bad, you may benefit from a simple online budgeting tool, such as Mint.com. If your debts are more significant, however, consider a service such as SpringCoin, a simple, easy-to-use debt management tool that can help streamline your finances and provide a path out of personal debt.
David Bakke
Whether you need marketing materials for an upcoming ad campaign at work, invitations for your kid’s birthday party, or even canvas prints of your favorite vacation photos, UPrinting is worth checking out.
UPrinting is an online commercial printing service that can handle the size and scope of just about any project, with prices that are competitive with other national printing companies. Best of all, you’ll know exactly how much your project will cost – including shipping – before you even get started on your order.
