Vanguard has the year-to-date returns up to 12/31/2010 for all of their mutual funds available right now, so I made a table with all of the funds and asset classes that I like to track for my records. These are almost all passively-managed funds, … [Read the rest]
BP ThankYou Days Promo: $10 After 5th Gas Fill-up
Posted on January 1, 2011 // 22 Comments
BP has a promotion starting today called Thank You Days where you can get a $10 BP gift card after your 5th fill-up of 8 gallons or more. At $3 a gallon and assuming you stop at 8 gallons per fill-up, this will save you 25 cents per gallon. Not … [Read the rest]
2010 Year-End Financial Goal Progress Update
Posted on January 1, 2011 // 31 Comments
As 2010 draws to a close and the champagne is all gone, here's an update on the status of our personal financial goals. I've been on the fence for a while about whether to continue our detailed net worth updates, and I've decided to reclaim some … [Read the rest]
Free PDF of Unveiling the Retirement Myth by Jim Otar
Posted on December 26, 2010 // 7 Comments
I'm still recovering from holidays, but I did see today that retirement specialist Jim Otar has made his book Unveiling The Retirement Myth available in PDF format for free until January 9, 2011. Here is the direct download link (expired). I … [Read the rest]
American Express Cards: 5% Back On Gas From Exxon, Mobil, Phillips 66, Conoco, 76
Posted on December 26, 2010 // 17 Comments
If you have an American Express card, here are a couple more quick promos that takes only a minute and can save you some bucks. The 5% back is on top of your regular card rewards. Earn 5% back on every dollar you spend when you use your … [Read the rest]
Chase Slate Card: 0% APR Balance Transfers and Purchases for 15 months
Posted on December 23, 2010 // 5 Comments
The Slate from Chase has improved from just being a credit card with a not-really-clever "vertical" design to one that is now offering a competitive 0% introductory APR for both balance transfers and purchases for 15 months to those with good to … [Read the rest]
Free $2 in Amazon MP3 Downloads
Posted on December 23, 2010 // 2 Comments
Amazon.com is offering $2 in free MP3 downloads with the code GIVEMP3S. No purchase required. See details at this link. It should increase your gift card balance by $2 for music purchases only. You must redeem the code soon - by December 26, … [Read the rest]
eBay, Half.com, PayPal, Amazon.com Sellers: 2011 IRS 1099-K Regulations
Posted on December 23, 2010 // 9 Comments
I just received the following e-mail from Half.com, where I occasionally sell used books: We're writing to let you know that starting with transactions occurring on or after January 1, 2011, new Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations require … [Read the rest]
Two Completely Different Ways to Boost Productivity
Posted on December 22, 2010 // Leave a Comment
While procrastinating today, I of course ran across a couple of tips on productivity and success that both powerful and very different. First is an essay called Good and Bad Procrastination by Paul Graham. It includes a lot of insights into … [Read the rest]
Free PDF of The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss
Posted on December 22, 2010 // 13 Comments
First published in 2008, The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss is a book about "lifestyle design" and included many uncommon ideas about working and retirement. He describes how you can build a business and delegate/outsource nearly everything about … [Read the rest]
Peer-to-Peer Renting: Lease Your Stuff to Strangers, Hopefully Buy Less Stuff
Posted on December 21, 2010 // 11 Comments
Recent articles in the New York Times and BusinessWeek magazine talked about the growing emergence of websites where individuals can rent out their belonging to other strangers, coining the new term "collaborative consumption". I like the idea. … [Read the rest]
New 2011 Tax Plan Highlights: 2% Payroll Tax Reduction, Extension of Current Tax Rates
Posted on December 20, 2010 // 18 Comments
Our tax rates for the next two years have been decided, a two whole weeks before January 1st! Just in time for their winter break, what a coincidence. ;) The "Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010" … [Read the rest]
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