My Money Blog

Free Credit Score Report Card and Analysis

Posted on February 28, 2008 // 23 Comments

In case the last 5 free ways to get your credit score weren't enough, there's also the free Credit.com Report Card. It is actually a pretty comprehensive analysis, providing: Credit Score Range: This provides a hint of your credit score based on … [Read the rest]

Remove Your Information From Junk Mail Lists For Free

Posted on February 27, 2008 // 22 Comments

My 5-year-old shredder is dying from all the junk mail I've fed it over the years. I'm totally hyped about buying a jumbo 12-sheet shredding beast. Coincidentally, I just ran across a free service called ProQuo.com that supposedly helps you remove … [Read the rest]

Finding Cheap or Discounted Ski Lift Tickets

Posted on February 26, 2008 // 8 Comments

This is a bit late in the season, but if you like to ski or snowboard be sure to sign up for the e-mail newsletter by SlidingOnTheCheap.com. They send out a free weekly newsletter that summarizes all of the specials and discounts offered by each … [Read the rest]

Subprime Loan Crisis Explained By Cartoon Stick Figures

Posted on February 22, 2008 // 36 Comments

Here's a funny yet educational slide show (alternate link) explaining how the subprime mortgage mess was created through some complex financial trickery and well... simple and stupid assumptions. You know, like (1) housing prices always go up and … [Read the rest]

Stanford Offers Free Tuition To Low and Middle-Income Families

Posted on February 22, 2008 // 21 Comments

You may have heard that Stanford University is waiving tuition for students with families making less than $100,000 annually. If your family makes less than $60,000, room and board is waived as well. This is not chump change: Annual tuition for … [Read the rest]

Random Travel Tip: Nabbing Free Luggage Carts

Posted on February 22, 2008 // 29 Comments

I've already shared my habit of trying to get bumped off of airline flights on purpose for the free tickets. I haven't been bumped recently, but here's another frugal travel quirk that most people don't seem to do... Sometimes even those us who … [Read the rest]

Mortgages: Monthly Payments vs. Loan Term Length

Posted on February 21, 2008 // 27 Comments

Here's a quick graph that I didn't include in my previous post on choosing between 15, 30, or 40-year mortgages... I've always felt that loan lengths were a bit arbitrary. Why did 15-year and 30-year loans become the industry standard? It'd be … [Read the rest]

$100 Bonus from Suze Orman and TD Ameritrade

Posted on February 20, 2008 // 68 Comments

While skimming my new Suze Orman eBook, I ran across her SaveYourself promotion that I blogged about almost a year ago, but is still going on for a little while longer. You can get a $100 bonus after one year (expired) if you open an account at … [Read the rest]

Do You Buy The Loss Damage Waiver For Rental Cars?

Posted on February 19, 2008 // 98 Comments

If you're like me, you don't rent cars very much outside of work. But when I do, I'm always of mixed emotion when it comes down to the inevitable question: Do you want to buy the Loss Damage Waiver (LDW)? It costs around $20/day, but it basically … [Read the rest]

Reader Question: Handling a Bank Error In My Favor?

Posted on February 18, 2008 // 130 Comments

Reader Kristina from Arizona has a problem. Well, some might not see it as a problem, but here it is: On December 7, 2007, I had $2,802.00 deposited into my business checking account at Wamu. A chunk of change I must say. I called the bank to … [Read the rest]

Retired At 40: How Much Is A Military Pension Worth?

Posted on February 17, 2008 //

A few weeks ago I was reading an article in Money magazine about a couple who retired at 40. While they do live frugally in relatively low-cost St. Louis, the primary reason they were able to retire is that they each served for 20 years in the … [Read the rest]

Weekend Project: Join A Free Online Photography Class

Posted on February 15, 2008 // 15 Comments

With the explosion of sites like Flickr, it seems like everyone is an amateur photography nut. I know I've talked about getting a SLR and taking a photography classes for oh... a decade?! Well, why not partake in a free online photography class … [Read the rest]