As featured in The Wall Street Journal, Money Magazine, and more!

July 2003

Good Rate for Savings

This article was written by in Saving. Comments Off


Their ruthless tactics are starting to pay off for savings-minded customers. Capital One is the type of company that offers credit cards to people with poor credit history. People who are happy to qualify for a credit card are willing to pay high interest rates (upwards of 20% APY) and yearly fees (upwards of $50) for the priviledge.

Now people who are interested in saving money can benefit from this. Capital One is offering a savings account with an annual percentage yield of 2.25%. That’s the highest I’ve noticed lately. They don’t seem to be offering any special promotions or bonuses, but I signed up for an account and transferred some money over.

It looks like ING Direct is getting some tough competition. They’re currently offering only a 1.8% APY on their savings account.

Managing Your Money, Dilbert Style

This article was written by in Fun and Contests. Comments Off

Scott Adams, creator of the comic strip Dilbert and holder of an MBA from Berkeley, wrote a “book” on personal finance, and is summarized today on The Motley Fool. Adams boils personal finance down to nine points, which you will see if you read the article.

Bartering in a Bad Economy

This article was written by in Internet. 2 comments.

Joan Ferreria of the Bronx, 19 and unemployed, has traded his Web design skills for a computer keyboard, as well as piano, photography and driving lessons. For giving Spanish lessons, he has banked two 30-day unlimited ride MetroCards. [New York Times article, username: flexoweb, password: flexo]

In a bad economy, some people turn to bartering for goods and services instead of paying cash. If you have a skill or items that someone else might find valuable, you can hook up with other people on sites like Barter Advantage (fee-based) or Craigslist (free).

People of Million Dollar Homes

This article was written by in Real Estate and Home. 2 comments.

Who can afford million dollar homes? Coldwell Banker polled their real estate salespeople to find out.

It turns out that buyers of million dollar homes most often pay in cash, or if they take financing, many put down a payment of at least 50% of the sale price. The two most common professions are corporate executives and entrepreneurs.

As you could probably guess, buyers with a seven-figure budget are just a little different from mainstream home buyers.

A Fattening Career

by Luke Landes

CNN/Money asks, Is your job making you fat? This article stresses the importance of proper eating and exercise specifically for sedentary worker bees. Today for the first time in a long time, I had breakfast (bagel with cream cheese and orange juice) before heading to the office. Not only that, but being overweight takes a ... Continue reading this article…

Read the full article →

Upside-down Cars

by Luke Landes

If you bought a new car recently and didn’t pay cash, chances are pretty good you’re driving a vehicle you can’t afford. Having a car requires more money than the dealers let you believe. Edmunds.com features a True Cost To Own worksheet that calculates some costs you may not be thinking about when you go ... Continue reading this article…

1 comment Read the full article →

How Much To Be Rich?

by Luke Landes

How you choose to spend your money has something to do with how wealthy (or poor) you feel. If you’re constantly confusing need with desire (desire to keep up, desire to have the latest and greatest, desire to show off), chances are you’ll never feel rich enough. This article tells the reader what he already ... Continue reading this article…

Read the full article →

Microsoft Money 2004

by Luke Landes

Over the last couple of days, Microsoft has released their new version of their personal finance software, Microsoft Money 2004. PC Magazine has already reviewed this updated version. They seemed to be quite happy. I’ve used both Intuit’s Quicken 2003 and Money 2003 (concurrently) to compare the two pieces of software, and unlike many people ... Continue reading this article…

Read the full article →

Basic Advice For Future Millionaires

by Luke Landes

We’ve compiled a list of some rules of thumb that you might hold up against your budget, debt, savings, life insurance and net worth. This article paraphrases most books on personal finance, and manages to do so in just a few short paragraphs. I can do one step better: I’ll now paraphrase the article into ... Continue reading this article…

Read the full article →

Stay-At-Home Husband

by Luke Landes

When parents decide to have children, one of the issues they must consider is the option of one parent staying home to watch the kids until they are school age or continuing to work and pay for day care. Sometimes the cost of day care can be more than what the second salary brings in. ... Continue reading this article…

Read the full article →

Saving Early And Often For Retirement

by Luke Landes

In real estate investing, the mantra is location, location, location. In retirement planning, it’s save, save, save! People are getting older and older before they die. That seems like an obvious statement if you read it one way, but also, the average human life span keeps increasing. The more you live, the more money you’ll ... Continue reading this article…

Read the full article →

Owning A Home, Owing Money

by Luke Landes

Rising interest rates make houses less affordable, and thus depress their prices. Homeowners who find themselves overextended may be heading for trouble. There are some dangers that come into play when buying a house right now. Many people tell me that there is no housing bubble. They say that since housing values have always gone ... Continue reading this article…

2 comments Read the full article →

Rental Deal Hunting

by Luke Landes

12 keys to a good deal on a rental car The last time I traveled, I was able to get a good deal by comparing prices and having one company match—and finally better—another company’s offer. Renting a car infrequently is great for people who aren’t normally required to drive. In my area, there is a ... Continue reading this article…

Read the full article →

Monk-Like Discipline

by Luke Landes

Many aspiring millionaires apply monk-like discipline to their campaign to attain wealth, relentlessly depriving themselves of normal creature comforts. It never ceases to amaze me the amount of money young people are able to scrape together. Of course, it helps greatly to have a job with a dynamite salary. The midwesterners in this article have ... Continue reading this article…

2 comments Read the full article →

Welcome and About Me

by Luke Landes

Welcome to a new weblog dedicated to the struggle for personal financial freedom. While it’s mainly about my strife, there are a many great things that can be pulled in from the internet. I hope to explore many different points-of-view on the topics of financial independence, work-for-life and other philosophies, and money in general. So ... Continue reading this article…

2 comments Read the full article →