Tracy Harger, a recovering mutual fund addict, tells her story of how she became a junkie and how show finally broke her habit. Moral: just like other vices, everything can be acceptable in moderation.

Amy Chan Hilton and Edgar Hilton have or are finishing their doctorates in engineering and currently have a combined income of $140,000. They are on their way to becoming millionaires through their savings, investments and a plan to retire when they become 40 in less than ten years. They’re avid savers but manage to live a good life from the sound of it.

As I’m getting ready to post my financial reports for April, I’m making some changes to my accounting methods. I would like to get this information out in the open in case anyone has any questions or suggestions ahead of time. This would allow me to make changes if necessary, but I think everything’s going to be okay. Read the rest of this article »

Unaffected by the failure of the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin to come the “dollar of the future” as expected in the 1970s and by the failure of the Sacagawea dollar coin to be used for anything at all in the last six years, Congress is taking another stab—this time, at dead presidents.

Compared to the past dollar coin efforts, the state quarters have been wildly successful, mostly due to collectors who hoard the coins and keep them out of circulation. The state quarter initiative involves the release of five new quarter dollar coin designs every year for ten years, 1999 throuh 2008.

The new Presidential Dollar Coin Act will introduce two new dollar coin designs every year. Each design will feature a past POTUS, whether dead or alive (but mostly dead). Congress is counting on collectors getting into the game; the cost of minting a coin is well below its face value, so the US Mint makes money when people collect.

While doing research for an article for Business Week, Amey Stone has come to the conclusion that car prices are on the way up. Incentives are running out, and makers can’t squeeze any more savings out of their operational processes.

She makes an interesting point in an entry on her weblog, Well Spent: ... 10 years ago it took the average worker 30 weeks to pay for a car, but it takes just 20 weeks today.

Interestingly enough, the price of the car I purchased last year (a new 2004 Honda Civic LX) was within $1,000 of 20 weeks of my salary at my current job. This confirms what my boss has known all along: I’m an average worker.

You may remember that I opened an account at Emigrant Direct to take advantage of their 3.25% APY. I received a letter today from the bank explaining that they are limiting one of their features.

The letter states: As of Monday, May 23, 2005, EmigrantDirect.com will no longer accept additional deposits to the American Dream Savings Account by mail and checks received by mail on or after this date will be returned to the sender.

The letter goes on to explain the new requirement for online-only transfers. The changes won’t affect me, even if I were to use Emigrant Direct as my primary savings account. However, there may be some people who find this an inconvenience.

Most people are predicting that interest rates on student loans will go up on July 1. It might make sense for people with these loans to consolidate before the rate increase. I still have a small portion left over from my undergraduate degree but I’ve also begun accumulating a balance from my graduate degree, 90% of which is reimbursed by my employer. Thus, I am thinking about this topic and weighing my options.

According to CNN Money, rates may go up as much as 2.5 percentage points. I’d like to avoid that if possible.

One solution is consolidation of the student loans. There are advantages and disadvantages to consider, however.

First the advantages:

• Paperwork simplification. This isn’t really a big deal to me since I do everything electronically.

• Lock in low rates. Presumably, rates will go up. You can work with the loan consolidator to wait until the night before July 1 and if the rates end up going down, you can consolidate at the lower rate.

  The disadvantages:

• No grace period. If the borrower is still in school when the consolidation occurs, the grace period is forfeited and the payments become due immediately. I’m fine with this situation as I’m going to school part time while working full time. Plus, as my company reimburses me, there will be very little I’ll actually have to pay.
• Only one consolidation allowed. Once the loans are consolidated, you miss any future opportunity to consolidate again at a lower rate. In the current environment, I don’t think raets will be lower in the near future.

• Less benefits. Many lenders offer incentives such as several percentage points off interest for making on-time payments or getting decent grades. Consolidation may not offer such incentives.

  I’m certain that in my position, I should consolidate at the low rate now and pay off the student loans as quickly as possible while still maintaining a safety cushion of emergency cash.

This weekend, I arrived home from my California Vacation. It wasn’t exactly a Griswold farce, but the week had its share of zany moments. Now I’m back to reality—New Jersey—and things aren’t looking good:

• The stock market hasn’t exactly been working in investors’ favor this year.
• Mathew Emmert from The Motley Fool thinks we should expect 0% returns in the market for a while. Dividend stocks the way to go?
• The interview I had at the beginning of the month did not result in a new job offer for me, therefore I cannot make the quick jump from my current position I was hoping for.
• My cat left me a regurgitative present on my carpet.

• The Mets lost to The Nationals.

  Onward and upward, as they say.

I just visited my account online at ING Direct and was presented with a survey. They are considering rolling out a new product: Paperless Checking (or “Electric Orange”).

The gist of it is it can be used for online bill pay and still earn a good rate for checking accounts. The survey mentioned that ING Direct anticipates starting this program out with a 2.0% APR. According to BankRate.com, the highest interest rate offered for an online checking account is 2.27% at Imperial Capital Bank. This account has a $1,000 minimum to open and a $15 monthly service fee, however.

The highest no-fee online checking account is Everbank.com with a rate of 1.76%. You’ll need $1,500 to open that account, however.

I’ll follow ING Direct to see if the product is launched, and if it is, what the interest rate and rules are. Fill out the survey to let the company know what you may be looking for in this type of product.