Erik from MoneyCrashers contacted me recently and offered me the chance to share the story of Consumerism Commentary. We finished the interview this past week, and you can now read it online. I appreciate the chance, and it’s exciting to me that someone is interested in the motivation behind Consumerism Commentary.
Here are some other articles from around the web that are worth reading, as well.
NCN from No Credit Needed explains where he keeps his emergency fund. His fund consists of an online savings account, and online interest-bearing checking account, and hard cash. That’s not a bad combination at all. He also explains that he’s not afraid to dip into the emergency fund. As NCN’s philosophy is to live life without any debt, he’s going to need cash for big-ticket items. It’s hard to imagine buying a house without incurring debt, at least in my area, but I would think that these large purchases would come from a savings account dedicated to a purchasing goal, not an emergency fund.
What do you think about wardrobing? There’s an interesting discussion at Free Money Finance about the practice of buying a product for short-term use and taking advantage of the store’s return policy by bringing the slightly used product back to the store for a full refund. Is this ethical? It’s legal as long as you follow the store’s policy; after all, what’s the difference to the store if you’re returning it because it doesn’t work as expected or you don’t like it, or if you’re returning it because you got what you needed and no longer want it? Stores take this practice into account when they set their return policies and prices, but is it a form of lying? The commenters in the discussion bring up some interesting points.
Avoid taking loans from your 401(k). If you do, AllFinancialMatters has run the numbers so you’ll know what to expect. He also has some tips for minimizing the financial pain if taking a loan from your 401(k) is necessary. More articles are below.
Million Dollar Journey presents 8 things to do before closing on a house. Soon, it will be time once again for me to reevaluate my living situation, and this could come in handy if I choose one path.
Every year, Consumerist runs a “contest” for the worst company in America. Comcast is leading the pack so far. Other than their high prices, I haven’t had much to complain about Comcast lately. (My current cable provider is a small company that was recently purchased by Comcast.) I’d probably prefer Verizon FiOS if it becomes available,
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2:19 pm (reply)
Thanks for the mention Flexo!