From the monthly archives:
Please view this updated overview of the best online savings accounts. As I mentioned yesterday, Washington Mutual has leapfrogged ahead, raising the interest rate offered on the bank’s online savings account to 3.75 percent APY. I’ve updated the list of highest online savings account interest rates to reflect the current rate leader. Here is a summary ... Continue reading this article…
{ 9 comments }
I recently sold a number of possessions in my year-long quest to vanquish my credit card debt as quickly as possible. Before this, I had very limited experience using online selling tools, and generally thought of them all as a hassle, so I thought I would try more than one and see how they stacked ... Continue reading this article…
{ 4 comments }
Starting tomorrow, Washington Mutual is increasing the interest rate offered on its online savings account to 3.75 percent APY. This jump will put this account on top among the best-known online savings accounts. This is a wide enough margin over
{ 6 comments }
Many Consumerism Commentary readers don’t know this: I was a band geek. In high school, I played clarinet in wind ensemble and marching band. This continued into college, where I decided to major in music education. In college, I performed in a variety of ensembles on a variety of instruments ranging from trumpet to ... Continue reading this article…
{ 7 comments }
Here are the most popular articles on Consumerism Commentary during the month of July 2008.
The Correct Way to Pay Off Personal Debt: The Debt Avalanche 2007 New Jersey Homestead Rebate: Receive Up to $2,000 Just Like Apple’s MobileMe, But Free (by Smithee) Net Worth Competition: Don’t Compare Yourself With Others Four Day Work Week: Is it a Good Idea? Your ... Continue reading this article…
{ 3 comments }
I really enjoy good “data visualization”, which is a fancy, but more succinct way of saying “a way to look at information as more than just numbers.” Last year, before most of us were aware of the “mortgage crisis,” some enterprising individual took a list of average housing prices in the United States since 1890, adjusted ... Continue reading this article…
{ 8 comments }
If anyone should be giving advice about how to become a successful entrepreneur, it would probably not be me. While I am earning money on my own outside of my day job, it’s not consistent or reliable. Part of the reason for this is that I never intended on becoming a business owner of ... Continue reading this article…
{ 11 comments }
The FDIC has announced that two more banks failed yesterday, bringing the total this year to seven. 1st National Bank of Nevada and First Heritage Bank operate a total of 28 branches in Nevada, Arizona, and California. Neither of these banks was included in the list of the top ten banks likely to ... Continue reading this article…
{ 1 comment }
As I write this roundup, the anchors of The Today Show mentioned they will soon present the founder of Thrasher Funds, an expensive mutual fund company designed to attract younger people towards investing, to offer financial advice for teenagers. I’ve noted before that the concept is good, but the execution is out of touch. ... Continue reading this article…
{ 0 comments }
FreeCreditReport.com is the heavily advertised company that offers “free” credit reports (if you sign up for a trial offer for their monitoring service with a monthly fee. They have huge billboards at Shea Stadium, where I will be tomorrow to see the (currently) first-placed Mets. Keep in mind that the place to get ... Continue reading this article…
{ 9 comments }
I received an email to inform me that HSBC Direct has extended its “promotional” interest rate on the online savings account of 3.5 percent APY to September 15, increasing this promotion by one month. I’m not sure what the difference is between a “promotional” rate and any other rate; as always, interest rates on savings ... Continue reading this article…
{ 2 comments }
Robert Shiller, a professor of economics at Yale University, shares advice about investing he learned in graduate school. One needs to think antisocially to excel in investing, to resist the patterns of thinking that seem mysteriously to arrive simultaneously in the minds of millions of people around the world. People do not trust their own ... Continue reading this article…
{ 2 comments }
Rather than firing up the central air conditioning, you can keep it off or lower its power in the heat of the summer by exploring some of these low-cost alternatives. 1. Use fans. While fans don’t change the temperature of the air, they increase air movement, which will make you feel cooler by a few degrees. ... Continue reading this article…
{ 5 comments }
Bill Miller, the manager of Legg Mason Value Trust, shares some advice about building wealth. [My father said...] “See this ‘plus .25′? That means that if you own one share of this company today, you have 25¢ more than you had yesterday.” I had come in from mowing the grass for three hours to earn 25¢. ... Continue reading this article…
{ 3 comments }
October 6, 2008 Update: The FDIC has increased the maximum deposits covered under federal insurance. The new FDIC coverage limits are outlined here. Without getting too specific about the company I work for, a large company like mine has to make efficient use of its financial assets. Most of a company’s money should be invested ... Continue reading this article…
{ 6 comments }
Earlier this month, IndyMac, a bank and mortgage lender, collapsed, and through an interesting process the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) assumed responsibility of the bank’s deposit accounts. This collapse, only a few months after NetBank closed and its deposits were acquired by ING Direct, has people everywhere worrying about their money. The ... Continue reading this article…
{ 10 comments }
A recent Nielsen study revealed that almost two-thirds of consumers in the United States, many more than those surveyed just one year ago, have cut back their expenses, specifically due to escalating gas prices. According to the study, which queried about 50,000 consumers during the first week of June, when regular gas averaged $3.98 ... Continue reading this article…
{ 29 comments }
Back in the late 1980s, I collected baseball cards just like millions of other kids. That’s around the same time that popularity of baseball card collecting skyrocketed and the producers of cards — and Major League Baseball — ruined the hobby, never to recover. Taking advantage of collector — and even investor — interest, ... Continue reading this article…
{ 8 comments }
Nicholas emailed me with this question. I’m trying to find some kind of free accounting software for balancing my checkbook, and that sort of thing. I already use Mint.com, but it isn’t much good if I plan on writing a check, or if I want to create a recurring transaction. I don’t need something to actually ... Continue reading this article…
{ 10 comments }
The Dow and the S&P 500 indexes were both up 2.5 percent and the Nasdaq index was up 3.1 percent today. Is this a sign of things to come? I wouldn’t mind if it were. My 401(k) has been decimated this year. That’s a literal decimation, a reduction of 10 percent of its value. ... Continue reading this article…
{ 9 comments }
Popular Articles From pfblogs.org
Latest From the Money Tips Network
