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avatar You are viewing an archive of articles by Smithee. Smithee formerly lived primarily on credit cards and the good will of his friends. He is a newbie to personal finance but quickly learning from his past mistakes. You can follow him on Twitter, where his user name is @SmitheeConsumer.

Smithee

YouTube Leanback: Another Option for Free TV

by Smithee

This week YouTube released a beta of an interface called Leanback, open for anyone to try right now. It starts out full-screen and immediately starts playing videos it thinks would interest you based on your YouTube contacts’ activities like rating and choosing favorites. I presume it will also, if it doesn’t already, suggest videos based ... Continue reading this article…

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I Deposited a Check With My Phone

by Smithee

This past weekend was my first chance to try to deposit a check without going to the bank, and it was fantastic. I was always ambivalent about the fact that Chase Bank swallowed up the friendly Washington Mutual, but now I’m a little glad, since they’re among the first of the enormous banks to bring ... Continue reading this article…

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New Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan

by Smithee

Historically, it’s been difficult, if not impossible, for Americans with medical problems to acquire affordable health insurance. That changed yesterday with the rollout of another piece of this year’s Affordable Care Act, the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP). As of July 1, 2010, adult citizens or legal residents who have been without insurance for six ... Continue reading this article…

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Save Money By Driving With Your Toe

by Smithee

“Hypermiling” is a word we use for doing everything you can to squeeze the best mileage possible from your car, including hardware modifications which may or may not void your warranty and certain driving techniques which may be both dangerous and illegal. You may have seen some of these tested on Mythbusters, such as driving ... Continue reading this article…

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Live Sports: One More Reason to Get Rid of Cable

by Smithee

Among the more popular reasons for not ditching cable is the desire to watch live sports. ESPN is coming to the rescue of many future cable-less households by introducing live, streaming sports in HD through the Xbox. In order to benefit, you’ll need to be an Xbox Live Gold member, which is about $50 a ... Continue reading this article…

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Fed Issues New Rules for Credit Card Fees

by Smithee

The Credit CARD Act of 2009, which we’ve been covering in detail throughout its long snake through Congress, is finally nearing the end of its beginning. Ever since the fall of 2008, lawmakers have been trying to end abusive credit card practices. It started with a set of proposals from the Federal Reserve, but that ... Continue reading this article…

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Smithee Debt Update, Mid-June 2010

by Smithee

Happy Friday. It’s been about a month since my last credit card debt update, and I’m pleased to report that I’m still committed, and the plan continues to work. The weather is getting annoyingly warm, which is usually the time I start engaging in (metaphorically) self-destructive behavior, but I’m in the home stretch now, and ... Continue reading this article…

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Your Plans for the New iPhone 4

by Smithee

We recently asked you to take a poll about your iPhone upgrading intentions, including your contract situation and which hardware features you found the most tempting. The results were sometimes surprising. 162 people answered the poll, and 48 percent of you are planning on upgrading within two months from today. That’s much higher than I would ... Continue reading this article…

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The iPhone 4: Is It In Your Near Future?

by Smithee

By now, I’m past the point of not caring what’s in the new iPhone. I “watched” Apple’s keynote presentation as it happened, and I’ve read several articles and talked to my friends and ogled the videos. I haven’t changed my mind, I still want one, and I will most likely be upgrading within 60 days ... Continue reading this article…

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Power-Saving Televisions on the Way

by Smithee

I’ve always been a big fan of saving energy, both mine and my household’s, but more for efficiency reasons that a desire to “save the Earth”. If there’s nobody in a room, it just doesn’t make any sense to leave the light on. If turning off unused devices helps reduce global power consumption, then so ... Continue reading this article…

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