I’ve seen a couple of loans fully funded on Prosper.com to pay for very expensive engagement rings. One loan was for $4,000. And that was only for half the cost of the ring! My wife and I were talking about her engagement ring tonight. (She was able to put it on again for the first … Read more
I received a complimentary copy of Lynette Khalfani’s The Money Coach’s Guide to Your First Million courtesy of the publisher (no strings attached, by the way.) First off: I enjoyed the book. It’s written in a deliberate, easy-to-understand voice, and is peppered with an appropriate number of subheadings and “big-idea” call-out boxes so that it’s … Read more
You’ve probably heard the phrase “Don’t ask a barber if you need a haircut.” What about “Don’t ask a dentist if you need a filling?” One of my relatives I spoke to recently was having some tests run by a cardiologist, and the same relative hasn’t gone to a dentist in a while, with the … Read more
This article on MSN was convicting: Too broke to save money? Never Liz Pulliam Weston responds to a reader’s e-mail. Jason Adair supports a family of three on $40k per year, and he finds most of the money-saving advice available — some of mine, probably as well! — quite unhelpful: “Please, spending $15 at Arby’s … Read more
We just got our tax refunds for 2005. (We filed for an extension.) It was a decent-sized interest-free loan to Uncle Sam. It’s true that we could increase my paychecks a little by withholding less. We could use the additional money to invest. However, it’s a game to try to get the withholding as low … Read more
Just because Howie Mandel plays risk-taker provocateur on TV doesn’t mean that he’s a risk-taker himself. The host of Deal or No Deal is risk-averse. He would rather have a bird in the hand than risk it for the two in the bush. He talks about the risks and the nature of the show … Read more
Free Money Finance commented on new rules regarding taking federal tax deductions for charitable gifts. Among the new rules: You can’t write off junk. If it isn’t in “good” condition, you may be disallowed the deduction. Stuff worth more than $500 needs an appraisal. The floor used to be $5,000. Proof of cash gifts is … Read more
After reading and listening to a story about a recent Northwest Airlines “severance package” there were several things I thought of. The main story deals with 60 laid-off employees of the bankrupt airline who received a tip sheet on “101 Ways to Save Money.” All of the tips are sensible ways to save money if … Read more