In light of the new consumer bill of rights floating around Congress as of yesterday, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about some of the more sneaky practices credit card companies resort to. We all know the dangers of credit card fees and what happens when the bill is late. But, what are some of the things credit card companies do that are REALLY sneaky? This, folks, is why we need the “credit cardholders’ bill of rights!”##1## Read the rest of this entry »

We were lucky enough to have our posts listed in the Carnival of Financial Planning over at The Skilled Investor, the Carnival of Money Hacks at Daily Money Hack, and the Carnival of Net Worth at Llama Money.

And be sure to check out this weeks edition of the Finance Fiesta: Margarita Edition at Wide Open Wallet, where we got an ‘Editors Pick’. Nice!

Lots of great posts this week from the Personal Finance Blogosphere.##5## Read the rest of this entry »

It’s important to teach children about money from the time they start earning their first pennies. Kids might learn about money from a textbook at school or they might learn with “play” money, but they also need to have experience with real money in the real world. Kids are curious about money. My six-year-old loves to collect pennies and put them in a jar to see how many he can accumulate. Children learn early that if they get a certain Read the rest of this entry »

Going through a divorce is never pleasant – as Jonathan referred to it in an earlier post, it’s excruciating. In said earlier post, he talked about the fact that credit card debt and divorce don’t mix and why. I’m going to piggyback on that post and talk about 8 tips to help you divide that debt up with the least amount of pain and annoyance as possible. To refresh your memory, you can read Jonathan’s post here.

Tip # 1: Read the rest of this entry »

Sometimes our legal system amazes me. I mean, who would have thought that a woman could sue McDonald’s for burning herself with hot coffee? I don’t think many people believe in the ‘innocent until proven guilty’ mantra as evidenced by the good number of innocent people that go to jail, only to be determined later that they are, in fact innocent. In short, I think the whole justice system is in need of an overhaul.##1## Read the rest of this entry »

Money is in some respects like fire; it is a very excellent servant but a terrible master. When you have it mastering you; when interest is constantly piling up against you, it will keep you down in the worst kind of slavery. But let money work for you, and you have the most devoted servant in the world. It is no “eye-servant.” There is nothing animate or inanimate that will work so faithfully as money when placed at interest, well Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve all been to those dinners with friends where we feel obligated to pick up the tab, or they order fillet mignon and we get a side salad. It’s tough when you’re in different financial situations, but sometimes we have to ask ourselves if we’re in debt because of our friends.

I know I have to catch myself sometimes. I have friends at both ends of the spectrum and sometimes when I’m with my friends Read the rest of this entry »

This is a guest post from Greg Vandagriff. Be sure to check out his great new site, Equidash!

Last week I discussed the circumstances which led to FICO 08. Essentially the bastard child of Fair Isaac Credit Organization and mortgage lenders, the new credit scoring model will allegedly be a better predictor of defaults on mortgage loans. One could argue that the entire affair is nothing more than a desperate publicity stint aimed to Read the rest of this entry »

Seb over at Pinching copper has an interesting piece on the impossbility of a basic standard of living on minimum wagesKevin from No Debt Plan has a great entry on ‘Green Home’ resourcesWide Open Wallet just wrote a heart-warming post about a good Samaritan who took pity on her at the zooPenelope shares some tips on getting the most out of your cardboard boxes at Our Fourpence WorthCinder talks about his experiences investing time in a Read the rest of this entry »

Only 1 more day until the weekend!

In the meantime, here are a selection of the best Personal Finance posts the blogosphere has to offer:

My good friend Kevin over at No Debt Plan wrote a complimentary piece to our article, 10 steps to becoming a millionaire, entitled ‘10 steps to Avoid becoming a millionaire‘! Well worth a read. My other bestest pal, Mom from Wide Open Wallet, wrote an article entitled ‘Millionaire Read the rest of this entry »