My Money Blog

Exploring the Connections Between Happiness, Stuff, and Money

Posted on January 24, 2012 // 10 Comments

The Daily Beast has an article Consumption Makes Us Sad? Science Says We Can Be Happy With Less by Barry Schwartz (author of The Paradox of Choice) that serves as a nice compilation of various psychological and behavioral economics findings about … [Read the rest]

Best American Express Membership Reward Redemption: Cash Via Gap Gift Cards?

Posted on January 24, 2012 // 4 Comments

(Update: That was quick, looks like they are sold out. Perhaps they will replenish later.) If you have some American Express Membership Rewards points lying around, perhaps from the American Express Platinum or the AmEx Rewards Premier Gold, then … [Read the rest]

Sprint Family Plan Discount Change, Cancel Without Penalty

Posted on January 23, 2012 // 8 Comments

If you are on a family plan with Sprint service and also have a student or employee cellular discount applied to it, this is a quick heads-up that Sprint is raising your bill. If you look carefully on your January statement, you should find this … [Read the rest]

Visa & Hilton Honors Promotion: 1,000 Free HHonors Points

Posted on January 23, 2012 // 9 Comments

If you have a Hilton HHonors number, a cell phone that accepts text messages, and a Visa card, you can register at visa.com/hiltonhonors to receive promotion text messages and get 1,000 HHonor bonus points. You can earn another 4,000 points if you … [Read the rest]

Credit Card Sign-Up Bonus Summary 2011: Over $2,500 in Free Money

Posted on January 20, 2012 // 34 Comments

Looking back, 2011 was a great year for credit card sign-up incentives. The major issuers rolled out some new cards and features and offered up big bonuses to get you to try them out. By picking up the tastiest offers, you could have reaped thousands … [Read the rest]

Do I Have An Obsession With Early Retirement?

Posted on January 19, 2012 // 36 Comments

After my post counting down my years until early retirement earlier this week, I received a very thoughtful e-mail from reader Tim: I've been reading and enjoying your blog for a long time, and think it's one of the best out there for your mix of … [Read the rest]

Historical Bond Yields vs. S&P 500 Dividend Yield

Posted on January 18, 2012 // 7 Comments

Here's a chart from a Morninstar article on dividend stock ETFs that caught my eye. It shows the historical relationship between the yield on 10-year US Treasury bonds and the dividend yield on the S&P 500. I am not convinced that this means one … [Read the rest]

TeamViewer: Great Free App For Controlling Parents’ Computer Remotely

Posted on January 18, 2012 // 20 Comments

If you're the person in your family or circle of friends that always seems to be asked computer questions, or are simply the person asking for help, what you really need is software that allows remote access between computers. That way, you can … [Read the rest]

How Many Years Until You Can Reach Early Retirement?

Posted on January 17, 2012 // 14 Comments

One of the recurring themes of personal finance is that while the concepts are often simple, execution can be quite difficult. A couple of excellent posts from Mr. Money Mustache and The Military Guide (both also mention the Early Retirement … [Read the rest]

The (Next) Big Short: Current Investments of Michael Burry and Steve Eisman

Posted on January 16, 2012 // 7 Comments

I've read parts of The Big Short by Michael Lewis before, but finally re-read the entire thing over the weekend. If you are unfamiliar with this bestseller, it tells the story of the housing bubble through the viewpoint of investors who saw the … [Read the rest]

Selling Unwanted Gift Cards For Cash: Price Comparison

Posted on January 11, 2012 // 43 Comments

Updated with current price quotes for 2012! Now, I always love every gift card that I get... ;) but what if you're trying to simplify your life and wanted to convert your Overpriced.com gift card to good ole' fungible cash? Well, the … [Read the rest]

Active Mutual Funds, Passive ETFs, & Tax Efficiency

Posted on January 10, 2012 // 9 Comments

When looking at your investment returns, it's important to calculate your return after the impact of taxes and expenses (management fees, commissions, bid/ask spreads). That number is what you really end up with, but it's never shown on any … [Read the rest]