Here is a 5-minute, 20-slide talk from a 2007 Ignite conference in which John Gruhl shares his tips on buying a new car from a dealer. It's gotten over 250,000 views on YouTube, and includes a lot of the same tips you may have heard before but in a … [Read the rest]
Poll: How Big Is Your Emergency Fund?
Posted on January 10, 2011 // 20 Comments
Below is a chart of the median duration of unemployment from July 1967 to December 2010, based on data supplied by the US Department of Labor. Things are bad out there, and remember, this is just the median! According to this December … [Read the rest]
What Is Your Portfolio’s Current Asset Allocation?
Posted on January 7, 2011 // 11 Comments
If you haven't been keeping close track of it, your portfolio's asset allocation may have shifted significantly over the past year. Your relative mix of assets like stocks, bonds, or real estate has a great impact on the volatility and expected … [Read the rest]
TradeKing “New Year, New Broker” $50 Sign-up Bonus
Posted on January 7, 2011 // 4 Comments
Online discount broker TradeKing has brought back their on-again, off-again $50 sign-up bonus for new accounts. You must open with at least $2,500 and make one trade within 30 days. TradeKing offers $4.95 trades with no minimum balance requirement … [Read the rest]
Free PDF of Debt Free for Life by David Bach (1/5 Only)
Posted on January 5, 2011 // 5 Comments
Almost forgot, you can download a PDF copy of Debt Free for Life by David Bach over at direct download link (expired). If you've read his many other personal finance books like Automatic Millionaire, I don't expect this to be radically different... … [Read the rest]
Free Credit Score Estimates From Transunion, Equifax, and Experian
Posted on January 5, 2011 // 4 Comments
It's 2011, so why not a status check on your credit scores? In a previous post, I explained the relationships between credit reports vs. FICO credit scores vs. FAKO credit scores. Give it read if you haven't already. You can obtain a free copy of … [Read the rest]
Credit Reports, Credit Scores, FICO, & FAKO Explained
Posted on January 5, 2011 // 3 Comments
This year, I'm trying to make my posts more modular so I can interlink them more easily. I've mentioned several of these bits and pieces about credit reports and credit scores before, but I wanted to put it all together at least once. Here … [Read the rest]
Fitness Resolution? Don’t Join A Gym Until February
Posted on January 4, 2011 // 17 Comments
New year, same old goals. :) This January, don't sign up for an expensive gym membership with a contract, or buy a $500+ treadmill that ends up collecting dust. Yes, these might really help you achieve a healthier body, but they could also be a … [Read the rest]
100 Free Continental Airlines Miles For Cardholders
Posted on January 4, 2011 // 5 Comments
You can also get 100 free Continental Airlines miles by reading about how you can earn miles with a Continental Airlines-branded credit or debit card, and entering your OnePass number by Feb 28, 2011. Registration is required. Bonus miles will be … [Read the rest]
150 American Airlines Miles For 2-Minute Video
Posted on January 4, 2011 // 4 Comments
You can grab a quick 150 American Airlines AAdvantage miles by visiting this website and watching a quick video about a new $150 Bose bluetooth headset. Earn another 250 miles if you stop by a Bose store and do a live demo. Every miles counts, and … [Read the rest]
2010 Investment Returns by Asset Class
Posted on January 2, 2011 // Leave a Comment
Vanguard has the year-to-date returns up to 12/31/2010 for all of their mutual funds available right now, so I made a table with all of the funds and asset classes that I like to track for my records. These are almost all passively-managed funds, … [Read the rest]
BP ThankYou Days Promo: $10 After 5th Gas Fill-up
Posted on January 1, 2011 // 22 Comments
BP has a promotion starting today called Thank You Days where you can get a $10 BP gift card after your 5th fill-up of 8 gallons or more. At $3 a gallon and assuming you stop at 8 gallons per fill-up, this will save you 25 cents per gallon. Not … [Read the rest]
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