The Money Writers

Yesterday, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) released its last quarter banking profile (PDF) of 2008 and the banking sector is still very weak, despite hundreds of billions of dollars infusion from the government. At the end of 2008, a total of 252 banks were placed on the FDIC’s problem bank list, up from 171 [...]

Original Post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

Special bonus offers

• Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 Plan $25 Bonus
• Lending Club $25 Sign Up Bonus

Random News: 252 Banks on FDIC Problem List, Worst February for the Dow, and Gold Pullback

Last year’s table-top design.  This year we’re going with several raised bed boxes.
This week I took a look at the 10-day forecast and it revealed temperatures hovering in the mid-sixties for highs, and lows safely above freezing.  That means it’s time to start thinking about gardening!  Last year we gave square foot gardening a try, [...]

I’ve been getting numerous emails from readers looking for Smith Manoeuvre or leveraged investment advisors in their area.  The problem is, I don’t know any, but I’m wondering if you could help me out?
Are you a Smith Manoeuvre advisor?  Or, do you know any Smith Manoeuvre advisors in your area?
If so, please contact me via [...]

Winter continues. We passed attorney review on our house so the clock is now ticking on making a move.  Yet at the same time the weather, the passing of time since I had a schedule imposed by a commute and the exhaustion of dealing with two young kids all day long make the days [...]

With the stock market numbers not looking so good lately, have you been wondering (as I have) about when this economic malaise will end?
I ruminated a bit on this issue in my post on signs of a stock market bottom. It’s natural to wonder at this point when things will start getting better, [...]

Only one week into the peer-to-peer lending business, I already received my first payment of $0.80 ($0.60 principle plus $0.20 interest, that’s equivalent to 10.2% yield). It’s from a $25 loan I purchased last week using Lending Club Note Trading Platform (check out my Lending Club Note Trading Platform review for details). The loan isn’t [...]

Original Post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

Lending Club $25 Sign Up Bonus

This is a guest post by Andy over at Retire at 40. His plan is to get out of the rat race by the time he turns 40, which is now less than seven years away. He does use the British spellings and terminology. I thought it added to the character of the post [...]

As I have briefly mentioned in the past few weeks, we’re expecting a child pretty soon. Right now it looks like sometime in the next three weeks, so I’m going to be looking for guest posts to have on hand when that does happen. I’ll obviously be tied up with a lot of other issues, [...]

About the Author: Jeremy is a retirement planning specialist and founder of Generation X Finance and the guide to Financial Planning at About.com. To learn more, follow Jeremy on Twitter.

Friday Finance Findings for February 27th – Looking for Guest Posts

I think we all have financial confessions to make, little things we do with our money that aren’t so smart or that we’re not proud of.  The thing is, no one else really knows about our “dirty little secrets” so we’re not accountable to anyone to change our bad habits.
To help keep me honest I’ll [...]

I spent some time last week chatting with a Discover rep about the Discover 25,000 Bonus Miles offer to clarify the math. When I explained to him what I was doing, he suggested an even better card for readers! Talk about great customer service!
So this week, for Free Money Friday, we’ll feature the (even better) [...]

QuickTax Winners
The long awaited QuickTax winners have been chosen and are now ready to be announced!  Out of the 184 entries, there were 3 winners randomly chosen for free online tax filing this year.  The winners are …

Lyne (2)
Karash (32)
PH (106)

Congrats guys!  I will be contacting you shortly with the QuickTax codes.
Another Book Giveaway Ending [...]

Photo courtesy of Grzegorz Lobinski
I recently stumbled upon the website for Backwoods Home Magazine and liked what I saw.  I considered subscribing, but was a bit hesitant, until my enthusiasm for the magazine was reinforced by a post just yesterday from J.D. at Get Rich Slowly. He posted an excellent review of self-sufficiency magazines [...]

Shopping for a new car? Make sure you check out the Consumer Reports 2009 Top Picks.
In the latest issue of Consumer Reports, the magazine published its annual best car list. In total more than 300 models were tested and 10 new models were chosen as the top picks in 10 categories based on road test [...]

Original Post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

Consumer Reports 2009 Best New Car Picks

When saving for my kids’ college education, I really like 529 savings plans because there are programs that make it easy for others to pitch in to help with our savings efforts. When saving for college, you can have anyone you know participate in your savings program, if you so wish.
Extra Savings For Your [...]

New COBRA Changes Reduce Premiums by 65%
The latest simulus package, also referred to as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has included a provision that will reduce the COBRA health coverage premiums by 65% for those who qualify. With job losses mounting and many individuals relying on health insurance through their employer, this [...]

About the Author: Jeremy is a retirement planning specialist and founder of Generation X Finance and the guide to Financial Planning at About.com. To learn more, follow Jeremy on Twitter.

COBRA Changes – Premium Reduction Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

When I bought my first stock Nortel, (NT) which filed for bankruptcy protection recently,  more than six years ago, I didn’t know much about investing or trading stocks. The reason I bought NT was simply because it was cheap in dollar amount. That’s right. How much could I lose with a stock at $0.47 a [...]

Original Post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

Book I Read: Come Into My Trading Room by Alexander Elder

My wife got her Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) update the other day. (For my civilian readers, this is the military version of the 401k or 403b retirement savings plans). Not good times. I hadn’t noticed what she was looking at, so I just suspected it was some junk mail. I think [...]

With the continued bad news surrounding the economy and stock markets tumbling to levels not seen in over a decade, more and more people are getting out of stocks. Whether that’s the right course of action or not, we won’t know for a few years, but in most cases this is about the worst possible [...]

About the Author: Jeremy is a retirement planning specialist and founder of Generation X Finance and the guide to Financial Planning at About.com. To learn more, follow Jeremy on Twitter.

Poll: Have You Pulled Out of the Stock Market?

Downsizing seems to be the hot topic at our house lately. My husband and I had a long discussion last week. It revolved around finances, lifestyle, goals and happiness. Since I quit my job 5 months ago, I’ve never been happier!
Downsizing
I took interest in the CNN story about a couple selling their home to [...]

If you’ve been laid off, your hours have been cut back, or you are simply making a job change due to relocating to a different city you’re probably looking for a way to make some extra money right away. Picking up freelance jobs in the industry where you have the most expertise can lead to [...]

There are a million books written on the subject of money-making – at least. Most people, if they are sensible, want to acquire wealth.  If you don’t want material goods for yourself or for your family, you probably would like to acquire wealth to benefit a charity or a cause.  If you don’t want to [...]

This is another guest post by Kathryn.  She is evaluating the potential cost of dog ownership.  Great timing as we’re also considering getting a dog in the future.

This is a spin off on Newborn Baby Expenses as pet ownership can also be pricey!
Brian and I both grew up with dogs but because of our transient [...]

Over the last several months my family’s top two financial priorities have been to become credit card debt free, and establish an emergency fund of six months of expenses.  I’m proud to report that we have made a lot of progress, and should accomplish both goals by year end.
We rarely do things as prescribed, and [...]

Well, I thought things couldn’t get crazier around here but it has. Lots of things have been happening behind the scenes for us, including some blog-related social and media events. So it’s all good. Fantastic in fact!
Bargaineering Was In Town
I thought I’d mention some of the wonderful perks of being a blogger [...]

Quicken Online is improving. The online money management site just added a new feature to make tracking and managing your cash transactions easier.
The new feature is called My Wallet. With My Wallet, you can manually enter cash transactions in Quicken by providing such information as Payee, Transaction Amount, and Category, as you can see from [...]

Original Post on The Sun’s Financial Diary

Quicken Online Adds Cash Tracking Feature to Help You Manage Cash Transactions