The Million Dollar Savings Club
December 7, 2006
How long does it take to build up 1 million dollars, saving 3 dollars a day? Join the Club As usual with personal finance, the answer is “it depends” but you can check in with Bryan Fleming to see how the first 100 days have gone. He started up the The Million Dollar Savings Club […]
Turning Credit into Cash Instead of Debt
December 6, 2006
What if we used credit only for growth and not consumption? Professor Muhammad Yunus, the winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, shows us a whole new meaning behind the concept of credit. When Yunus saw a way to make a difference by giving out tiny “microcredit” loans to the poor in Bangladesh the Grameen […]
Is Our Frugality Cutting Into Amazon.com’s Profit Margins?
December 5, 2006
Festival of Frugality The Festival of Frugality is ready for a read over at The Frugal Duchess. Sharon’s writing skills are revealed as she summarizes the unique aspect of each article with a short comment for each. Her intriguing description of my contribution, Shopping Your Way Out of Debt makes me want to read it […]
Welcome Readers from Five Cent Nickel!
December 4, 2006
Hello, I’m glad you found your way here from the guest article at Five Cent Nickel, hopefully it convinced you to strive to become “The Biggest Saver”! Some of the other topics I covered here at Money Smart Life this week are Following the Herd at the Carnival of Investing, the frustration of Flexible Spending […]
How to Build Wealth by Creating Urgency in Others!
December 4, 2006
CopyBlogger wrote a recent article discussing the best ways to create urgency in your readers. While his topic centered on generating urgency to create a sale, I think the need for urgency applies to personal finance sites as well. Getting the Message Across The importance of starting to plan, save, and invest as soon as […]
Carnival of Debt Reduction #64
December 4, 2006
The Carnival of Debt Reduction #64 is up and running over at Necessary Virtues. Credit cards have brought some positives and many negatives to the world of personal debt. I ask the question, What Was The World Like Before Credit Cards? The Simple Dollar puts things into perspective for me with his entry Nourishment on […]
Vanguard STAR Mutual Fund (VGSTX) – An Option for the Investing Rookie
December 3, 2006
An article today at The Simple Dollar talked about getting started investing with Vanguard mutual funds. We have our Roth IRA’s in a variety of Vanguard index funds. We chose Vanguard for the same reasons that Trent lists: low expenses, good selection of index funds, and great company reputation. Account Minimums One thing that I […]
Wanted. Psychic with Experience in Flexible Spending Accounts
December 3, 2006
How much will you spend on health care next year? If only you had a psychic to help you figure that one out. I went through the usual what-if scenarios this November when allocating my flexible spending account withholding. It is a useful tax reduction strategy but it can drive you crazy! The frustration of […]
How You Can Extend Your Life and Fatten Your Wallet by Planning Ahead
December 2, 2006
How many times have you been stuck at work or on the road with an empty stomach? Snack Attack Trying to concentrate when you’re hungry is near impossible. We often turn to fast food, soda, candy, and salty snacks to ease our growling stomachs. While these items may ease our discomfort, they are also affecting […]
How to Double Your Savings on Christmas Shopping Deals
December 2, 2006
Looking for some deals this Christmas? Understanding the strategy behind retailer’s sales can help you save twice as much! Retail Strategies The reason retailers have sales is to convince us to buy from them. The promotions they run have two main goals: 1) Get us into the store 2) Convince us to spend the most […]
