Restaurant Gift Certificates – Giving the Gift of Food

Restaurant gift certificates are a great holiday gift for friends or family that love to eat out.  Choosing the right gift card when it comes to food can be kind of tricky so you really have to be sure you’re picking a place they like to eat. If you know of a restaurant they like […]

Christmas Gift Cards – Choosing the Best Gift Card

How many times have you been stumped when trying to buy a gift for a friend or family member? A recent survey by the National Retail Federation found one of the main reasons why people avoid gift cards is that they aren’t sure which ones to buy. I’ve found that gift cards and gift certificates can […]

Christmas Shopping Calendar – Dates to Save You Money

We’ve written a lot recently about preparing your budget and shopping plans so that you don’t overspend on gifts over the holidays.  Here are some key shopping dates to plan around that can save you some money. Black Friday (November 28) – The official start of the holiday shopping season, the day after Thanksgiving when retailers offer […]

How Merrill Lynch and AIG Failed & Triggered the Credit Crunch

Why did Merrill Lynch and AIG fail?  How did these huge financial companies run out of money? Gretchen Morgenson, financial writer for the New York Times, does a nice job explaining what happened in this radio interview. Morgenson covers Merrill Lynch’s and Lehman Brothers heavy involvement in the mortgage industry and how the securitization of […]

The Best Websites For Christmas Shopping Deals

Here are some websites that I frequent to get great deals when shopping online.  You may want to check out these sites when doing your holiday shopping this year. Ben’s Bargain’s – It’s a deal aggregator that scours the web for the best deals on electronics, appliances, and various other products.  Many of the items that […]

Christmas Deals on eBay – Strategies for Saving Money this Holiday

Christmas deals are everywhere on eBay, you just have to know where to find them!  eBay recently sent a newsletter to sellers with tips on how to boost their holiday sales; I thought I’d share a few of them from the consumer point of view and see how they can save you money. Microsoft Live […]

FNBO Direct – Funding Your Online Savings Account

Funding your FBNO Direct online savings account is a pretty simple process so at first I was surprised when I recieved the email below from FNBO Direct explaining how to link an external bank account for transfers. Of course, I’ve opened multple online accounts and setup funding for them many times so I’m used to […]

Christmas Budgeting – Building A Christmas Fund

Halloween is over, Thanksgiving is around the corner, and the biggest shopping season of the year is close to follow.  The shopping in November and December is what keeps financial planners and debt counselors employed.  Budgeting for Christmas Gifts Many people go nuts with Christmas and holiday shopping.  I know I’m guilty of it; I tend […]

Are You Struggling With Financial Decisions?

Have you ever had difficulty making a financial decision?  You are not alone, we all struggle making choices about our money and many of us find multiple ways to postpone or avoid these important decisions. What causes us to duck our financial responsibilities?  I have an evolving theory that we avoid making these decisions because we’re […]

Best and Worst of a Crazy October

Self-relection is the key to growth and improvment so I thought I’d take a moment to look back over the best and worst of the last month or so. Worst of October My main failure in October was efficient use of my time.  I have to apologize for having been so horrible about responding to […]

« Previous Page — Next Page »