Friday Finance Findings For January 11th
By Jeremy on Jan 11, 2008 with Comments 3
I don’t have a lot to say other than I’m so glad it’s Friday. This week has been brutal trying to service clients who are freaking out because of what they hear on the news about the stock market. To further compound the issue, our 4th quarter statements went out with a calculation error that showed people losing money on even the guaranteed rate fund! But anyway, I’m going to rest up this weekend, so here are some of the highlights from the past week.
How to Prepare for Falling Interest Rates – The Fed has all but guaranteed that another rate cut is coming later this month, and some expect it may be as much as a half point. So, with rates falling, what can you do to prepare?
4 Ways to Make it Harder to Spend Money – Do you find spending money comes too easily? Jim has 4 ideas that can help you cut back on the bad spending habits.
The Difference Between VantageScore and FICO – TransUnion has a credit score called VantageScore, and The Sun takes a look at how the scores differ.
Seven Things You Must Do to Prepare for an Emergency – Emergencies are never planned, but the good news is that you can plan for emergencies. Lazy Man has seven things you really need to do to help prepare for an unexpected emergency.
Time to Call the Credit Card Company – Really, this works. If you have a high interest rate or are having trouble making payments, simply give them a call. Of course if you are a habitually late and have a poor track record with them, you probably won’t get very far, but you may have luck if you are a relatively good customer.
Do eBay Sellers Need to Pay Self Employment Tax? – If you are selling on eBay and actually make a profit, it’s quite likely that you’ll need to pay SE tax. Ben highlights some of the rules surrounding this.
What is Your Favorite Online Bank? – This is more of a survey than anything else, but with over 50 comments, there are plenty of suggestions for the best online bank. A great resource if you’re undecided on where to stash your savings.
10 Concrete Strategies to Get Out of Debt – If you have any type of debt, this is a must-read. SVB has some terrific tips to help you eliminate that debt and become debt free before you know it.
Free Financial Advice From Tax Professionals – If you have a few questions regarding taxes, here is your chance to get some free advice. The Honest Dollar has all of the details you need to get the advice later this month.
The $2,500 Car: Tata Nano – Would you buy one of these things? While I’d love to have such an inexpensive vehicle, given my driving distances and the speed/size of the other vehicles on the road, I think I’ll pass on the death trap. Although it would be fantastic for a big city.
Really Good-Tasting Water for Free – Water is good. Free is better. The Mighty Bargain Hunter talks about how you can possibly find really good water for free. I don’t have much of a problem since our well water tastes great, but there might be better water out there for some of you.
How I Paid Off My Mortgage – While I’d love to be able to pay off my mortgage, I have a feeling we’ll move before that happens. Plus we have some more important bills to take care of, but here is a true account of how Free Money Finance paid his off.
The Best and Worst Months for the S&P 500 Index – It is probably no surprise that the stock market has been a bit of a disaster so far in 2008, but JLP examines the S&P sine 1926 to highlight the best and worst.
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Thanks for mentioning my article!
I feel your pain. Everyone is completely panicky about the state of the economy and markets, even those that should, by profession, know better! Hopefully things will cool down if/when the Fed cut rates again (though I’m convinced this will just create a slew of other problems).
Get some rest!
Great stuff here, Jeremy!
Found some nice info, especially the Tata Nano, unbelievable