Friday Finance Findings For April 11th - SmartyPig Winners Edition

I wanted to first start off by announcing the winners of the SmartyPig gift cards. The winning numbers were selected and are:

This means the winners of each gift card goes to Alan, and twistedsouthernbelle. I will be sending each of you emails later today to get the information needed to mail the cards out. So, thanks again for everyone taking part, and I’m sure I’ll have another contest in the near future.

Now, on with this week’s links.

Avoid Tax Refund Anticipation Loans - A lot of people rely on their tax refund money to pay the bills, but don’t go so far as to take out a tax refund anticipation loan. It will cost you.

The Best Time to Start is Now - It doesn’t matter what stage of life you’re in, but the best time to start is now. Whether it is getting out of debt, saving for the future–the sooner you take action, the better off you’ll be.

Get Hired, Get a Raise, and Get Paid More by Improving Your Appearance - As ugly as it may seem, attractive people have been shown to earn more. While some people were gifted with beauty, others may need a little help. You don’t have to do anything drastic, but making sure you look your best can go a long way.

College Sells Alumni Information to Credit Card Companies - This is something you may want to watch out for if you’re a member of any groups like this. Luckily, I never joined or updated my alumni information, so I haven’t had to deal with being pestered with their junk.

Need Last Minute Tax Help? Call the IRS - That’s right, you can call the IRS for free and get help right over the phone. If you’re stuck or have a question, a quick phone call might not be all that painful.

Lending Club is Dead - Lending Club is going through some changes right now, and there are a lot of rumors and speculation regarding the company. Is this the end of the road for this new P2P lender?

Stock Splits 101 - Do you have questions on stock splits? There are a lot of misconceptions regarding what a stock split is, and how it affects your investments. My Dollar Plan has a great primer to get you up to speed.

Recycling Soda Cans to Purchase a New Lawn Mower - What do you get when you collect 64,000 aluminum cans? A new lawn mower. Living in Michigan, if I could collect 64,000 aluminum cans, I could buy a nice used car!

15 Reasons Why You Might Want to Become a Consultant - Have you thought of seeking out a new career? Brip Blap has a list of 15 reasons why you may want to consider becoming a consultant.

Buy Stocks Directly at ComputerShare - The Sun gives a detailed look at how you can begin buying stocks directly through either DSPP or DRIP plans with ComputerShare.

Home Improvement Shows Lie About Wallpaper - I haven’t tried to remove wallpaper, but I’m sure they do lie. We have two rooms in the house we want to pull wallpaper from, but I know it will b e a thousand times harder than everyone makes it out to be.