Archive for the ‘Banking Accounts’ Category

Smart Guys Ruined Wall Street

Huh?  That was my reaction when I saw this in the New York Times today.  Check out the article, it’s pretty interesting.
“One of the speakers at my 25th reunion said that, according to a survey he had done of those attending, income was now precisely in inverse proportion to academic standing in the class, and [...]

October 14, 2009  Tags: , ,   Posted in: Banking Accounts, Money News  One Comment

Ouch, Medical Bills

I knew I shouldn’t have checked the mail today.  I’ve been having some health problems recently.  Nothing horrible, but enough that I’ve seen my physician and a specialist four times in the past month.  I just received some bills in the mail from their offices.  Apparently my health insurance doesn’t completely cover the procedures I [...]

August 15, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Banking Accounts, My Progress, bills  One Comment

What If Something Bad Happens? Part Three

So let’s assume the worst, because it’s fun.  If I lose my job tomorrow, I wouldn’t be able to pay down my debt, pay my monthly bills, or even afford food.  And I might not even see any unemployment checks from the state any time soon.  Basically, I would go completely broke pretty quickly.  But [...]

August 10, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Banking Accounts, Credit Cards, Money News  No Comments

Frugal or Cheap?

I ran across this article yesterday and couldn’t help but think that the author is being cheap.  The article discusses various reasons why the author is not paying for her kids to go to college.  Tricky topic.  On one hand, she’s already sacrificed so much to her kids: time, money, energy, her career, the list [...]

August 6, 2009  Tags: , , , ,   Posted in: Banking Accounts, Frugal or Cheap?  No Comments

Could You Save $1,000 in 30 Days?

I read this post over at I Will Teach You to Be Rich.  I’m already trying to save about this much money each month, but could you?  If you needed to, could you completely give up luxuries like cable, internet, and an air conditioned house?
It’s an interesting challenge because it pits our love of saving [...]

August 5, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Banking Accounts, Money News, Spending Zero Dollars, Want vs. Need  2 Comments

Old Checking Accounts, New Overdraft Fees

Before you write your next check or make a debit purchase, you might want to check your account balance online.  Banks are adding new overdraft fees, and they don’t have to warn you.  According to the Smart Spending money blog, “bankers are hiking fees, adding new fees, and shortening time limits to trigger fees” and [...]

July 29, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Banking Accounts, Money News  No Comments

What If Something Bad Happens?

My friend recently had her house broken into and her car stolen.  Not only was this emotionally traumatic, it was also financially traumatic.  The cost to fix her (recovered) car alone was $1,000.  The cost to replace stolen items from her apartment?  Tens of thousands- she didn’t have any renter’s insurance.  Talk about painful.  Her [...]

July 28, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Banking Accounts, My Progress  No Comments

Trying to Balance My Budget

According to the balanced budget formula that I posted last week, I should be allocating my money in the following way:
50% Needs- $1200.  Subtract $500 a month for groceries, $50 for cell phone bill, $150 for utilities, $15 for recycling bill, $90 for car insurance, $65 for gasoline.  Left over?  $300.
30% Wants- $700
20% Savings- $500
When [...]

July 6, 2009  Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,   Posted in: Banking Accounts, Money News, My Progress, New Spending Habits, Want vs. Need  No Comments