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Five Cent Nickel

Written by a man who has been meticulously recording his finances since 1997 (stored in Quicken), Five Cent Nickel is one of the oldest and most respected blogs around. This blog often provides great commentary on—and summaries of—useful financial tips featured by other publications. If you’re too lazy to read every little money article out there, just stop by Five Cent Nickel and get the cream of the crop.

Latest Posts from Five Cent Nickel (page 8)

A (Former) Insider’s Guide to Choosing an Investment Manager

Published Tuesday, January 29, 2013 - 11:24 by Five Cent Nickel

Managing your own investments is hard, time-consuming work, so many people choose to delegate the task to a professional investment manager. Some do this via mutual funds, while others have a separately-managed portfolio. In either case, the challenge is that choosing a good investment manager can be as confusing – and as risky – as picking your own investments. […]

Figuring Your Taxes Without All of Your Tax Forms

Published Monday, January 28, 2013 - 21:03 by Five Cent Nickel

Every year around this time, I receive messages from readers who are anxious to file file their tax returns. This is especially true if they’re due a refund. And who can blame them? If you’re owed money by the government, you should try to get it back as quickly as possible. A common question is whether or not you can file your return if you haven’t received all of your tax forms. […]

Be on the Lookout for Credit Card Fees

Published Saturday, January 26, 2013 - 16:14 by Five Cent Nickel

Consider yourself warned… Starting tomorrow (Sunday, January 27th) merchants are free to start applying a surcharge for credit card purchases. We’ve talked in the past about credit card surcharges, and how the major card networks didn’t allow them. Well, that all changed this past summer when Visa and MasterCard agreed to allow merchants to pass the cost of card processing on to their customers. […]

Education, Occupation, Gender, Race, and Earnings

Published Friday, January 25, 2013 - 06:00 by Five Cent Nickel

Ever wonder where your earnings stack up vs. those of a typical American? Well, wonder no more… CNN/Money has compiled an interesting set of earnings statistics from BLS data. For starters, the median weekly income for in the United States for “wage and salary workers” in 2012 was $775. That works out to $40,300/year. Is that more or less than you expected? […]

Saving Savings with Home Emergency Gap Coverage

Published Thursday, January 24, 2013 - 06:00 by Five Cent Nickel

The typical washer-dryer combo unit lasts about eight years. The one in my home was in its 14th year, and living on borrowed time when it finally expired last year. Its demise meant a large unexpected expense I hadn’t counted on. I bit the bullet and called the same appliance retailer I’d bought my last combo from, and ordered a new one. […]

Poor Service and Cutting Your Losses

Published Wednesday, January 23, 2013 - 06:00 by Five Cent Nickel

Last night my wife stopped at a well known fast food joint to pick up dinner. I’m not naming names, but there was a red-haired, yellow-suited clown and some arches involved… I’m sure you can figure it out. Anyway, she went through the drive through, ordered, and got our food. They almost forgot one entire meal, but she caught that before pulling away from the pickup window. […]

Board Games: Stretching Your Entertainment Dollar

Published Tuesday, January 22, 2013 - 06:00 by Five Cent Nickel

Timidly, I pulled out my debit card and grimaced as the cashier rung up the purchase. I handed it to her, watching as she swiped it for $42, worried that I’d made a mistake thinking that buying Settlers of Catan at full retail price was a great idea. I had been introduced to the game at a writer’s retreat and the lightbulb had gone off. This will solve all my problems! […]

The 4% Rule, Revisited

Published Friday, January 18, 2013 - 20:33 by Five Cent Nickel

In talking about drawing income from a retirement portfolio, I’ve often referred to the 4% rule. This rule holds that, if you withdraw an inflation-adjusted 4% from a balanced stock/bond portfolio, there would be a high likelihood of your money lasting 30 years. […]

Putting Money in Its Place

Published Thursday, January 17, 2013 - 20:46 by Five Cent Nickel

We’re now a couple of weeks into the New Year and I have to admit that I have mixed feelings about New Year’s resolutions. That being said, resolutions provide us with a framework for putting our personal finances in the right perspective. Call it putting money in its place. It’s probably being a long-time gym member that has given me a dim view of New Year’s resolutions. […]

Convert to the Discover it Card

Published Wednesday, January 16, 2013 - 14:00 by Five Cent Nickel

In case you haven’t heard, Discover is spotlighting their newest card, known as Discover it. Notably, they have re-worked the rewards structure associated with this card. While they’re still offering 5% cash back on rotating categories, they’ve dropped the spending tiers for non-bonus purchases, meaning that you’ll get a straight 1% cash back on all “other” purchases. […]