Nora Dunn's blog

About Nora Dunn

Nora Dunn's picture

As a Professional Hobo and Writer, with a background as a former Certified Financial Planner and Entrepreneur, I've got lots of bases covered - not the least of which are practical money matters.

Nora Dunn's profile

How to Avoid Getting Your Credit Card Canceled

Posted February 1, 2010 - 09:00 by Nora Dunn

Credit Cards

credit cards

It’s true. Your credit card could be canceled this year, and quite possibly without any notice either. Don’t get stuck with a canceled card at the cashier; read this article and arm yourself with information and advice to avoid having your credit card canceled just when you need it the most.

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FINANCIAL IQ TEST: How Healthy is your Debt Management?

Posted January 23, 2010 - 11:00 by Nora Dunn

Credit Cards

debt

Are you on top of your debt – both logistically and emotionally? Do you maximize value while minimizing interest rates? Do you know what the different types of loans are, and how they work for you? What’s your credit rating and how do you improve it? Take this Financial IQ Test to see how healthy your debt management plan is, then reference the plethora of resource articles to help you in your weaker areas of knowledge.

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Financial IQ Test: How Healthy Are Your Bank Accounts?

Posted January 19, 2010 - 07:00 by Nora Dunn

Personal Finance, Budgeting

hiding from finance

Following is a Financial IQ Test, designed to help you determine how healthy your bank accounts –- and your interaction with them -– are. Tally up your score and see how you fare. Then you can reference some relevant articles on the topics you need some refreshers on.

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The 2010 Gift Wrapping Challenge

Posted January 4, 2010 - 07:00 by Nora Dunn

Shopping, Green Living, Art and Leisure

alternative gift wrap
In 2009, a friend and I successfully met a challenge to wrap all gifts with alternatives to new gift paper and gift bags. Here are the results of the challenge, along with a few tips and a 2010 gift wrapping challenge for you.

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United World College: Study Abroad For Way Less Than You Think

Posted December 7, 2009 - 09:29 by Nora Dunn

Career and Income

United World Colleges

Does your high school-aged child want something different? Are they smart, motivated, and looking for new challenges? They may find what they are looking for in the two-year United World College program, which has campuses around the world and coincides with their last year or two of high school. And guess what? For a school abroad, the price tag will leave you wondering why you didn't go yourself.

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Become a Frequent Flyer Master and Earn a Free Flight Every Year

Posted December 4, 2009 - 13:43 by Nora Dunn

Life Hacks, Art and Leisure, Cars and Transportation

plane prop

Ssshh: don’t bother me. I’m busy doing my Christmas shopping and accumulating enough frequent flyer miles to pay for two overseas flights – in business class. I’m doing it with the help of Frequent Flyer Master: an e-book that even features a “one free plane ticket” guarantee.

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Is It Better to Specialize or Generalize?

Posted November 27, 2009 - 07:00 by Nora Dunn

Career Building

special tree

Are we more employable – and ultimately happy – in our careers if we become proficient at lots of things (i.e. to generalize), or to become really good at one or two things (i.e. to specialize)? The arguments for each side make this a tough call.

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For Love or Money: Must It Be One or the Other?

Posted November 16, 2009 - 06:00 by Nora Dunn

Career and Income

love or money

A recent Wise Bread article explored whether the career advice “do what you love” is idealistic or sensible. I don’t see it as black or white; this article examines a few x-factors that might determine the sort of person who does what they love, and why we all have a disadvantage when it comes to career choices.

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Celebrate Your Life (and Help Others do the Same) with Bcelebrated – Plus a Discount for Wise Bread Readers

Posted November 15, 2009 - 08:00 by Nora Dunn

Personal Finance

Bcelebrated is a unique service that allows you to create your own online autobiographical legacy, communicate your last wishes to those you have something to say to, organize your estate, and make life easy for those you leave behind when you die. Not to be morbid, but if you care about who you leave behind, you may want to read this article.

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The First Step to Budgeting

Posted November 6, 2009 - 06:00 by Nora Dunn

Budgeting

budget spreadsheet

Why do so many budgets fail? Because the first step to budgeting is omitted. When implemented correctly, it can make a huge difference. When the first step is neglected, intangible and unrealistic budgets are often created –- a recipe for disaster. Here’s the good news: the first step to budgeting is an easy one. Check it out!

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Cheapism.com: Where Cheap is Chic

Posted November 3, 2009 - 07:00 by Nora Dunn

Shopping

cheapism

Cheapism.com is a free service that helps consumers find the best of the cheapest items, weeding out cheap junk in favor of quality inexpensive items. Just because it is cheap, doesn’t mean it has to be crap.

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19 Tips to Cut Costs by Using Your Oven Efficiently

Posted October 26, 2009 - 06:00 by Nora Dunn

Green Living, General Tips, Food and Drink

oven

The giant kitchen-beast that is your oven is not the most energy-efficient way to prepare your food. But sometimes only the oven will do the trick. Here are 19 ways to improve your oven’s efficiency, all the while cutting your costs and saving your money.

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Three E-Books to Help you Make Money, Travel, and Change Your Life

Posted October 14, 2009 - 06:00 by Nora Dunn

Making Extra Cash

office space

It’s no secret that many of us are looking for something different in life. And one of the biggest things we can change about our lives is how we work. If we are not tied to a desk all the time, the options for how – and where – we choose to live open up dramatically.
Following are profiles of three e-books that feature a different aspect of making money, traveling, and changing your life.

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America Is the No Vacation Nation

Posted October 6, 2009 - 06:30 by Nora Dunn

Career and Income, Lifestyle

no hammocks here!

Studies show that Americans are not using all their vacation time, are not given as much vacation time as other developed countries to begin with, and are even prepared to cancel their vacations because of work. Further studies show that America as a country isn’t even all that productive. What gives?

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HERmail.net: Connecting Female Travelers and Mentors Around the World

Posted October 1, 2009 - 14:17 by Nora Dunn

Art and Leisure

HERmail.net

Are you a female traveler looking for some answers about a place you are going to visit, as well as a possible companion or local tour guide? Or are you a female who likes to meet travelers, and help other women to embrace your home town with passion and delight? If you fit either of these categories, then HERmail.net may be for you. (Psst – it’s free too.)

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Cheap Passport Pictures (Part Two): Online Ordering

Posted September 24, 2009 - 08:23 by Nora Dunn

Frugal Living

passport

A year and a half ago, I wrote a post about how to fashion your own passport photos for under a dollar. It seemed that I wrote it at the dawn of the popularization of online passport picture organizations. Now, the process for making your own passport pictures on the cheap is much easier.

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Balancing Spending with Saving: Being Frugal but not Miserly

Posted September 21, 2009 - 05:00 by Nora Dunn

Personal Finance, Frugal Living

balance

Check out your thesaurus, and you may discover that “frugal” and “miserly” share many of the same words as their cousins. Let this be our warning; take frugal too far, and we can become miserly before we even know what hit us. This article explores my own personal struggle between spending and saving – while living on the road. And I need your help!

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Save Money on Shaving with These Razor Tricks

Posted September 17, 2009 - 05:00 by Nora Dunn

Health and Beauty

razor

It’s not an expense we may fret over regularly, but shaving can be a costly proposition over the long-haul (not to mention wasteful, with the inherent disposal of either full razors or individual blades). So make your razor go the extra mile – and last up to a year – with these money-saving (and razor-saving) tricks.

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Ramp Up Your Business by Specializing

Posted September 10, 2009 - 09:00 by Nora Dunn

Small Business Resource Center, Entrepreneurship

ramp up

As an entrepreneur, you would think that precluding certain types of customers in favor of a smaller – but specialized – market would be akin to shooting yourself in the foot. But it’s not, and this article gives you a three-step process to specialize within your own business and reap the rewards.

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The Curse of Momentum

Posted September 7, 2009 - 06:00 by Nora Dunn

Lifestyle

momentum

The curse of momentum keeps us in our chairs, living lives we aren’t passionate about. Once stuck in a routine, it is easier to perpetually roll along in the same direction than it is to halt your momentum and reevaluate your path. Here's how to recognize when your momentum has turned sour, then work on how to break the pattern.

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