banking

Avoid Bank Fees

Posted August 28, 2009 - 12:00 by Philip Brewer

Personal Finance

Bank building

I don't pay any bank fees, except rental on my safe deposit box. That leaves me of two minds about the fees. On the one hand, I feel bad because the fees tend to fall hardest on the people who can afford them the least--the poor, the ignorant, the stupid, the careless, the lazy, and the unlucky. On the other hand, the fees other people pay help cover the costs of the many free services that I get from the bank.

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An Introduction to High Yield Reward Checking Accounts

Posted August 12, 2009 - 12:00 by Xin Lu

Personal Finance

Coins

Reward checking accounts are currently some of the highest yielding accounts available at FDIC member banks. These accounts currently have yields of up to 6% and that is much higher than yields of 2% to 3% paid by CDs and savings accounts. Here is a quick introduction to what they are and how you can take advantage of these accounts.

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The Three Interest Rates

Posted August 4, 2009 - 05:00 by Philip Brewer

Personal Finance

Tiger Shark!

I got a notice from one of my credit cards a bit ago, announcing that they were raising the interest rate. It's only of theoretical interest to me, of course--I use credit cards for transactions, not to borrow money--but looking at the rate they're charging reminded me that there are really three interest rates.

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10 Tips To Lower The Cost of Banking

Posted June 18, 2009 - 21:41 by Silicon Valley Blogger

Personal Finance

cost of banking
When shopping for a money market savings account or other bank products, I don't believe it should be all about the yield. You should also be aware of how much it costs to bank with your financial institution because bank fees can very easily neutralize the interest you are earning on your savings. On that note, I offer a few ways to lower your banking costs.

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Placing Prepositions: Where you from? Where you at?

Posted February 15, 2009 - 14:18 by Jabulani Leffall

Personal Finance

Our spending and money management choices may be influenced by factors we can't control in our own minds as well as factors we couldn't control growing up. You may ask, to what are you referring Willis? Well the question is this: How would Arnold Jackson have faired in his personal finances if not for Phil Drummond or would he have been fine?

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Six options if you're underwater on your mortgage

Posted January 26, 2009 - 07:31 by Philip Brewer

Real Estate and Housing

Flooded doghouse

Of all the changes you might make to live more cheaply, the most fundamental is finding a cheaper place to live. Sadly, it's an option that's largely closed off to people who are underwater on their mortgages. Unless they have cash to cover the difference between what their house will sell for and what they owe, they're pretty much stuck. Here are six options for people in that situation.

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Book review: Towers of Gold

Posted December 10, 2008 - 03:15 by Philip Brewer

Personal Finance

Cover of Towers of Gold

It will not, I think, surprise my regular readers to hear that I like to read books about money. All kinds of books about money--not just books on personal finance and frugality, but just about anything, including monetary histories and stories of wealth. Dinkelspiel's new book hits those last two categories (besides being an engaging biography as well).

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Best of personal finance: WaMu go bye-bye?

Posted September 11, 2008 - 20:08 by Andrea Dickson

Personal Finance, Consumer Affairs

WaMu on the way out? Also, learn to control your ego as a means to control your spending. Bulk buying makes sense for people who plan ahead. There's no shame in bargaining - learn to do it right. What Consumer Reports gets wrong. Inner peace the easy way.

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Money to start your business--without banks or saving

Posted June 27, 2008 - 07:25 by Philip Brewer

Small Business Resource Center, Entrepreneurship

Tree roots and rock

Suppose you and your friends all want to start small businesses. You've all got money coming in, you're all in a position to save up some capital, but it would take you a year to all save up enough--and you'd rather not wait. There's a solution to this problem that's so obvious its been reinvented all over the world.

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Making direct deposit safe for the garnished

Posted June 25, 2008 - 04:26 by Philip Brewer

Credit Cards, Consumer Affairs

Pine needles covered in ice

The US Treasury pays more money to more people than just about anybody in the world. Last year it disbursed more than $1.6 trillion in 982 million individual payments. As you can imagine, they save a lot of money when they can make direct deposits instead of printing paper checks. So they're always trying to figure out what makes people reject direct deposit. One such thing is garnishment.

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