Xin Lu's blog

Book Review: Get Financially Naked: How to Talk Money with Your Honey

It has been reported over and over that money is the number one cause of conflict and stress in relationships. This is precisely the reason authors Manisha Thakor and Sharon Kedar

6 Basic Tips for Buying a Bank Owned Home

Currently many homes for sale are owned by banks. These properties are also known as real estate owned or REO and they have gone through the foreclosure process. Some of them are i

Money in Your Yard: How to Sell Palm Trees For Cash

Palm trees are ubiquitous in California and other states with a warm climate. Although they are beautiful trees, some homeowners find them to be a nuisance because they require rou

Disney Offers Free Theme Park Passes for Volunteering in 2010

Starting in 2010, the Give a Day, Get a Disney Day program will be giving out free tickets to Disneyland or Disney World for those in the United States and Puerto Rico who voluntee

Book Review: How Gen Y Employees Can Save You Money and Grow Your Business

Generation Y is generally defined as the group of people born between 1977 and 1995. In the book, Y-Size Your Business: How Gen Y Employees Can Save You Money and Grow Your Busines

How Foreclosure, Deed in Lieu, and Short Sale Affect Credit Scores

Currently millions of Americans are delinquent on their home loans or facing foreclosure. Foreclosure, deed in lieu of foreclosure, and short sales are several ways for borrowers t

Homebuyer Tax Credit Extended and Expanded

A couple months ago I wrote about the pros and cons of extending and expanding the popular first time homebuyer tax credit which was due to expire on November 30th, 2009. I wrote

Book Review: Becoming a Category of One Second Edition by Joe Calloway

In Becoming a Category of One, business consultant Joe Calloway writes about how companies can successfully beat their competition by creating their own category of business and be

Walt Disney Offers Refunds for Baby Einstein DVDs

A group of lawyers threatened a class action lawsuit last year against Disney for deceptive practices since their Baby Einstein videos are heavily marketed as educational but resea

5 Websites for Swapping Your Clothes and Refreshing Your Wardrobe

Clothing swaps parties have become popular in recent years as frugal and fashion conscious men and women find that trading clothes is a great way to update a wardrobe for next to n

Is a Prepaid Debit Card Really Cheaper and Better than a Bank Debit Card?

A few month ago, my husband received an unsolicited Visa Debit Card from NetSpend and I wrote about it here on Wise Bread. What I found interesting was that several commenters defe

When Should You Fire Your Real Estate Agent?

Lately several couples I know have been trying to purchase real estate, and it seems that none of them are too happy with their real estate agents. Some of them have been working w

Bank of Mom and Dad: Could Tough Love Cure Financial Irresponsibility?

A new show named Bank of Mom and Dad just premiered on 9/30/09 on SOAPnet. This show chronicles parents who attempt to reform their financially irresponsible adult children by movi

3 Alternative "Investments" for Long Term Enjoyment and Appreciation

Stocks, bonds, and real estate are investments we are all fairly familiar with. In the recent economic turmoil, many people are looking for alternative investments to maintain the

The First Step to Finding Your Dream Job

In the current economy, many of us are happy just to be employed, but at the same time very few of us are working at the elusive "dream job". For many people their jobs simply pro

Should the First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit be Expanded and Extended?

The $8000 first time homebuyer's tax credit is set to expire on November 30th. This means that those who want to take advantage of this refundable credit have only a couple months

I.O.U.S.A. the Movie - A Review One Year Later

I.O.U.S.A. is a documentary film released in late 2008 by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation that focuses on the national debt of the United States. I finally watched it this weeken

Book Review - In CHEAP We Trust: The Story of a Misunderstood American Virtue by Lauren Weber

In CHEAP We Trust: The Story of a Misunderstood American Virtue is a book that explores the morality and practicality of being frugal from the beginnings of America to 2009. The a

Can You Save Money by Renting Textbooks?

When I went to college it was unheard of to rent textbooks, but a number of outfits such as Chegg, Campus Book Rentals, and BookRenter.com have sprung up in the last few years that

Are You Wasting or Saving Money With a Warehouse Club Membership?

Warehouse clubs are large stores such as Costco or BJ's that charge a yearly membership to purchase items at wholesale prices. Are they worth it?