Recent comments

  • Meet Kelly Whalen, Our New Community Manager   15 years 22 weeks ago

    Yay! Love Kelly and love Wise Bread-- what a fantastic combination!

  • How (and Why) to Help Your Parents Pay Off Their Mortgage   15 years 22 weeks ago

    I know a couple of friends that help to their parents as well. It is nice. I don’t think it can do much harm to their budgets. But sometimes it is in opposite way too. Well, not everybody cares about the future in their 18 years age. It is good to guide children to build up their career as soon as possible and teach them to financial discipline and frugality. According to the idea to sell bigger house and move to the smaller one to lower expenses is probably the best advice I can give now either.

  • The $40 Hidden Inside a 12V Battery   15 years 22 weeks ago

    Did you even see the comment above you?

  • Meet Kelly Whalen, Our New Community Manager   15 years 22 weeks ago

    Welcome Kelly and Ashley! I can't wait to see what you guys have planned for Wise Bread. =)

  • netSpend: The Story of the Visa Debit Card We Did Not Apply For   15 years 22 weeks ago

    I have to agree with some of the posts above. I got in financial trouble after a car rental on my debit card, I was off in my checkbook by about $1.40 and apparently all of my debits including the car rental all came through at midnight on the same night. The bank put the car rental through first and I got $50 overdraft charges from USAA totaling almost $500. After this incident I got a NetSpend card and have had one for several years, there have been times when I have been overdrafted by almost $100 and never been charged a fee. Last year I deposited over $100,000 in my NetSpend account, I have never had a problem. I am now waiting on a $9000 direct deposit for my tax return, no worries here. I don't think over my entire time of using NetSpend I will ever pay them the $500 I had to pay to USAA in one night of them stratigicly approving my overdrafted debits to clear my account. Congrats for not having to pay the $9.95 that the rest of us did to obtain one of these cards.

  • 9 Items City-Dwelling Dudes Should Keep in Their Bags   15 years 22 weeks ago

    Always in my backpack: Hand sanitizer, tissues, Tylenol, gum, notepad/s, post-it's, safety pins, flash drives, LED flashlight, some work-related material that I can finish while waiting for something.

  • Five Interview Lessons Learned from Horrible Interviews   15 years 22 weeks ago

    I realize this is a really old thread- but I felt I could contribute:

    not showering is a common problem among soldiers and hardcore campers. We use baby-wipes and baking soda or some other body powder. If you are somewhat tolerant of cold water, you could do the "washcloth and bucket" sponge bath- although that's pretty uncomfortable.

  • 9 Items City-Dwelling Dudes Should Keep in Their Bags   15 years 22 weeks ago

    A notepad, most of us carry smart phones of some sort but sometimes it's just easier to write things down.

    Breath mints or gum or better yet, a toothbrush.

    Also - if you're concerned about a morning walk-of-shame you'd better be prepared for the night-before-the-walk-of-shame. Pack condoms.

  • 9 Items City-Dwelling Dudes Should Keep in Their Bags   15 years 22 weeks ago

    Don't you have to buy restaurant.com certificates for each place you eat at? Are you saying at one point you just shelled out a whole bunch of money on gift certificates without an actual plan on if/when you were going to use them? That's like the exact opposite of what this and many other PF sites have been advocating, and I agree with them. Buying lots of gift certificates in advance lead to overspending and lack of attention that can easily destroy whatever savings they might offer.

  • Ask the Readers: What's On Your Bucket List?   15 years 22 weeks ago

    retire on an 80 acre farm, with no debt!

  • Wise Bread's Best and Worst Financial Decisions in 2010   15 years 22 weeks ago

    I'm usually a compulsive saver, but when my grandmother gave us a generous anniversary gift, half went to getting my husband a missing tooth and the other half is going toward tuition for me to go through an editing certification program. I had been putting it off until I could save up more money, but I'm so glad I made the decision to just go for it. I'm going to be able to increase how much I charging my editing clients, and also start taking on additional assignments from publishing houses. Plus I love the classes!

  • 9 Items City-Dwelling Dudes Should Keep in Their Bags   15 years 22 weeks ago

    I always have a water bottle and earphones.

  • 9 Items City-Dwelling Dudes Should Keep in Their Bags   15 years 22 weeks ago

    I always have Colgate Wisps, cologne, and condoms along with most of that which you have above.

  • 9 Items City-Dwelling Dudes Should Keep in Their Bags   15 years 22 weeks ago

    Great tips for anyone, man or woman. As someone who just moved to a city with public transit, which I am now taking to work at my new job, I found this helpful. I'm still trying to figure out what I need to throw in my bag that I haul with me around the city every day.

  • Get Out There! The Power of Vulnerability   15 years 22 weeks ago

    @Steve - Maybe that's why I like performing on stage as much as I do....like anybody I get nervous, and am always afraid of embarrassing myself. But the sense of elation I get when everything goes well (or even sometimes doesn't, but that's an adventure unto itself!)....it's magic.

  • Get Out There! The Power of Vulnerability   15 years 22 weeks ago

    @Guest - They say that 80% of the things that we worry about never come to pass. Indeed - we DO make things complicated, but only in our heads!

  • Should a Second Marriage Be Celebrated (and Paid for) Like the First?   15 years 22 weeks ago

    I think it totally depends on the couple and the situation. My husband and I paid for our wedding (first for both) out-of-pocket. I understand that not everyone does this, so if someone else is paying for your wedding, you will have to take their budget/needs into consideration. If it's not your wedding and you're not a party who is financially responsible for it, you really don't have a say about it at all! However, as someone invited to the wedding, the gift you give is entirely up to you. If the couple already has the basics, I recommend being a little more creative, trying to think of something that will be memorable/meaningful (and that doesn't mean you have to spend a lot if you're trying to save or cut expenses-- think outside of the $100 per person box).

  • Cheap and Romantic Ideas for Valentine's Day (And Any Other Day of the Year)   15 years 22 weeks ago

    Try a bath if not big enough rent a hotel room with a large tub for a day and just spa together, it really takes you away from everyday life and is not that expensive.

  • Should a Second Marriage Be Celebrated (and Paid for) Like the First?   15 years 22 weeks ago

    I agree. The 1st time was too much already. I'd prefer not to be invited to anyone's a 2nd time.

  • Frugal Gluten-Free Living: Flour Tortillas that Taste Great!   15 years 22 weeks ago

    Made these, they turned out great! Thanks for the recipe!

  • How Will The Comcast/NBC Merger Really Affect You?   15 years 22 weeks ago

    I don't subscribe to any cable services. When they made TV digital, I purchased the converter box with digital antenna. Cable is too expensive and the only time I watch any TV is during Football season as I'm a big NFL fan. I receive Internet service through Cricket modem.

  • Ask the Readers: What's On Your Bucket List?   15 years 22 weeks ago

    I'd love to:

    *Travel all over -- from Prague to Dublin, Iceland to Turkey, Cambodia, Jordan...

    *See the Kirov Ballet in St. Petersburg

    *Learn to snorkel and scuba

    *Go to grad school for anthropology

    *Take a comprehensive cooking class series

  • The Food Strainer: My New, Old-Fashioned Gadget   15 years 22 weeks ago

    Hi, Guest. In answer to your question about the screens: it came with the tomato-apple and the grape screens, but I also got the extra set of screens (pumpkin, salsa, and berry). I use the "berry" screen the most because it really gets the juice extracted. I am glad that I got the extra set. As I mentioned earlier, though, it still is not 100% perfect with the guava.

  • Ask the Readers: What will You Buy with Your Tax Refund? (Win Turbo Tax Prizes!)   15 years 22 weeks ago

    I won't be spending my refund, but saving it and either investing it in a nice mutual fund or starting up a ROTH.

  • Ask the Readers: What's On Your Bucket List?   15 years 22 weeks ago

    One thing I'm really passionate about is discussing the horrors of concentration camps and hatred. I guest lecture about the Bosnian genocide (I was born there) to Political Science classes at my college, but would like to branch out and in...form more people. Most people don't expect to meet a real person detained in one. Talking about the tragic events in places such as Bosnia, Rwanda, and Lebanon, I feel is really important, especially considering these horrific events didn't happen too long ago and yet it appears so many people do not know the details. Not only would I really like to lecture more, I'd also like to see my grandparents again. They reside in Bosnia, but because I live in the US, I've only seen them 3 times since I was four years old, and for very brief periods.See More