Recent comments

  • Repair the Car or Spend the Cash?   14 years 40 weeks ago

    I had this happen. I was rear-ended and my bumper had some fairly minor damage (I mean, it wasn't falling off or anything). The insurance company wrote me a check for something like $1000 and I never had it fixed. I didn't "need" the money, but I figured I'd rather have it go towards retirement than fix some cosmetics on a car. The car was 100% mine, and I had no intentions of selling it. Then someone ended up totaling my car just a few months later anyway, so a shiny new $1000 bumper wouldn't have lasted me long.

  • Do You Need Medigap Insurance?   14 years 40 weeks ago

    Is there a way to evaluation and compare the customer service of the various medigap insurers?

  • Repair the Car or Spend the Cash?   14 years 40 weeks ago

    The insurance company actually "totaled" my already salvage-title Sunfire a couple of years ago from hail damage. So there's some nice dents to show for it, but nothing drastic. And now it's double salvage-titled. The money, meanwhile, managed to help me afford an engagement and wedding ring for my now wife and our honeymoon! =)

  • 10 Outdated Job-Search Techniques to Avoid   14 years 40 weeks ago

    That's nice. In this article you guys say NOT to apply online, but in a referenced article on this same site from December 2010 (supposedly written by a hiring manager that has hired over 500 people) you say exactly the opposite (http://www.wisebread.com/8-job-getting-tips-from-a-guy-whos-hired-500-pe...).

    So...do you know what you are doing or are you just writing every possible answer to boost page hits?

  • Medical Supplies You Can Still Score With Flex Spending   14 years 40 weeks ago

    You do actually save some money, because you're using untaxed income. So it is cheaper than if you bought those goods with cash from your account that you were taxed on in your paycheck.

  • Repair the Car or Spend the Cash?   14 years 40 weeks ago

    Well, I know my 2002 Tacoma is sporting a nasty dent on the right front bumper and grille, due to a misguided driver who sailed right through a red light as I turned left with a green arrow. Since no other witnesses came forward, and the intersection in question didn't have a camera, it came down to my word versus hers, at which point the responding police officer declined to issue a ticket. With no ticket, mutual fault was assumed by the insurance companies of the two principals, and her claim on my policy was denied, as was mine on hers. If I wanted to get my car repaired with insurance, I would need to make a claim against my own comprehensive coverage - thereby raising my own rate for years to come for an accident I didn't cause, for damage that's only cosmetic.

    So - no. I didn't take the money and run. I didn't get any money, and my truck still bears the sad scars of my run-in with a dishonest driver.

  • Repair the Car or Spend the Cash?   14 years 40 weeks ago

    You are working under the assumption that there is insurance. It may very well be that people are dropping collision coverage on their vehicle, making the deductible very high, or, sadly, dropping insurance altogether. So, when the accident happens, they don't have the insurance, and may not have the money in their pocket, to get the repair made or pay a huge deductible.

  • Stupid Things to Put in Your Cover Letter   14 years 40 weeks ago

    Reminds me of my job searching days out of college. I definitely remember a few mistakes from this list. Cover letters can be frustrating, especially when you're just starting out. This list is a good reference.

    I've included this post in TalkingCentsBlog's Web Roundup: Job-Seekers' Edition. I think our readers will find it very helpful.

  • Repair the Car or Spend the Cash?   14 years 40 weeks ago

    I've only had one incident where I actually reported it to my insurance company and had the repairs done. Cars are transportation; why on earth would you file a claim for a dent?? I wouldn't want to risk my rates going up for something cosmetic.

  • How to Buy a Desktop Computer   14 years 40 weeks ago

    You obviously have had experiences with Dells. I have not. I've been very happy with them throughout the years.

    I agree that no one needs 10GB or RAM today. But if you want to be frugal and not buy another machine for a LONG time, it's worth it to check and see how upgradeable your machine is going to be.

    And at the rate we're going, I can see some software "recommending" some crazy RAM numbers in the coming years.

  • How to Buy a Desktop Computer   14 years 40 weeks ago

    Yeah but some people just want to buy a computer and have it work, not worry about doing anything under the hood you know? For those guys, I think Macs can be a good option.

  • Ask The Readers: Should Kids Get Paid For Doing Chores?   14 years 40 weeks ago

    Yes, Kids should a part in household chores specially now that most of their time is being spent in playing online games etc..

  • Should We All Just Stop Paying the Mortgage?   14 years 40 weeks ago

    Harrison, You have no idea what you are talking about. I did not sign up for a mortgage I could not afford. I was doing just fine until IndyMac went under a group of investors, like George Soros took over. They bought IndyMac from the FDIC for 30 cents on the dollar and got a sweetheart deal where if they foreclosed on someone the Feds paid them 80% of the balance due under a loss share agreement even tho' the investors paid only .30 on the dollar of every loan. Once OneWest foreclosed, they took possession of the home, resold it and made 100% profit.

    When the OneWest investors took over IndyMac they set about auditing each mortgage aggressively. In my case I was paying on time-no problem. My option ARM was to last 7 years and turn into a fixed with payments of $3,000 and set at whatever the going interest rate was at the end of 7 years but never above 7.5%.

    The One West investors made an arbitrary decision to put me into a forced placed escrow account regardless of the fact my property taxes were not behind. Then the investors slapped some imaginary "shortfall" on me of $30k--it was never explained to me what the $30k was, plus One West wanted the shortfall paid off in 12 months. This caused my monthly interest only payment to spike up to $4800 per month.

    I got the major runaround from these idiots at Onewest.

    Long story short, I've self educated myself. OneWest does not own my note. They practiced shady business procedures. In CA there is a case pending called Marquette v OneWest for wrongful and possible illegal foreclosure on numerous homeowners.

    I am hopeing OneWest gets slapped down so hard that the punitive damages will leave George Soros bankrupt.

    Stop spewing mortgage company bullshit and learn the facts before you blame homeowners.

  • Ask The Readers: Should Kids Get Paid For Doing Chores?   14 years 40 weeks ago

    no- they should learn that it is something they should do regardless of pay. otherwise they will expect money for good grades, good behavior, and common daily activities!

  • 7 Summery Ways to Protect Your Skin   14 years 40 weeks ago

    Your skin is very important to your health and most people take it for granted

  • 7 Summery Ways to Protect Your Skin   14 years 40 weeks ago

    I'm a fair skinned gal, so I was familiar with most of these, but I had a forehead-slapping moment when I read, "Exercise in the Dark." Seriously. I can't believe I never thought of that. Brilliant! Thanks for the helpful post.

  • 15 Ways to Recycle and Reuse Old T-shirts   14 years 40 weeks ago

    Thanks for sharing Mikey!

  • Life Without a Microwave   14 years 40 weeks ago

    Great post -- I was without a microwave for about a year recently. I noticed that I made healthier food choices and had fewer meals that included
    highly-processed ingredients.

  • Stupid Things to Put in Your Cover Letter   14 years 40 weeks ago

    If it comes down to sending an impersonal cover letter or not applying to the job, then send the impersonal cover letter and hope for the best. Many companies make it difficult to find out who the hiring manager is, may not have a hiring manager, or the manager that does the hiring may change depending on the position.

  • 25 Great Movies About Money   14 years 40 weeks ago

    Cinderella Man, set in the Great Depression. Honor, commitment, and perseverance in the midst of financial adversity.

  • Stupid Things to Put in Your Cover Letter   14 years 40 weeks ago

    I'd recommend going in a different direction, focusing on opportunities and openings in which you can have a dialogue with a real person.

  • Ask The Readers: Should Kids Get Paid For Doing Chores?   14 years 40 weeks ago

    I don't think so. I think that chores are just something that everyone does. It is part of being in a family.

  • 25 Great Movies About Money   14 years 40 weeks ago

    my finance professor showed other people's money in class.

  • Quickly Remove Scratches From CDs and DVDs   14 years 40 weeks ago

    The brasso worked really well! Took care of all the scratches and now my CD plays fine.

  • Ask The Readers: Should Kids Get Paid For Doing Chores?   14 years 40 weeks ago

    I think paying kids for chores outside of cleaning their bedroom and bathroom is a good idea. It gives them an understanding that hard work should equate to pay in the real world. As part of the allowance though, you should also make your kids get a bank account and put a portion of that money in the account to help them start making good money decisions.