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Star Money Articles for the Week of March 27

Welcome to this week's edition of Star Money Articles.

Physician on Fire features a Christopher Guest Post.

Money Smart Guides shares three money moves that led to FI.

ESI Money reviews The Simple Path to Wealth.

Budgets are Sexy shares a guest post from an ex-extreme couponer.

Lauren Greutman lists the best freebies on the web.

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Americans Continue to be Horrible Savers

Check out this article on America's savings habits. The summary:

Nearly six in 10 Americans don't have enough savings to cover a $500 or $1,000 unplanned expense, according to a new report from Bankrate.
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Only 41% of adults reported having enough in their savings account to cover a surprise bill of this magnitude. A little more than 20% said they would put it on a credit card, the report said, while 20% would cut their spending and 11% would turn to friends and family for financial assistance.

"This is a persistent American problem of how you should handle your finances and spending," said Jill Cornfield, retirement analyst for Bankrate.

The scary fact is that this stat is actually BETTER than what it was last year when only 37% could cover a $500 emergency.

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Average College Degree Pays Off by Age 34

Here's a piece by CNN Money that says the average college degree pays off by age 34. The details:

If you're debating the value of your college degree, rest assured it will likely be worth the cost -- eventually.

It takes an average of 12 years to recoup the cost of getting your Bachelor's degree, according to a new report from The College Board.

In other words, you will have earned enough money to repay the cost of your degree and make up for your time out of the workforce by the age of 34.

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You Can Live in a Great, Inexpensive City

US News lists the best places to live.

I liked the list because it listed several places I've lived and I can attest that they are nice to live in.

And as you know, I've also lived in inexpensive cities all my life.

Put the two together and you discover that you can live in a great, inexpensive city. You don't have to give up quality of life to save money on the cost-of-living. In fact, most of the best cities to live in are very affordable.

So what's the big deal about this?

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Are Millionaires Smarter than Others?

Money asks if millionaires are smarter than the rest of us. 

I changed the title of this post because I'm not one of the "rest of us". :)

Anyway, here are their key thoughts:

It does seem, in general, that smart people pull down fatter paychecks. Jay Zagorsky, an economist and research scientist at The Ohio State University, found that every additional point a person scored on an IQ test correlated with between roughly $200 and $600 a year in income. In other words, a person with an IQ of 130 would earn between $6,000 and $18,500 a year more than someone with an IQ of 100.

But Zagorsky also found that the same isn’t true when it comes to wealth. “There seems to be no relationship between intelligence and net worth,” he said, because there are different factors at work.

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Free Money Ebooks

Today I have a treat for you -- FREE STUFF!

Here are five free ebooks that several personal finance bloggers are offering. I thought you all would enjoy these:

ESI Money offers three steps to financial independence. 

Financial Mentor has 18 lessons from a self-made millionaire. 

Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance has free investing resources.

Bayalis is the Answer tells how to superfund your 529.

Mama Fish Saves details common budgeting fails.

Intentionality Ink offers a DIY investing picture-book.

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