Money Tips Network

The following is the latest post in my "Reader Profiles" series. Each post in this series details the financial situation and challenges of an FMF reader. The purpose of this series is to help us all identify with people like us (in similar situations -- not all will be, of course, but eventually I'm sure you will find someone like you here), get to know the frequent commenters on the site, and hear some financial wisdom/challenges from people other than me.

If you're interested in contributing to this series, then drop me an email. The series seems to be very popular with readers and I need a steady stream of new ones to keep it going.

In my last post, I shared my take on the best home insurance. With the growing popularity of renting, I conducted some additional research to determine which carriers provide the best renters insurance.

After analyzing several national and local companies, Allstate stands out as the best renters insurance provider. If you want a free online quote, you can get started right away. Continue reading and I’ll explain why you need renters insurance and discuss the major components of a solid policy.

Selecting Allstate as the best ultimately boils down to three important factors:

Recently, I wrote an article entitled Convenience and Expenses: Why Time Management Really Matters, where I explored the connection between personal finance and time management and I promised some follow-up articles on specific elements of time management that connected deeply with personal finance. Here’s the first of these articles.

People can’t spread their attention fully between two tasks. There’s no better proof of this than the unsafe driving of people while they’re texting. You can’t focus on both texting and driving at the same time. Sure, you might be able to get your text sent before an accident occurs on the road, but your driving was quite simply less safe while you were texting (and your text probably wasn’t perfect, either).

Alissa Fleck

There are just over 2 months to go until the March 31 deadline to sign up for health insurance under Obamacare, and not everyone is sold on purchasing the kind of comprehensive and often pricey plans offered in the insurance exchanges set up under the law. One alternative that may hold some appeal, especially for [...]

Concierge medicine provides options ahead of Obamacare deadline from personal finance blog Bargaineering.com.

This blog was posted by Alissa Fleck

Welcome to Wise Bread's Best Money Tips Roundup! Today we found some great articles on saving on things you never thought you could save on, getting the most out of your tax refund, and personal finance principles to live by.

Top 5 Articles

50 Ways to Save Money on Things You Never Thought You Could Save On — Save money on new purchases by waiting 2 weeks to use anything you buy. That way the novelty can wear off and you can decide whether or not you actually need or want what you purchased. [MoneyNing]

If you're planning a road trip or flying somewhere, booking a car rental may top your list of things to do. But while you may need a set of wheels when you're away, the daily cost of a car rental can add up quickly and eat into your vacation budget. (See also: How to Budget and Track Expenses for Your Vacation)

There is no such thing as a free car rental. But with these simple tricks, you can snag a car rental for less.

1. Rent From a Smaller Company

Big-name car rental companies, such as Hertz and Enterprise, may have earned your trust over the years. But like most things we buy, certain names come with a bigger price tag.

The professional association to which I belong meets the second Tuesday of the month. Afterward, many of the members in attendance hit a nearby Italian bistro for a buy-your-own dinner.

Last week, I exited for home alongside another long-time association member, George, who had a train to catch. I asked if he’d commuted downtown just for the meeting, and he said he hadn’t. “I had a meeting with a company down here earlier, and it looks like I’m picking up a new client,” he crowed.

Though hale and hearty, George is the very picture of a guy bearing down on that traditional retirement age of 65. I told him I admired him for being on the new business trail. And if you don’t mind my asking, I added, “How old are you?”

“I’m 76,” he responded.

Most people dread the need to call customer service. We hear countless horror stories about telephone runarounds or, on the other side of things, customers with unreasonable demands. But of course, there are customer service stories that do end well. (Right?)

What was your best customer service experience? What do you think is key to getting what you want — or resolving an issue to the customer's satisfaction? Have you had any truly terrible experiences?

Tell us about your best customer service experience and we'll enter you in a drawing to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card!

Win 1 of 3 $20 Amazon Gift Cards

We're doing three giveaways — here's how you can win!

This article is by staff writer April Dykman.

Experiences make us happier than “Stuff.”

That’s the current line of thinking, which quite a few studies support. Here’s an example from Livescience.com:

If you’re trying to buy happiness, you’d be better off putting your money toward a tropical island getaway than a new computer…The results [of a Cornell University study] show that people’s satisfaction with their life-experience purchases — anything from seeing a movie to going on a vacation — tend to start out high and go up over time…The findings, based on eight separate studies, agree with previous research showing that experience-related buys lead to more happiness for the consumer.