byline=freemoneyfinance

money

Personal Finance Roundup

11 ways to strike gold on Black Friday [Consumer Reports] "We've compiled the following savvy-shopper's guide."

A Salesman Tells How to Negotiate for the Best Price on Electronics [Free Money Finance] "How we can best negotiate savings on electronics."

Scaling Back Your Holiday Parties [Wall Street Journal] "Here are 10 tips on how to throw a stunning party on a less-than-spectacular budget."

The 5 Best Places to Stash Your Cash [US News] "Here are five places to park your cash for a decent return."

How to deal with a job layoff [MSN Money] "Here's a checklist of things to do now and later."

— FREE MONEY FINANCE (Photo: walkerspace)

12:00 PM on Thu Nov 27 2008
By freemoneyfinance
1,720 views, 5 comments

shopping

Holiday Gifts That Won't Break The Bank

As we've all been hearing lately, the sputtering economy is bound to put a damper on gift giving this holiday season. If you're belt-tightening with the rest of us but would still like to give presents to those special people in your life, there are several alternatives for consideration. For instance: More »

11:01 AM on Wed Nov 26 2008
By freemoneyfinance
20,730 views, 48 comments

Most discussed jscott73: This is our first Christmas where my wife and I are actually planning to spend a bit more then usual. more »

roundups

Personal Finance Roundup

4 Common Resume Blunders [Yahoo Hotjobs] "Keep yourself in the running by avoiding these resume mistakes."

Are stores relaxing return policies? [Consumer Reports] "A new survey by the National Retail Federation concludes that many retailers will be adhering to more generous merchandise return policies this holiday season."

When to File Taxes Separately [Wall Street Journal] "Some married couples can save significant amounts of federal income tax by filing separately."

Learning to keep costs under control [Vanguard] "If there's a silver lining to the current economic downturn, it may be a renewed focus on living within our means."

Back to Basics: Reduce your debt [Mighty Bargain Hunter] "Here are a few things to consider as you reduce debt."

— FREE MONEY FINANCE (Photo: The GlassPeople)

12:00 PM on Thu Nov 20 2008
By freemoneyfinance
1,045 views, 8 comments

crackberry

Blackberry: Time/Money-Saver Or Productivity Trap?

One interesting fact coming out this week is that Barack Obama appears headed for severe technology withdrawal as he gives up his Blackberry and email communication in general. Poor guy. As if having to deal with the economic crisis and the Iraq war aren't enough — now he's got this! Anyway, the fallout has sparked a debate over that the Wall Street Journal blog The Juggle. The key question: is the Crackberry a useful device that helps you save time and money or is it a life-disrupting distraction that should be limited dramatically at worst, and eliminated altogether at best? More »

1:49 PM on Wed Nov 19 2008
By freemoneyfinance
4,644 views, 53 comments

Most discussed CaptJax: Can someone explain why Obama needs to give up his BB? The White House relies on email for a significant more »

gift ideas

Getting Crafty For Fun Holiday Frugality

Personal finance blogger JD Roth is on a mission to help us all save a bundle during the holidays. First he shared a ton of frugal Christmas ideas, and now he's posted a list of 34 gifts you can make yourself. A few of our favorites include: More »

3:54 PM on Thu Nov 13 2008
By freemoneyfinance
5,313 views, 57 comments

Most discussed Git Em SteveDave loves this guy->★: Here's a question that has to do with Holiday Gifts that is becoming a problem to me. While I more »

money

Personal Finance Roundup

Back to Basics: Start doing the little money-saving things again [Mighty Bargain Hunter] "Here are thirteen of those little money-saving things that you can do to lessen the pain during these trying times."

Announcing the Save $1,000 in 30 Days Challenge [I Will Teach You to be Rich] "Each day in November, I'll post one suggestion to cut your spending. If you spend time each day working on the day's post, the vast majority of you will save over $1,000 each month."

25 Useful Pieces Of Free (and Open) Software for Macs [The Simple Dollar] "What follows is a list of twenty five pieces of software that are the cream of the crop of open source software for Macs. Not only is every piece of it free, many of them directly replace expensive software packages."

Hold Off On Heating with These 10 Warming Ways [Wise Bread] "Ten strategies for keeping warm just a wee bit longer - sans heating unit."

5 tips for stretching your holiday budget [Consumer Reports] "Great ways to save this holiday season."

— FREE MONEY FINANCE (Photo: frankieleon)

12:00 PM on Thu Nov 6 2008
By freemoneyfinance
1,094 views, 13 comments

money

Are You A Saver?

MSN Money addresses the dark side of being a compulsive saver (such as not enjoying spending or giving) while also extolling the virtues of being able to control your spending (like becoming wealthier.) But we found their definition of being a "saver" to be the most interesting thoughts in the piece. They think you're only a saver if you:

1.Save more than 20% of your earned income each year.
2. Spend and give away less than 3% of your total net worth each year.
3. Increase your net worth by more than 5% from year to year.

These factors probably eliminate a wide portion of the population, but do they eliminate you? Would you be considered a "saver" based on these criteria?

Secret millionaires: Addicted to saving [MSN Money]
— FREE MONEY FINANCE (Photo: kiteflyer532)

10:44 AM on Thu Nov 6 2008
By freemoneyfinance
3,007 views, 54 comments

Most discussed IHaveAFreezeRay: In my eyes, there are two kinds of savers: Those who rightfully put away X amount of money into savings for more »

insurance

How To Save On Homeowners Insurance

With the economy in the dumper, it seems like everyone is looking for ways to save on everything. Not wanting to stand in the way of this lovefest for saving, we're proud to bring you six ways to save on homeowners insurance from Smart Money: More »

1:53 PM on Thu Oct 30 2008
By freemoneyfinance
5,761 views, 29 comments

Most discussed AMetamorphosis: I can't believe this tip was missed: Get your auto & home owners insurance policy from the same provider and they more »

roundups

Personal Finance Roundup

Trick and treat 'em: Halloween decorations [Bankrate] "Throw a frightfully wicked Halloween shindig that will spook your guests, not your wallet."

How to Talk to Your Kids About the Economic Crisis [Yahoo Finance]
"What's the best broach to this loaded topic?"

6 Ways to Build Credit [Smart Money] "Here are some ways that can help [build up your credit.]"

15 Hot Jobs in a (Gulp!) Depression [US News] "Even in the worst of times, some career fields will thrive."

Here's One Safe Haven With Attractive Yields [Wall Street Journal] "There's at least one safe haven that's still paying attractive yields: inflation-linked savings bond, or I Bonds."

— FREE MONEY FINANCE (Photo: frankieleon)

12:00 PM on Thu Oct 30 2008
By freemoneyfinance
653 views, 5 comments

Save Money by Bartering

barter for goods and services instead of buying them. Yep, bartering, the age-old method of economic exchange, is making a big comeback — though now it's a high-tech operation that doesn't limit you to your own set of acquaintances. We wrote about this back in July, but an economic practice that has survived from the beginning of our society deserves more than one post. Smart Money has 5 new tips it says will help you save by trading goods and skills you already have: More »

4:27 PM on Fri Oct 24 2008
By freemoneyfinance
6,093 views, 29 comments

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