The Federal Reserve Board is expected to cut interest rates soon, and you can bet that banks will quickly follow their lead and slash rates on savings accounts and certificates of deposit. By purchasing a CD now, you can lock in favorable rates ahead of the Fed’s September 18 meeting. From the Chicago Tribune:
“Banks usually are really fast to cut rates and slow to raise,” he said.
Leo at Zen Habits has listed 10 ideas for living without a credit card or any debt.
Bankrate has an oddly fun interactive tool that easily calculates how far different types of cars will go on a single tank of gas. The tool also lets you imput the price of gas in your area, so you can easily see how much you’ll be paying when its time to fill up.
There are two types of 529 plans: pre-paid tuition plans and college savings plans. All fifty states and the District of Columbia sponsor at least one type of 529 plan. In addition, a group of private colleges and universities sponsor a pre-paid tuition plan.
You can learn more about 529 plans at the Security & Exchange commission’s website, and compare them at Bankrate.com. Keep in mind: Not all 529 plans are the same, some are better investments than others.
Most people spend too much on glasses, failing to shop around even though they are legally entitled to take their prescription anywhere. Local opticians usually provide the best service, but offer the worst deals. 147 million Americans might save on glasses by following these simple tips from the Chicago Tribune:
Golf doesn’t have to be the expensive, effete, sport of the affluent ruling class that popular culture has made it out to be. Not if you follow five simple tips from No Credit Needed:
Today’s New York Times tells the story of seven people who squirreled away enough money to afford a New York apartment; no small feat, considering the average price for a Manhattan studio is approaching $450,000. The seven people, all folks of regular means, realized their dreams of home-ownership with a variety of strategies that are applicable to anyone trying to save extra cash.
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How much should I put in my 401(k) vs my RothI RA vs straight-up savings?
If you’re in debt and you don’t want to be, (and who wants to be?) you might want to take a look at Zen Habits 12-Step Get Out of Debt Program.
Zen Habits has posted a simple guide to setting and achieving life goals, and we think it’s great. A lot of life goals have a personal finance aspect, and this guide can help you get yourself organized so that you’re not just dreaming of a the day where you have the things you want, you’re actively working towards that future.
Maybe I won’t live long enough to retire. Life is so uncertain. Why should I miss out on the high life now when I might not even need to have money put aside for my old age? (If married, change pronouns in this reason to the plural.)
A group of friends decided to try an experiment in frugal “earth-friendly” living. They wouldn’t buy anything new for an entire year. Since the idea was to save the planet, not their pocketbooks, they were allowed to buy things secondhand, and of course, to buy food and toilet paper etc. So what happened?
All but the lowest earning men should have accumulated in a nest egg 12 times their income by the time they retire, EBRI estimates. That’s $900,000 for a man earning $75,000. A woman, because of a higher life expectancy, should have 14 times her income
Damn. Women live so long they can pull that “put one penny in a savings account and in the future you’ll be a zillionaire, but it’ll only pay for one dinner” thing from Restaurant At The End Of The Universe.—MEGHANN MARCO
If I said to you, “You can have $10,000 to spend now–or $9,500 to spend in 10 years,” which would you choose? Probably the $10,000 now. And in doing so, you would be making the same choice many Americans make when deciding whether to save or spend their hard-earned cash.
The article goes on to consider some strategies for saving money such as T-bills and stocks, as well as proposing some changes to the tax code. The author suggests making long-term savings tax exempt, which sounds like a lovely pipe-dream. —MEGHANN MARCO
Valentines Day price gouging makes us frown, so we’re putting together some tips to help you save money… while not seeming cheap. Ok, you might seem a little cheap, but savvy consumerism can be sexy. Ready? First up: Flowers.
Since we’ve spent a large portion of our day tearing at Bank of America, we thought we’d offer this recommendation for a new savings program, sent in by (probably astroturf) reader Greg. It seems Bank of America has a new program that rounds up your debit charges to the nearest dollar, then puts the change in a savings account. Gamey, but we like it.
But here’s the interesting part: for the first 3 months they’ll match it up to $250. So if you rack up $250 or more in change over 3 months, BofA will give you $250. After 3 months, they’ll continue to match but only at 5%.
Part of 
