Personal Finance 101 Posts of the Day 6/8/07

• Online Savings Blog gives some ideas on ways to save money in your budget.
• Around the Sun talks about taking Public Transportation.
• Financial Tips for WAHMs talks about debt repayment methods.
  

Personal Finance 101 Posts of the Day 5/30/07

• Zen Habits gives 10 tips to simplify your budget.
• Ask Mr. Credit Card asks how much do you need to feel rich?
• Life, Lived talks about ways her family saves money.
• The Frugalist gives 21 reasons why it's good to be frugal but not cheap. (I call myself a cheap-a$$ but according to this I'm just frugal. Whew!)
• Mint gives a list of 20 mistakes to avoid during credit repair.
• $1 Million to my Name - Part III in his retirement saving pitfalls series - relying on an inheritance.
• My Financial Awareness talks about things to consider when establishing an emergency fund.
• Mad Money Analyst talks about why starting to save for retirement now is important.
• Advice and Rants gives suggestons on how to join forces with your friends to be frugal.
  

Personal Finance 101 Posts of the Day 5/27/07

• Accumulating Money talks about in-service 401k rollovers.
• Boston Gal posts about how to keep your investment advisor from robbing you blind.
• The Simple Dollar tells us how to get past the need for keeping up with the Jones’.
• How I Save Money talks about how to simplify your budget.
• Not Made of Money talks about some store brand products his family uses to save money.
• Bankruptcy Law Network talks about borrowing money from a 401k to pay for debt.
• Fil-Am Personal Finance had a good post illustrating the benefits of starting saving early.
• Financial Jungle talks about closet index funds. (This is a really important think to look at wth all of your funds. Holding overlap can really mess with your asset allocation and cause you to get off track for your goals.)
  

Personal Finance 101 Posts of the Day 5/21/07

• MSN Money talks about the evils of bank fees.
• Bankruptcy Law Network talks about why you should opt out.
• Pro Bargain Hunter talks about how to get a good deal when shopping.
  

Personal Finance 101 Posts of the Day 5/15/07

• Wise Bread has a post on 10 frugal ways to get to $1 Million.
• SmartMoney talks about what retirement is going to be like for Generations X & Y. (Hint: It’s not pretty)
• All Financial Matters re-posts the 13 unbreakable laws of finance.
• 3 Debt Consolidation talks about the difference between good and bad debt.
  

Personal Finance 101 Posts of the Day 5/11/07

• Smart Money Daily has a great article about recovering from bankruptcy.
• Make Your Nut gives more advice to new grads.
• Free Money Finance lists 18 ways to save on a small income.
• Money and Such give some tips on how to save on travel.
  

Personal Finance 101 Posts of the Day 5/10/07

• Money Walks talks about the time value of money.
• Grad Money Matters gives advice to new grads.
• Frugalist lists 147 tips to live healthier, happier, greener and better.
• Debt Free lists some common credit report mistakes to watch out for.
• BBB Consumer Education talks about whether debt management plans are right for you.
• My Two Dollars gives some tips on how to deal with your debt.
  

Personal Finance 101 Posts of the Day 5/8/07

• My Retirement Blog gives 5 reasons to start saving for retirement now.
• Becoming and Staying Debt Free gives some great cheap/free date ideas.
• No Credit Needed talks about how he's going to teach his kids to manage money.
  

Personal Finance 101 Posts of the Day 5/7/07

• Ask Mr. Credit Card provides a great retirement plan cheat sheet for 2007.
• Make Love, Not Debt talk about how to merge finances.
• Blueprint for Financial Prosperity talks about 5 ways to save money without noticing. I love that he mentioned drinking water. Just make sure it’s water you get from a tap/brita filter otherwise buying bottled may cost more in the long run.
• Consumerism Commentary talks about how much you really need for retirement.
• Personal Finance Advice talks about why he loves not having a car. I agree! I haven't had one for more than 5 years and I love it!
  

Car Sharing: Would it work for you?

John and Queercents writes a useful article about the benefits of car sharing programs.

Those who don't live in a city might not know what this is all about. Basically joy join a service that allows you to rent a car by the hour or more and you pay according to how much you use it. The price includes gas, mileage and insurance and is much easier and cheaper than owning a car in most cities (John has a much better, much more in depth description on his post.).

Personally, while I think these services are useful and much better than owning a car, I don't think they're worth it. Having lived in a city for the last 4 years, I looked into joining Flexcar but decided against it. I ran the numbers and for me, it was too expensive unless I was using the car for 2 hours or less. I can easily rent a car for a full 24 hours through priceline and it will only cost me $25 or so. I probably do this once a month, if that often, and I just save up all the errands that require wheels to perform.

The only times I really wish I had a car for a short time is when I'm grocery shopping. But even with that, if I'm doing a small shop I just use my shopping cart and if I'm doing a monster shop I use peapod or similar. Their delivery charge is less than a car service would be for the time it takes to shop and I find that I spend less because I don't have impulse buys.

They are a great idea though and much better than owning a car in a city. They just aren't the best idea for me.

Personal Finance 101 Posts of the Day 4/26/07

• Vanguard announces changes to its fee policies.
• Bargain-Value lists 13 mistakes they made with money.
• Frugal Journey talks about the things they get at the Dollar Store.

Personal Finance 101 Posts of the Day 4/18/07

• Web CFP talks about the tax consequences of mutual funds.
• Young and Broke talks about why young people aren’t saving.
• Credit Card Lowdown talks about 10 common credit card scams.
• Edith Yeung talks about the 7 habits of highly effective money managers.
• Money Walks talks about the difference between being frugal and cheap.
• Zen Habit tells you how to make your finances automatic. I’m a huge supporter of this and it’s something I stress in my Personal Finance 101 classes.
• Get Rich Slowly tells us how to fight the urge to splurge.
• Everybody Loves Your Money talks about keeping up with the Jones’.
• Aridni talks about 3 steps of financial planning.
• Debt Consolidation News gives us the lazy man’s guide to budgeting.

Personal Finance 101 Posts of the Day 4/16/07

• Everybody Loves Your Money lists the 13 top money saving ideas of all time.
• Frugalist lists 15 ways that being frugal makes you happier, healthier and sexier.
• The Digerati Life explains how much a car really costs.

Personal Finance 101 Posts of the Day 4/11/07

• Ask Mr. Credit Card discusses debt repayment plans.
• 3 Debt Consolidation talks about debt reduction mistakes.
• My Personal Finance Odyssey talks about the US savings rate.
• 5 Cent Nickel talks about how to prioritize your retirement contributions.
• The Bargain Queen gives us a lesson in bargain shopping 101.
• Make Your Nut talks about credit scoring and the 7 year myth.
• Canadian Dream lists 10 signs your retirement plan isn’t going to work.
• Everybody Loves Your Money talks about finding the balance between living for today and saving for tomorrow.
• Free Money Finance talks about how Social Security is a rip-off.
• Queercents talks about 101 ways to save a buck or two.

Personal Finance 101 Posts of the Day 4/8/07

• Sameer Writer talks about the advantages and disadvantages of socially responsible investing.
• Mint talks about what to do now that you’ve graduated.
• The DINKS talk about how to pay off debt.
• The Frugal Law Student talks about what it means to be frugal when you’re wealthy.
• Investments and Loans talks about the evils of credit cards.

Personal Finance 101 Posts of the Day 4/5/07

• Debt Free talks about how to save money every day.
• Interest.org has a great article about credit card tricks and tactics that you should know.
• An old post from Matt Hutter talks about how to save money on credit cards.
• The Frugal Law Student tells us 5 things you should never buy new. #2 is my downfall. I buy 90% of my books used but I never borrow them from the library.
• Frugal Zeitgeist talks about why cheaper isn’t always better.
• My Financial Journey talks about finding the balance between living and saving. I highly recommend every frugal person read this! It’s important information.
• Advanced Personal Finance talks about what financial records you need to keep and which you can toss.
• Frugal for Life talks about the benefits of frugal living.

Personal Finance 101 Posts of the Day 4/4/07

• PF Blog asks if $1M is still enough
• Money Smart Life asks if you should use your emergency fund to pay off debt.
• 12 Years wonders what ever happened to frugality.
• Grad Money Matters tells us to stop blaming our credit cards!
• Personal Finance Advice talks about debt reduction mistakes.
• Money, Matter and More talks about how to save money and time by making left turns.

Personal Finance 101 posts of the day 4/2/07

• Blueprint for Financial Prosperity talks about Saving Beyond 401k and Roth IRA.
• Resident Alien lists 25 rules to grow rich by.
• Free Money Finance talks about how it’s the little splurges that can get you.
• Grad Money shows us how to get into the swing of cooking at home.
• Consumerist talks about how to stop living paycheck to paycheck.
• Make Love, Not Debt talks about how they developed their budget without killing eachother.

Personal Finance 101 Posts of the Day 3/28/07

• 7CM reminds us to Take a Money Day to Organize Your Finances
• Financial Baby Steps asks Should Personal Finance Be A General Education Class?. My answer is a resounding YES!!! The reason I started my business was because I kept hearing from way too many people who started their adult lives without even basic financial education and got themselves into trouble. It's horrible! My goal is to eventually start a non-profit geared towards requiring financial education in both high school and college. I think that the basics about credit and debt should be taught in high school before they start getting credit cards and digging a hole. In college they should expand on their basic education by teaching students about investing, retirement planning, goal setting and how to manage debt. Hopefully our government will wake up and take care of this.
• Wealth Building Lessons gives is Ben Stein’s Basic Rules of Retirement.
• Financial Hack talks about the benefits of low-cost living.
• Endless Gibberish talks about why they like credit cards.
• Ask Mr. Credit Card talks about drastic things you can do for debt reduction.
• My Wealth Builder illustrates how carrying debt can keep you from being wealthy.

Personal Finance 101 Posts of the Day 2/18/07

• Debt Free reminds women to protect their credit.
• Getting Green talks about how he lives on $600/month.
• The Stubborn Capitalist lists 9 fallacies of the poor.