The Best Prepaid Debit Cards 2013

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As banks add more fees, and as it becomes difficult for some consumers to obtain accounts at some of the big banks, prepaid debit cards are becoming popular.

Prepaid debt cards look a lot like “regular” debit and credit cards, sporting the logos of major payment processors like Visa, MasterCard, and American Express.  You can use them anywhere major credit cards are accepted, so it makes them convenient.

However, no matter how much like a credit card a prepaid debit card is, it’s important to understand the difference.

Credit Card vs. Prepaid Debit Card

With a credit card, you are borrowing money up to a certain limit.  You use the money first, and then repay it later.  Additionally, if you carry a balance, you end up paying interest on that balance.

A prepaid debit card functions differently.
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Five Ways Fantasy Baseball is Like Personal Finance

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I had my draft for my fantasy baseball league I’m in earlier this week.

I’ve been in the league with these particular guys now for over ten years.  It’s not a money league but we’re real competitive nonetheless.

I gotta say I’m real excited!  Real baseball starting soon (go Mets!!) and I love following baseball along-side my fantasy league.

As I was going through all of my work for the draft I realized that fantasy baseball is a lot like personal finance.  We could probably learn a thing or two about personal finance from fantasy baseball.

Without further ado here are five ways fantasy baseball is like personal finance:

Fantasy baseball and personal finance

Research

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Federal Income Tax Deadlines to File Taxes for 2013

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We’re now into that time the year that accountants and other tax preparers refer to as “tax season.”

For the rest of us it’s panic season.  We scramble to get together our tax documents and hope that we won’t have to pay taxes.

How many of you have filed your return the day it was due?  I’m raising my hand (not easy to type like that).

Stressful, isn’t it?

Add to the stress the fact that not everyone files taxes the same.  Some are individual filers while others file as self-employed.  Corporations file taxes too.

But the tax deadlines aren’t all the same in every case.  It’s enough to make your head spin, wondering “when are the tax deadlines for my taxes?”

Below you will find Federal Income Tax deadlines for 2013.  Use these dates to your advantage and plan enough time to prepare your taxes before they are due.

Individual income tax filing due dates

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The Best Credit Cards for College Students 2013

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Some would say that students and credit cards don’t mix well.

In many cases that’s correct.  It’s quite easy for a student, new to credit cards, to get himself neck-deep in credit card debt (in fact the CARD Act of 2009 has made it harder for credit card companies to market to students under 21).

But for others, a credit card is a great tool to have as a student.

When used responsibly, a credit card gives a student an easy means to pay for things like books without having to have the cash on hand as yet.

A student credit card also gives a student a head-start in building up a credit history.  A few extra years of building up a positive credit hostory could mean thousands in savings later on with a great credit score.

But which student credit card is right for you?

I’ve reviewed some of the best student credit cards so you have a place to start to see which card is right for you.  This list doesn’t show all cards so if you think there’s one that deserves mention please let me know!

Best Credit Cards for College Students

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What You Must Consider Before Opening a Brokerage Account

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Shopping for a brokerage account is very unlike choosing a bank.

People often choose a bank based primarily on a convenient location.  Since banks are tightly regulated, and all provide essentially the same services, convenience can be the deciding factor.

There’s a lot more to consider when opening a brokerage account however, since the transactions you enter into with investments will be both more complicated and more diverse.

Consider the Following When Opening a Brokerage Account

Investment choices

How important investment choice is to you will depend on what you intend to do with the account.

For the most part, you’ll want a brokerage account that has the widest investment choices available.  That will include stocks – both foreign and domestic – mutual funds, ETF’s, options, REITs, bonds and other debt securities, and even commodities.  You’ll also want the investment choices within each asset class to also be as wide as possible.

But if you plan to maintain the account for a very specific purpose, you may be more interested in a specialized account.
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TurboTax Online Federal Giveaway

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The tax filing due date is quickly approaching!  Have you done your taxes yet?

If you haven’t then I’m here to help.


TurboTax - Choose EasyThe kind folks at Intuit (TurboTax’s parent company) have given me a promotional code for one TurboTax Online Federal Filing product, up to a $100 value.  I’d like to pass that on to a loyal Free From Broke reader.

When I first started doing my taxes I did them myself by hand.  It wasn’t so difficult since there wasn’t a lot going on with my income but it was time consuming nonetheless.

Then I started using TurboTax.  It was immediately so much easier to get my taxes done!  Take a look at our TurboTax Online review for more information on the different TurboTax products.

TurboTax Online Giveaway

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What is Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) and How Does it Affect Your Taxes

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We toss different terms around to describe our incomes, one of which is adjusted gross income, but what exactly is adjusted gross income (AGI), and is it an accurate way to describe what we make?

What is Adjusted Gross Income?

In its simplest form, adjusted gross income, or “AGI”, is the broadest measure of income from all sources, but it’s also reduced by certain expenses. (This is where the term “adjusted” figures into AGI.)

Because the income reduced, and because certain income isn’t taxable, it’s not accurate to say that AGI describes total income in any way.

AGI isn’t really a general description of income so much as it’s a term specific to income taxes.

It’s your income as the Internal Revenue Service sees it and wants us to report it.  It is everything that is reported on page one of IRS Form 1040.

But even if it isn’t an objective measure of income, it still has major implications, at least as it relates to income taxes.

AGI summarizes all of your income sources

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Bad Credit? Rebuild it With These Secured Credit Card Offers

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One of the fastest ways to build up your credit is to use a credit card.

However, if you have little or no credit history, or if you have a poor credit rating, it can be difficult to qualify for an unsecured credit card (unsecured means you don’t have to have any money put away as insurance, or collateral, for any purchases you make — it’s what most credit cards are).

Creditors have stepped up their lending standards, and you might not have such an easy time getting a credit card that isn’t secured by some type of asset.
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ReadyForZero | Review – Pay Off and Manage Your Debt

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Some people just have a single loan or two that they want to get rid of.  Others have so much debt that what they really need most is an hour or two with a bankruptcy attorney.

But for everyone in the vast space in between the two extremes is an online debt management tool called ReadyForZero.

It isn’t a traditional debt management service that will actively manage your debts for you, but a debt management tool that will give you what you need to do the job yourself.

How ReadyForZero Works

When you sign up for ReadyForZero it links to your loan accounts and assembles your information – account balances, interest rates and minimum payments.  This will include not only credit cards, but also student loans, car loans, mortgages and any other loans you have.

It will display the information on all of your accounts on a single page and update it daily.  This will provide you with that all-important big picture view of your debt situation in one convenient place.
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President’s Day Money Quotes

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In honor of President’s day here are quotes from twelve of our esteemed leaders:

All the perplexities, confusion and distress in America arise, not from defects in their Constitution or Confederation, not from want of honor or virtue, so much as from the downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit and circulation.

-John Adams

It’s clearly a budget. It’s got a lot of numbers in it.

-George W. Bush
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