Free From Broke

A Personal Finance Blog for Regular Folks

Glen Craig

TradeKing Online Discount Brokerage Review – Inexpensive Trades and Plenty of Tools

Published or updated by

Putting your trust into an investment website can be somewhat scary.

How do you know if they are really trustworthy with your money and investments?

TradeKing online discount brokerage may be the place for you.  Let’s take a look at what makes TradeKing great in this TradeKing review.

At TradeKing.com, you do not need to have any worries about the safety of your trades.  Established in 2005, they strive to take care of their investors in every way they can.  They designed their company to make it easier for investors without any confusing double-talk and they treat everyone equal, instead of only giving their full attention to the large investors.

TradeKing treats each and every client like they would like to be treated themselves, and strive to work by principles of honesty, fairness and high-touch service.  At TradeKing  you can even converse with other investors in their Trader Network, so that you can see what others are investing in and what is working for them, getting much needed advice for your investments from people like you. [Read more…] about TradeKing Online Discount Brokerage Review – Inexpensive Trades and Plenty of Tools

Can’t Pay On Time? Change Your Due Date!

Published or updated by

Way back in the dark days when my credit card debt felt like a ball and chain around my neck I would have problems paying my credit card bills on time.

And man, was I so close a lot of those times!

I’d miss the due date by a day here, three days there.  See, my budget was timed badly such that my paycheck and my credit card due date were within days of each other (I was living paycheck-to-paycheck for a while).  By the time I could get my bills out they would already be late.  You can always ask the credit card company to waive a late fee but I had too many to ask anymore.

One day I found out I could ask the credit card company to move my due date.

“They would do that,” I thought?  I mean, why would they work with me since I owe them money?
[Read more…] about Can’t Pay On Time? Change Your Due Date!

How to Make More Money: Stop Watching TV!

Published or updated by

If you are like most people, you probably have a desire or a strong need to generate more income but you just don’t know where to start or how you will find the time in with juggling all of your responsibilities. 

The question is always “how to make more money?”

You need to ask yourself,  what are you spending time on?

Have you seriously thought about it?

One of the biggest time killers is that black box that sits in your living room, bedroom, kitchen or den.  Know what I am referring to?  Yep, it’s your super sleek, shiny big flat screen TV!  You are proud of your big black box, you carefully wipe it down with all the rest of your possessions, and it may even be the “ooh and  ahh” focal point of your home when entertaining.  Heck, you probably spent a pretty penny on it, so why not get your money’s worth out of it right?

And you know what – there is nothing wrong with it.

The question you may need to ask yourself is this: how many hours a day do you find yourself zoning out in front of the television?  Is it only a couple of hours, or is it several hours in a day?  Do you use your television as a way to escape the things that aren’t working for you in your life?

If you do, you are not alone.  Most people nowadays use the television as a way to entertain themselves, as a babysitter, and as a way to escape from life’s problems.
[Read more…] about How to Make More Money: Stop Watching TV!

What is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and How Will it Help You?

Published or updated by

In an attempt to correct the deficiencies that led to the financial crisis, the United States government has added a new agency to the mix. The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was created this year as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and takes affect July 21st.

The broad purpose behind the creation of the CFPB is “to address failures of consumer protection by establishing a new financial agency to focus directly on consumers, rather than on bank safety and soundness or on monetary policy.”

The bureau will operate under the Federal Reserve and its purpose, according to the agency’s website, is to: [Read more…] about What is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and How Will it Help You?

What is a Credit Card Number? It’s Far From Random

Published or updated by

Have you ever wondered if your credit card number is something totally random or if there is a system that determines what your number is?  Credit card numbers are pre-determined so that the credit industry can keep track of how many cards there are in what specific areas.

Let’s take a look at the question “what is a credit card number?”

Issuer Identifier

The first six digits of your credit card determine the issuer and are known as the Issuer Identification Number, or IIN.  The first set of the six digits will tell you the issuer of the card and the rest of the six digits will help identify which card from the issuer and where it’s from.  Each card has a determined length of digits.  For example:
[Read more…] about What is a Credit Card Number? It’s Far From Random