A Personal Finance Blog for Regular Folks
The changing of seasons is the perfect time to check your home’s energy efficiency, especially when much of the country will be facing cold temperatures in a few months (except for those lucky few living in warmer climates).
As temperatures cool, now is the time to make some updates to your home to save energy and efficiency and avoid costly repairs.
Black Friday isn’t just for retail stores.
Capital One 360 is offering up their annual Black Friday specials this year from November 29th through December 2nd.
If you don’t feel like going out and spending your money you can check out what Capital One 360 will be offering for you to save.
You know I’ve been an Capital One 360 customer for years and think it’s a great place for online savings so I’m pretty excited to see what they are going to offer (we also use their online checking and their ShareBuilder investing site)!
For the last several years, companies have generously offered freebies as a way to get new customers in the door (and perhaps spend more money with the business offering the freebie). A wise consumer may choose to take advantage of the freebie and not necessarily buy more.
Most people don’t spend the Fourth of July inside a restaurant, so several restaurants have offered some good deals to entice you to visit them.
Here are some of the best deals:
[Read more…] about Fourth (4th) of July Deals, Freebies, and Discounts 2013
As the holiday shopping season gets underway, there is giddy talk of how much money shoppers are saving this year.
Unfortunately, this is a mindset that is rather common among consumers. We have this idea that we are “saving” money when we get a good deal.
The reality, though, is that you aren’t actually saving money.
You are just spending less.
The words we use have a big impact on our behaviors.
[Read more…] about Spending Less is NOT the Same as Saving Money
Roth IRAs are by far my favorite type of investment holding account available.
I love the idea of setting aside $5,000 in after-tax money in order to never pay taxes on the amount ever again.
There are other perks to using a Roth IRA besides never paying income tax on your nest egg. One of the most prominent: you can withdraw your contributions at any time, even before retirement. (This isn’t recommended, of course, but it is possible.) You won’t pay any penalty or taxes for withdrawing your contributions under normal situations. You will pay tax and penalties if you withdraw your investment earnings, so never do this.
This unique withdrawal capability has some people counting on their Roth IRAs as an emergency fund.
But is this a wise choice or a fool’s gamble?
[Read more…] about Using a Roth IRA as an Emergency Fund – Pros and Cons
