Kent Irwin, who recently wrote a guest article: Is Suze Orman Right, Can You Be Your Own Financial Planner?, sent me a free license to use his eFinPLAN online financial planning software. In this post, I am going to provide you with my initial experience, and I will follow up with a second post to discuss the 64-page report I received — yes, 64 pages! Before I begin, I will share a few things I didn’t like — the interface and usability. It is an old school web site that doesn’t have the crisp Web 2.0 look and feel. ... (more)

For both parents and students, off-to-school shopping can be an important financial lesson that should be shared. It is a prime opportunity for parents to get to teach their kids a few remaining lessons about budgeting and personal finance: two very important lessons college kids should be learning before leaving the nest. Here are fifteen tips that will help both parents and students stay on track and avoid a credit disaster when shopping for the basics and the luxuries before heading to the dorm: 1. Take Inventory Before even hitting the malls, take stock of what is already at home. Sure it is ... (more)

When I started blogging, I’d never thought that my writing could possibly impact anyone. Above all else, it was a way for me to learn more about money management. It was more about me than it was about others. This all changed last Friday, when I read a blog post from Cootiehog: Monthly Bill Reduction - How We Did It. In my last post I talked about how I was able to not only restore our Disney fund but send in a huge tithe AND pay off almost 20% of my credit card debt. You may wonder HOW I ... (more)

This afternoon I ran across a few interesting articles I’d like to share. But first, I’d like to remind you that there’s still 17 days left before I pick one lucky winner to receive a $50 Amazon gift certificate. The winner will be randomly chosen from the comments and trackbacks left in April — so you could leave a comment, or link to Moolanomy to enter…the more the better! Earlier this week LendingClub announces that it no longer accept new lenders and terminates the referral program (via The Dough Roller). This drew various responses among the PF bloggers: ... (more)

This article is not meant to convince you to try credit card arbitrage — rather, it’s meant to start a discussion around it. Ultimately, I would like to hear your thought on credit card arbitrage as a money making strategy. First, we start off with a little background information. What Is Credit Card Arbitrage? Credit Card Arbitrage is a strategy where the arbitrager borrows money from credit cards that offers 0% APR for a certain amount of time (usually 6 or 12 months). For example, these cards offer no-fee 0% APR transfer: Clear from American Express Pulaski Bank Gold Visa® Card IberiaBank Visa® Platinum Rewards Card ESPN ... (more)

This is the 5th issue of the Ask The Expert column by Larry Swedroe. You can see Larry’s full biography and important disclaimer below. If you are interested in having your question answered by Larry, please send me an email via the contact page. Now, let’s get to the questions and answers (please note that the emphases and links are mine). + + + Question from Anthony Carr: In your 2nd book, “What Wall Street Doesn’t Want You to Know“, you stated that 40% of institutional investors use passive management strategies — do you have an updated percentage? Also, I am an approved advisor to ... (more)

In the past few weeks, I have been compiling a list of ways to make some money off sign up bonuses and giveaways.  I have compiled a decent sized list, and have added to my sidebar under Featured section: Deals, Specials, and Freebies.  I would like to highlight a few of them here: Revolution Money Exchange ($25 sign up bonus) If you perform financial transaction over the Internet, you know what PayPal is all about. I have been a loyal user of PayPal for many years, and I’ve paid nearly a $1,000 in transaction fees to PayPal over the years. Well, now ... (more)

Many of us are working toward a comfortable retirement so that we can relax and enjoy our golden years. Money experts often give advice on how to reduce debt and retire early, yet they overlook the people who have already reached retirement age. There are plenty of seniors who are still in need of some financial guidance. Below are seven helpful money management tips for senior citizens: 1. Start a Household Budget Not only should you outline a personal budget for daily living, you need to make sure you stick to it. As you can imagine, every penny counts when you’re no longer ... (more)