Fix My Finances

Figuring out how much to save for retirement (or anything else, for that matter!) can be confusing, especially when you try to calculate how much interest will add to the final amount and how much inflation might decrease the buying power of your hard-earned and saved dollars. One source of help are the online […]

Soon investors will be able to buy shares of the Nasdaq-100 ETF (exchange tracking fund) directly from the stock market, cutting out commissions to a middle market-maker like a stock broker or mutual fund company. The Nasdaq’s chief marketing officer, John Jacobs, explains, “This is a very inexpensive, web-based program that allows investors to […]

Want to save up to $2,100 a year (according to a government estimate) on Medicare? Don’t mind a little (well, a lot, really) of paperwork? Persistence will pay off for low income/savings persons who plan to take part in the new Medicare prescription drug benefit starting next January. The savings will come […]

Sometimes you just have to rent a car — you’ve flown to a distant location for business or a vacation, your own auto is in the repair shop, or you need a larger vehicle for a special family trip. Here are some suggestions to help with the increasingly difficult chore of picking a rental […]

Marketwatch.com’s columnist Paul B. Farrell offers two scenarios for what to do if the “global mega-bubble” bursts: stay the course or play a new game:
If you believe a global megabubble is near, what’s your best strategy? Cash out now, at the top? Sell real estate, stocks too, rent, pay off debt? Then patiently wait […]

If you’re buying a new car this year, buy the right kind and you will be able to deduct up to $2,000 on your Form 1040 federal income taxes for 2005. Here’s what the IRS released last month:
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service has certified the model year 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid as being […]

Cruise your mouse on over to Sound Money Tips daily for a free and simple financial tip. For example, today’s tip was:
The Citi Dividend Platinum Select Card is offering 5% cash rewards on purchases at supermarkets, drugstores and gas stations and 1% cash back on all other purchases.
The post also offered information on how […]

If you are currently in the habit of replenishing your cash funds from ATM machines other than at the bank where you keep your money, you might want to check up on the fee you’re being charged. Don’t just grab the cash an run, leaving the receipt at the machine or in the trash. […]

They’re everywhere–membership groups, affliliations–offering enticing benefits including discounts on purchases. But are they really such a good deal? Consider the prospect of joining a gym, a workout plan or health club. Most people find that just complying with the exercise part is a challenge. Will paying an average annual cost of […]

“What’s a FICO?” you’re probably wondering. That’s the short-hand term that describes your credit rating. It comes from the Fair Isaac Corporation, the company that invented the FICO credit risk score that lenders use. You actually have three FICO’s, one from each of the major credit tracking organizations:

Equifax,
TransUnion
[…]