Blueprint for Financial Prosperity

You Have Terrible (Mutual Fund) Timing

2006-04-03T19:44:51-08:00

Originally published on 3/5 That's what a study, titled "Dumb Money: Mutual Fund Flows and the Cross-Section of Stock Returns," conducted by two finance professors has concluded. Andrea Frazzini of the University of Chicago and Owen A. Lamont of Yale conducted a study that showed that mutual fund investors tend ...

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I Don�t Know If I Like The Citi mtvU Card

2006-04-03T19:43:20-08:00

Originally published on 3/3 The Citi mtvU Platinum Select Visa Card I applied for about a week ago came in today and along with it a directory of services. The card itself is part of the ThankYou Network program that Citi runs where you get points, instead of straight cash ...

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Under Warranty Repair - '03 Celica

2006-03-12T09:44:53-08:00

Originally published on 3/1/06 I purchased my Toyota Celica from a private citizen in Florida and have been very satisfied with my purchase, with one minor notable exception. The lift supports (the hydrolic-looking supports that lift and hold the hatchback) always seemed to be extremely weak under cold weather conditions ...

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TurboTax To Increase Price on April 1st

2006-03-11T08:12:13-08:00

Originally published 3/1/06 Here's another reason not to wait to file your taxes (unless you owe money), TurboTax will increase prices on April 1st! I was reading through a Washington Post article today discussing the various ways you can file your taxes and one of the notable things in the ...

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Limit of 6 ACH Transfers on Savings Accounts

2006-03-08T10:04:32-08:00

Originally published here, current 7 comments posted. There is a limit of six transfers, ACH or otherwise, per statement cycle on savings accounts as mandated by the Federal Reserve board Regulation D, which defines the rules of each account type and its reserve requirement. Why is this important? With the ...

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Certificates of Deposit Aren�t Worth It

2006-02-25T14:15:33-08:00

Originally published 1/23/06 Certificates of Deposit (CDs) no longer offer an attractive enough interest rate for it to be worth it. If you take a look at ING Direct's Orange CDs, you're looking at a 6 month commitment earning you a mere 4.15% APY compared to their regular rate of ...

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Taxes Should Affect Your Stock Decisions

2006-02-22T17:20:48-08:00

Originally published on 1/6 You bought shares of That Next Great Thing Corp. and they were right, they were that next great thing and their shares quadrupled in six months. You've been high-fiving all your co-workers and buying birthday cakes for your dog (and it isn't even Fido's birthday) but ...

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How To Predict Supermarket Sales

2006-02-22T17:20:01-08:00

Originally published on 1/5 Learning how to predict supermarket and grocery store sales is so simple, a grade schooler could do it. All you have to do is pick up your Saturday circulars! Yeah, so I cheated a little, I hope you can forgive me. Typically supermarkets will advertise all ...

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House For Sale: $1

2006-02-16T16:35:04-08:00

Originally published here on 12/30/05 I personally had never heard of this before but there are historic homes that sell for $1 and it's not an American pipedream either. Bankrate wrote up an article explaining the "'demolition delay bylaw" (at least what it's called in Norfolk, Mass.) where the existing ...

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Ten Real Estate Mistakes

2006-02-16T16:33:39-08:00

Originally published here on 12/28/05 Bankrate, one of the great free resources out there today, had one of its real estate related articles featured on the front page of Yahoo! Finance and it contains ten mistakes that you must know if you're looking to buy a house. As you may ...

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Reviewing and Rebalancing Your Portfolio

2006-02-10T11:02:43-08:00

Originally published on 12/22/05 Every year, or every six months if you're so inclined, you should review and potentially rebalance your portfolio. This is important because throughout the year the actual percentage an asset is in your portfolio will have changed from your original allocation. The reason this occurs is ...

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Few Blockbusters To End Late Fees

2006-02-10T11:01:32-08:00

Originally published on 12/15/05 Blockbuster started their "End Of Late Fees" promotion this year where you're allowed to keep movies as long as you want but after a week you're charged for them as if you purchased them. For a $1.25 restocking fee, you can return the movie and get ...

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Contactless Payment Technology is Risky

2006-02-10T11:00:18-08:00

Originally published on 12/8/05 I discussed back in May about some reservations I had with JP Morgan Chase's new "Blink" technology, where you would no longer have to sign anything after a purchase. Well, CNN/Money has made Blink, MasterCard's "Tap and Go," and Amex ExpressPay programs front page news again ...

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Ask For Auto Insurance Discounts Early

2006-02-10T10:58:36-08:00

Georgia left an excellent comment the other day about how she received her "turning 25" auto insurance discount three months early simply by asking. From our email correspondence: I was actually calling my insurance for something else (in late January) when he asked when I was turning 25 (in early ...

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Sharebuilder $50 Bonus Revisited

2006-02-10T10:58:07-08:00

Originally published Oct. 19th, 2005, updated 12/3/05 and again in 1/6/06 with new code. Valid CodeBonus AmountExpiration Date GIFT40$40unknown GIFT05$401/15/06, but still valid Original Post: Back in August, I did the Sharebuilder $50 promotion (tip of the hat goes to Jon from MyMoneyBlog) with the intent that I'd deposit, buy ...

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About Specialty Consumer Reports

2005-11-28T14:40:28-08:00

Specialty Consumer Reports are to you what what credit reports are to your credit worthiness. In a front page featured article, Bankrate-writer Amy Crane discusses what these things are, what they're used for, and how you can get a copy of your specialty consumer report. The level of detail in ...

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Protect Your Wireless Network

2005-11-28T14:38:25-08:00

One of the most popular posts at FiveCentNickel's blog is the one title "Piggybacking on Your Neighbor's WiFi." Just a few days ago someone brought up the point of legal responsibility of your network and it led me to do some research on the topic. According to most, if someone ...

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Ebay's Health Insurance plan

2005-11-28T14:36:17-08:00

A little while ago there was a big of news made about Ebay offering a health care option to its PowerSellers because many of their sellers, who relied on Ebay as their single source of income, had no other health coverage. The health insurance (called it Healthcare Solutions) is provided ...

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Navigating Your Treasury Direct Account

2005-10-25T16:10:23-08:00

I opened a Treasury Direct account last weekend and did a little bit of exploring. The site looks really good (clean and crisp) and there are some good features available such as an account snapshot and a Purchase Express feature. There are also some problems that I think they need ...

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Refinance Now! Low Rates!

2005-10-25T16:09:24-08:00

For the last month I've received the same spam fax in my email box almost every single day. In the mail, I receive all sorts of junk offers about how I can get a garbage 1% interest only refinance loan. Having just signed up for a 30-year mortgage less than ...

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3M $100k Breast Cancer Donation

2005-10-25T16:08:40-08:00

In the spirit of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, 3M is collecting messages on their website and donating 50 cents for each message (up to $100k) to the City of Hope. Visit 3M and leave a message, it takes only a few seconds. This offer will end Oct. 31st and as ...

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Opening Treasury Direct Account

2005-10-22T11:09:44-08:00

In reading learning I-Bonds and Treasury Direct, I felt it important that I actually open a Treasury Direct account even if I didn't plan on buying any bonds just yet. It's a quick five minute process and besides the typical personal information, it would be handy to have your driver's ...

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Introduction to I-Bonds and Treasury Direct

2005-10-22T11:08:48-08:00

I-Bonds have received a ton of press lately, especially from personal finance bloggers, and they appear to be a better alternative for your savings than certificates of deposit (CDs). CDs have a fixed rate (usually tied to its length) and I-Bonds have a fixed and inflation-adjusted rate (independent of the ...

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Understanding "Trimmables," or, Purposeful Saving

2005-10-22T11:08:06-08:00

What is a trimmable? It's something you're paying for on a monthly basis that you could remove and it would not negatively impact your life. A gym membership is not a trimmable, unless you don't actually go to the gym. A Netflix account is a trimmable. A gym membership you ...

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Proposed Mortgage Deduction Changes

2005-10-22T11:07:09-08:00

I wrote about the Presidential Tax Reform Panel Recommendations a few days ago and briefly touched on one of the most important things that affects homeowners such as myself, proposed changes to the mortgage deduction rules. Taken at face value the proposals appear to be bad for all homeowners but ...

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Cashback With A Twist - Amex and BoA

2005-10-22T11:06:18-08:00

CNNMoney reported about two new cash back programs from BoA and Amex. Cash back programs have been here for quite a while and many of us consumers are getting to be pretty savvy with them, getting 1% just isn't good enough anymore. Credit card issuers have tried almost all the ...

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Firing Up The Fireplace

2005-10-22T11:05:05-08:00

I've never lived in a home with a fireplace (my last apartment had one but I never used it) so this winter is going to be a bit of a treat for me. We have a fireplace, complete with blower, and even some fireplace tools so we look forward to ...

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Nitrogen-Filled Tires & Better Gas Mileage?

2005-10-22T11:04:08-08:00

When I bought my tires from Costco, I noticed the caps for the valve stems were a flourescent green and asked about them - it means the tires are filled with Nitrogen. After reading a friend's blog claiming that nitrogen-filled tires get 0.5 mi/gal better gas mileage and have a ...

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Presidential Tax Reform Panel Recommendations

2005-10-22T11:03:09-08:00

CNN/Money reported today that the Presidential Tax Reform Panel has recommended two plans of reform for our complicated federal tax code (they met for the second and last time yesterday). The first is to simplify and modify the current federal tax code while the second adds a "progressive" consumption tax ...

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Don�t Believe the Hybrid Hype!

2005-09-28T13:05:45-08:00

It's rare to see an article putting down hybrid vehicles in this day of $3+ per gallon gasoline but I just read one today by a CNN/Money staff writer by the name of Peter Valdes-Dapena. The article, titled Hybrids: Don't buy the hype, takes considers total cost of ownership, something ...

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Free Jim Cramer's Mad Money Recaps

2005-09-28T13:04:56-08:00

There are a lot of websites out there that blog about Mad Money and recap the entire show in painful detail for you. Some go as deep as listing every call in the Lightning Round and indicating Cramer's opinion. TheStreet.com Staff writers also produce a detailed recap each show which ...

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Buying Counterfeit Merchandise

2005-09-28T13:04:21-08:00

One of the books I started reading recently is titled Hot Property : The Stealing of Ideas in an Age of Globalization, which is all about counterfeiting and how it affects... well, basically everything. The books starts off by throwing a bone to the fake Rolex's and Louis Vuitton bags ...

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Five Ebay Tips for Sellers

2005-09-21T17:55:49-08:00

Back in college, I used to sell a lot of stuff on Ebay for some side cash. I relied on arbitrage, buying it cheaper from somewhere locally or online and then selling it on Ebay, to make most of my profits and came away with a pretty good understanding of ...

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Lasik - A Cost Benefit Analysis

2005-09-21T17:54:09-08:00

I thought about laser eye surgery, or Lasik as the cool kids call it, many years ago when it first became available. We didn�t have the money to consider it (still probably don�t) and I always considered it a spurious expense for the rich (it was significantly more expensive back ...

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Understanding Total Cost of Ownership

2005-09-21T17:53:05-08:00

The concept of Total Cost of Ownership is not a new one but it's one that some people don't consider when they're making a new purchase. Total Cost of Ownership is the purchase price plus the additional costs of operation. The easiest TCO calculations are for cars, so we'll take ...

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Taking A Home Inventory

2005-09-11T09:20:56-08:00

Originally published at Blueprint, join the discussion! Home and renter's insurance cover your personal belongings in the event of theft (and other bad things) if your home is ever broken into. One of the bad things about theft is that the items are now gone and unless you have an ...

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A Case For Renters Insurance

2005-09-07T04:54:57-08:00

Originally published at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity. I'm not longer renting but when I did, I felt the $10 or so a month to cover my belongings wasn't really worth it (I didn't have much in the way of valuables). Luckily, in the two years I rented, there were no ...

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Beware Fake Free Credit Report Websites

2005-09-07T04:53:42-08:00

Originally published at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity. With Sept. 1 around the corner and the last quarter of the states getting their free reports (details here) and every other personal finance blogger writing about (with very good reason), this isn't about how to get the free reports but how not ...

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Auto Insurance & The 25 Milestone

2005-08-26T12:40:21-08:00

Originally published 8/19/05 About a month ago I quoted auto insurance rates to get a pre-25 year old rate so that I could re-quote and get a post-25 year old rate. Well, the time now has come for me to re-quote and see what the "big 25 year old milestone ...

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Researching Cell Phone Plans

2005-08-26T12:38:53-08:00

Originally published 8/12/05 When number portability became widespread and available to all, I've been switching cell phone carriers every year so I can get a new free cell phone, maybe some cash back, and the joy of another one year contract. My first cell phone carrier was Sprint, my second ...

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Buying A House = Dating

2005-08-18T11:49:56-08:00

When I was looking to buy a house, I wrote about how I entirely agreed (but only after going through the process) with the general rule that you should look at six houses before you put down an offer. Today, CNNMoney has an article on getting your financial house in ...

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I Won The Irish/English Sweepstakes!

2005-08-18T11:48:58-08:00

A mere four months ago I discovered, through email, that I had won part of a 1.3 billion dollar international lottery. While my part was only $1.6 million (yeah, I thought I won the whole 1.3 billion), I was still able to get pre-approved for five brand new townhomes in ...

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My New Walls - Naked and Embarassed

2005-08-16T05:56:55-08:00

The two things that stick out the most when you move from an apartment to an entire house are the empty rooms and the empty walls. In the last week or so the empty room syndrome is being fixed as my girlfriend rescues furniture seeking refuge from her parent's basement ...

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Online Grocery Store Comparisons Tools

2005-08-16T05:55:38-08:00

I was just thinking today about how they should have a service out there that compiles all the circulars and lets you search them online. Then, as I'm scouring Sound Money Tips (add them to your RSS, they give quick money saving tips everyday) they have a post about two ...

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Why You Should Love Craigslist

2005-08-11T08:15:01-08:00

"risk", a frequent commenter here at blueprint, left a comment in my previous post on Home Reserve furniture about how he/she (I'm pretty sure risk is a he, so I'll use he from now on, unless she objects :)) scored a nice three piece Ikea PAX Wardrobe for a mere ...

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Why I Hate U-Haul Truck Rental

2005-08-08T12:29:22-08:00

U-Haul is, in my personal opinion, quite possibly one of the most poorly managed businesses still in business and the only way they get away with it is because they're almost the only game in town. The U stands for Unreliable. Ask anyone if they've ever had or heard of ...

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Best Value Home Renovations

2005-08-02T09:12:32-08:00

Over dinner last night the topic of what the best return on investment renovations were and I went with the generally accepted addition of a full bathroom as the highest return. After scouring the internet, I found this great site that listed their opinions - I'm inclined to believe, if ...

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Things to Know for Homebuyers

2005-08-02T09:10:37-08:00

I saw an article today on CNNMoney called the top things homebuyers need to know and I don't think they tell you enough on some very key and critical points. For example, they give the advice that you should clean up your credit because it's important in the lending process ...

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Finding the Free Internet

2005-08-02T09:08:41-08:00

Internet is expensive. Comcast will give you a promotional rate of $20/month for their High Speed Internet for six months and then jack up the price to an uncomfortable $45/month until the end of time. While $45 isn't really that much, you want to cut down on costs whenever you ...

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Free Money from Credit Card Companies

2005-07-28T14:25:48-08:00

Before I bought a house I was very very concerned about my credit score so I didn't take advantage of free money offers from credit cards. Every time you apply for a card the issuing bank pulls your credit and a lot of inquiries negatively impact your score. Now that ...

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