November 2012

Beware the Certified Used Car

November 30, 2012

The last car I bought was a Certified Used Car. That moniker gave me some comfort about the quality of the car. After all, the car was c-e-r-t-i-f-i-e-d. Surely that means high quality, right? Not so fast. And I should have known better. The car I bought was a 2011 Toyota Camrey Hybrid. It was [...]

Read the full article →

Should You Refinance from a 30-Year to a 15-Year Mortgage?

November 29, 2012

With mortgage rates once again at an all time low, the rate on a 15-year mortgage is really tempting. According to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey, the average rate on a 15-year mortgage is just 2.63%. And that’s almost 70 basis points lower than the rate on a 30-year fixed. And the really low rate has [...]

Read the full article →

United MileagePlus Explorer Card Review

November 28, 2012

In my weekly column on U.S News & World Report, I wrote about Credit Cards Gone Wild. The article was about how credit card issuers are offering all kinds of crazy bonuses to get your business. I listed many of these offers in an article here on Dough Roller last week about the best rewards [...]

Read the full article →

What You Need to Know About the Fiscal Cliff

November 27, 2012

Imagine your finances are in shambles. You’re drowning in credit card debt and not making nearly enough money. So you cut your discretionary spending and get a second job to generate some more income. Most would applaud the responsible steps you are taking to fix your finances. If you are the government, however, we call [...]

Read the full article →

Personal Capital Cyber Monday Deal: $20 Amazon Gift Card

November 26, 2012

It’s common to see giveaways when you buy something on Cyber Monday. You know how these deals go–spend $50 on this or that and get a $10 gift card. Whatever. Today, and today only, Personal Capital is offering a $20 Amazon gift card if you sign up for its free service. That’s tough to beat. [...]

Read the full article →

Citi ThankYou Preferred Card $400 Limited Time Gift Card Bonus

November 23, 2012

Update: This offer is no longer available, but you can see our review of the Citi ThankYou Credit Cards. With the holidays approaching, Citi is launching a limited time edition of its Citi ThankYou(R) Preferred Card. With this offer, you can earn up to 40,000 ThankYou points worth $400 in gift cards. Here’s how it [...]

Read the full article →

How About a 91% Tax Rate?

November 21, 2012

Yesterday I read an article written by Paul Krugman that made me hurl. Called The Twinkie Manifesto, the title of the article was the best part; it was all downhill after that. Krugman wants us to return to the day when the top marginal federal income tax rate was 91%. And his argument is as [...]

Read the full article →

Review: PayPal Prepaid MasterCard

November 13, 2012

Over the years a number of readers have asked me how to transfer money to and from a PayPal account. I use a PayPal account, and I always transfer funds via my online checking account. But many readers don’t have and don’t want (or can’t get) a checking account. So for these folks, today we’ll [...]

Read the full article →

Reader Question: Should You Invest or Pay Off Student Loans?

November 12, 2012

The question I receive more than any other is whether you should pay off your debt before investing. In response to my article on paying off debt versus saving for retirement, a reader asked the following question: I recently finished grad school with about $180k in debt, most of which is at high interest rates [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries