KAIKU Visa Prepaid Card Review

May 11, 2013

I’m still amazed when I read a news report lambasting prepaid debit cards. The main beef with these banking alternatives is high fees. Five years ago that was a legitimate complaint. But today, there are a number of low fee prepaid cards. I’ve written about a number of these cards in the past. Today I [...]

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A College Student’s Guide to Building Credit

May 10, 2013

Photo: Tulane Public Relations Whether you’re in college or just graduating, chances are you don’t have much credit history. And that’s not a bad thing. You haven’t needed credit up to this point, and this is the time when most people start worrying about things like credit scores and credit cards. But now that you’re [...]

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Why Tesla Stock Should Not Electrify You

May 9, 2013

As I write this, shares of Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) are on a tear. Up over 20% on news of its first quarter results, the market is doing what the market does–go crazy. I spent all of about 60 seconds looking at Tesla’s 2012 year end financial statements and its first quarter 2013 results. That’s [...]

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Pros and Cons of Hiring an Investment Specialist

May 9, 2013

I‘ve been investing in the stock market for more than 20 years. During that time I’ve never hired an investment adviser to manage my portfolio. The primary reason is cost. A close second reason is that I enjoy investing. But if I’ve learned one thing from running this website it’s that how I handle my [...]

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25 Personal Finance Resources Every College Grad Should Read

May 8, 2013

Photo: fotobydave So you just graduated from college, and you have no idea where to start when it comes to managing your personal finances. Or maybe you’re fairly good at budgeting, but you need to know about investing. Either way, this list of resources will more than cover all your financial questions, from budgeting basics [...]

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6 Steps to Create a Budget that Works

May 7, 2013

Photo: 401 (K) 2013 Living on a budget doesn’t mean eating nothing but rice and beans, turning off the heat in January, or shopping only at thrift stores. It means being in charge of your money, instead of letting your money be in charge of you. Living on a budget has a whole lot of [...]

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How to Maximize Your College Financial Aid Opportunities

May 6, 2013

Photo: 401 (K) 2013 When it comes to saving for college, many of us focus on a dollar amount. And it is good to have a goal, whether monthly, annually or over a lifetime, for saving for your child’s college education. But what many of us don’t consider are strategies for maximizing financial aid for [...]

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Does Paying Rent Improve Your Credit Score?

May 2, 2013

Photo: sincerelyhiten Not too long ago, paying rent didn’t have much to do with your credit score. Not paying rent could (and still can) wreck your credit score. If you were behind enough to have your account sent to a collections agency, your past-due rent would likely be reported as negative information to the credit [...]

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iOS vs. Android: 8 Things to Consider Before Buying Your Next Smartphone

May 2, 2013

Each of us has an idea of what smartphone we want. For some, the apps and widgets are the best thing. For others, it is the simple, easy-to-use interface that matters most. Our opinions and preferences prove that there’s no such thing as the perfect smartphone. Aside from the interface and the apps, there are [...]

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