Good Money Blog

Due to the recent subprime mortgage crisis, it becomes harder and harder to apply for credit or borrow money, whether for a car loan, home-equity loan, mortgage, or any other reason. To decide whether or not to grant a loan, lenders base their decisions largely on the borrow’s credit history and one very important number [...]

As gas prices keep rising, the following services and tools will help us save a few dollars every trip to the pump (star ratings may vary in quality by local area):
Tracking Sites

GasBuddy.com 
Automotive.com - Gas Prices 
MotorTrend 
MapQuest - Gas Prices 
FuelMeUp.com 
AAA Gas Price Finder 
GasPriceWatch.com 

Mobile Applications

Mobio - Gas Prices1 
WHERE - GasBuddy2  [...]

I haven’t. I filed a paper tax return this year, so mine will take a bit longer. Last week, IRS had admitted that some tax rebates have been sent to the wrong persons, and as many as 350,000 families have been affected. The following is the Stimulus Payment Schedule (according to the last two [...]

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is a reflection of the average change in prices paid by “average” urban consumers. It does not necessarily match specific households like mine or yours.
“Expenditure weights” produced from the Consumer Expenditure Survey are used to give each good or service in the [...]

Many retail investors (like you and me) believe that they can beat the market in the long run by market timing. While underestimating the risk they’re taking by trading just a couple stocks, they are confident that they can perform better than fund managers or even Warren Buffett. Nevertheless, Buffett suggested that most investors are better [...]

Saving is about common sense, resistance to temptation, and personal priorities. Have you done the right things?

Consumer Debt: It’s hard to find a good reason to support that it’s brilliant idea to carry any kinds of consumer debt with an APR of 10% or more. If you have one, you should ask yourself why there [...]

There’s no centralized trash collection program in our city, so when we first moved in,  our subdivision referred us to two waste management companies that we could choose from. The basic trash service didn’t include yard waste collection though it could be added with an extra $10/month or $120/year (a minimum one year commitment).
As first-time [...]

A new Goldman Sachs prediction pointed out that crude oil prices could rise to $150-200 a barrel within two years as the average gas prices at the pump nationwide are approaching $4/gallon. Has your driving behavior changed?
According to AAA, 65% of American car owners said they would dramatically change their driving behavior if gas [...]