When I was back in the US, I was at the grocery store one day when I saw this lady walking up and down the aisles filling her cart off here list, but also sticking pieces of paper on products on the selves from time to time. When I went buy, I noticed that she […]

When it comes to getting textbooks for school at decent prices, most students know that the college bookstore is going to cost them more than most other places. They also know the basics on where they can find textbooks at better prices: eBay, half.com, using textbook price comparison engines and the like. The following are […]

Last June I wrote a piece about a $1.99 a gallon gas promotion that GM was doing for certain vehicles. Basically, the program capped the cost of gas at $1.99 a gallon for the year for those who purchased the qualified vehicles. It seemed like a nice promotion if you were in the market for […]

Conventional wisdom would say that if you’re expecting a sizable Federal income tax refund, you would want to file your tax return as soon as possible to collect your money that you have been lending the IRS interest free during the year. With free online filing available, this has been encouraging even more people to […]

Superbowl Sunday - living in Japan I can only remember it with fondness. It was by far the best skiing day of the year when I was growing up. Sure, the Superbowl was great, but nothing compared to being able to ski up to a lift without having to wait for anyone in line in […]

Sometimes solutions to problems are a lot easier than they would first appear. Take finding a hiding place for you valuables. Conventional wisdom would lead you to hide them away in some hard to find secret location with the hope a thief wouldn’t look there. A better solution would be to find a spot where […]

Just a quick note that today is the day you can get a free retirement check-up over the phone from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. eastern time. You simply call (888-919-2345) and NAPFA members will be standing by to answer any of your questions about retirement finances.

That is my question for today. How much do you pay in taxes? Remember the answer you have just given and keep reading.
I had an interesting conversation with a friend a couple of days ago on this subject. We were talking about taxes and some of the new tax laws when I asked, “How much […]

I wrote last year that I like to look for money when I walk around. I find a minimum of $50 a year and would estimate that I clear over $100 most years (in helps living in Japan where they have $1 and $5 coins). I received an email asking me where are the best […]

I love it when I come across gadgets that are both cool and save me money. That is exactly what you get with the USBCell AA rechargeable batteries. What makes these rechargeable batteries unique is that they can be recharged using any USB port such as your computer.
While I do have a set of standard […]

The tax preparers have seen the light and realize there is more money to be made being loan sharks than by preparing your taxes. And they have taken it to a whole new level this year by not even requiring you to fill out a tax return…simply bring in your year end pay stub, they […]

While at the Ebisuten shrine, we took a short break and had some sweet rice wine (amazake) in a small shop on the shrine’s grounds. Inside there was a large mask hanging on the wall with bills underneath. The bills were both placed upside down:

Out of curiosity I asked why the bills were placed upside […]

As I mentioned in the previous post, this was the first time that I really have had a chance to see the shrine since our other visits were always when the shrine was packed with people. here are a few shots I took around the shrine:

Small shrine to pray for the horse the Ebisuten rides

A […]

We took our annual trip to the Ebisuten (the God of Wealth) shrine to pray for good money fortune today. It was a much different affair than our trip in 2006 when we went during the festival and the shrine was packed (we were in the middle of our move back here when that took […]

Credit cards have a lot of advantages such as giving better protection than cash or checks on purchases, but you’ll be hard pressed to find a financial advisor that will tell you that there are good reasons to rack up credit card debt. One thing I have learned about personal finances is that every person’s […]

I received an email from a TV producer named Pam Wheaton Shorr who has sought people from our forums on other stories in the past that is putting together a story about the new IRS option to split your tax refund into several different accounts. This is what she is looking for:
I produce consumer reports […]

If you are looking for ways to begin, improve and / or confirm your investing knowledge, you don’t have to pay a lot (or any in this case) money to do so. Morningstar offers 172 free investing classes broken down into 4 areas: stocks, funds, bonds and portfolio. An added bonus is you can earn […]

If you have been, one of the long time members of our forum and who is the manager for one of our satellite websites would like to talk to you for a book that she is writing:
Perhaps you cosigned a loan or lent money that was never repaid. Or you married a gold digger or […]

The following story has been circulating around the Internet since 2001, but it is always a humorous read (and will get you thinking a bit) as people start to put their taxes together so I thought I’d place it up for some that may have missed it:
This is a VERY simple way to understand the […]

If you have placed getting your retirement funds in order as one of your goals for the New Year, this might be the place to start. Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine in associations with the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) will be sponsoring Kiplinger’s annual Jump-Start Your Retirement Plan Days for the fifth time […]