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Fiscal Zen - Investing, Personal Finance and Smart Spending
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Fiscal Zen provides tips and insight on investing, personal finance and smart spending to help individuals make the most of their money. You won't find us touting penny stocks, get-rich-quick or multi-level marketing schemes here. Instead, we firml
Recent Posts Tagged With 'basics'
Interesting Bits Around The Web - Dec 30th
REMINDER: There is about 1 day left to sell any stocks you may be holding at a loss for tax purposes. Remember that you cannot repurchase the stock for 30 days. Krugman argues that Obama needs to mold government in much the same f...
A Christmas Tune for the Times...
Given the state of the economy, it’s nice to see that at least a few people still have their sense of humor. If you have a few minutes, check out this hilarious parody of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”. ...
Interesting Bits Around The Web - Dec 21st
NPR discusses the states that are suffering most during the current downturn. Economist Gary Shilling argues that consumers are likely to scrimp and save over the next few years; and that we shouldn’t expect a quick return to a consumer-dri...
This Week's Festival of Frugality
My recent article on 20 Money Hacks to Save Money on Food and Dining was features in this past week’s Festival of Frugality Among the more interesting articles included were: LuckyMoneyCat’s list of green tips that immediately save yo...
Interesting Bits Around the Web - Dec 8th
Wise Bread offers up some tips on how to entertain on a budget this holiday season In the “I guess cheap gas will do that to ya” department, AutoblogGreen notes that sales of electric cars have slowed to a trickle Angry Bear talks about t...
Interesting Bits - Automotive Bailout Edition
Thinking about hitting the bargains hard this season and playing the rebate game? Think twice. As Smartmoney magazine points out, rebates always have some element of risk; but with it’s even more risky at the moment, given the s...
Interesting Bits Around The Web - November 26th
mental_floss talks about the history behind the foods we eat at Thanksgiving Opera Phantom explains how Professor Max Bazerman convinces his MBA students to buy a $20 bill at well above face value. It’s a really interesting example of...
Wednesday Quickies - November 19th
If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been a bit absent from the blog, recently. I’ve been working some heroic hours in order to wrap up a project before Thanksgiving; and am hoping to resume a more regular posting schedule in the near-futu...
Wednesday Quickies - November 19th
If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been a bit absent from the blog, recently. I’ve been working some heroic hours in order to wrap up a project before Thanksgiving; and am hoping to resume a more regular posting schedule in the near-futu...
This Week's Carnival of Personal Finance
Money Ning hosted this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance, which included my recent posting on 12 Fun and Free Entertainment Websites. Among the more interesting articles were: Chief Family Officer’s holiday shopping tips for t...
This Week's Carnival of Personal Finance
Money Ning hosted this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance, which included my recent posting on 12 Fun and Free Entertainment Websites. Among the more interesting articles were: Chief Family Officer’s holiday shopping tips for the com...
Interesting Bits Around the Web - November 17th
Christian PF offers up 6 tips for a debt free christmas Reuters reports that the mortgage portfolio owned by Bear Sterns is generating cash as expected. This means that the mortgage debt could be worth a lot more than people...
Interesting Bits Around the Web - November 17th
Christian PF offers up 6 tips for a debt free christmas Reuters reports that the mortgage portfolio owned by Bear Sterns is generating cash as expected. This means that the mortgage debt could be worth a lot more than people think...
Three Reasons to Avoid Gift Cards This Season
Gift cards are more popular than ever. In 2007, it's estimated that $97 billion of them were purchased. And the reason for their popularity is simple: Of those that purchased gift cards, 85 percent wanted the recipient to be a...
Interesting Bits Around The Web - November 8th
The Seattle Times talks about how social finance sites like Mint and Wesabe are helping people save money Computerworld tests several aftermarket laptop batteries to see if they work as well as their brand-name counterparts Lifehacker ...
10 Tips for Saving Money During The Holiday Season
People often talk about the large stack of Christmas expenses that show up for payment in January. But Christmas need not be costly. In light of the current economic climate, I’ve compiled a list of tips that you can use to help s...
10 Tips for Saving Money During The Holiday Season
People often talk about the large stack of Christmas expenses that show up for payment in January. But Christmas need not be costly. In light of the current economic climate, I’ve compiled a list of tips that you can use to help s...
Around the Carnivals - October 25th
The Mighty Bargain Hunter hosted this week's Festival of Frugality. Among the more interesting articles were: FruGal's article suggesting that frugality is vogue at the moment. GRACEful Retirement talks about the economics of the Tracfone. not...
Shop and Compare Local Services and Utilities with WhiteFence
WhiteFence is an interesting service that allows you to shop for and compare essential services that are available in your area. If you’ve considered switching providers – say from one cable provider to another – you can use WhiteFence to...
Interesting Bits Around the Web - October 19th
Lifehacker provides a list of the five best file compression tools. Hint: The best one isn’t WinZip. Thinking about a career change? HowStuffWorks reviews 10 high paying dirty jobs. MSNBC explains why the strong decline in...
Carnival of Personal Finance - Columbus Day Edition
My recent article on 25 Savvy Tips for Car Buyers and Owners was included in this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance, hosted by Greener Pastures. Some of the more interesting articles from this week’s carnival include: American Employees:...
Mint.com Announces New Features
Just a day after Quicken made their online product available for free, Mint.com has dropped their Beta designation and has announced several new features, including: Investment Tracking – Mint now has the ability to track Brokerage, IRA, 40...
Personal Finance Tips From Around the Web - Oct 8th
Here’s a round-up of interesting, personal finance-related tips: Mainstreet provides some suggestions on how to find cheap books online. Fire Finance offers up a collection of tactics to help you save money when shopping at garage sales. Th...
20 Smart, Money Saving Tips for Shoppers
For the weekend, I’ve rounded up a set of 20 tips to help you make the most of your shopping. Enjoy! Manage Your “Needs” Versus “Wants” – This is probably the most important tip I can offer. It’s important to look at ...
Cool Bits Around The Web - September 10th
If you the area you are in is at risk for hurricanes or tropical storms, then you’ll like this tool: Stormpulse Pop, Coke, or Soda? Ever wondered which regions favor which term? Here’s your answer: The Pop vs Soda Map Di...
Interesting Articles In This Week's Blog Carnivals
Frugal Babe has posted this week’s Festival of Frugality, which includes my post on how to Save Hundreds on Your Next Pair of Glasses. Among the articles I enjoyed are: Miss Thrifty’s Thriftymobile. I had its predecessor – a Mazda ...
Nasty Banking Fees and Tips to Avoid Them
Those extra fees that banks tack on when you miss a payment or withdraw too much from your checking account are a huge profit center for the financial industry. By some estimates, more than 35% of a bank’s revenue is derived from such f...
9 Tips to Help Save on Winter Heating Costs
With winter fast approaching and analysts forecasting that heating costs will rise by 30% this coming year, you can take steps to help ensure that your heating costs are as low as possible. Here are nine tips for you to consider: Seal...
Interesting Bits Around the Web - September 4th
The Dollar Stengthens Against the Euro Reader’s Digest talks about Psyching Yourself Up to Save Money The Blueprint for Financial Prosperity covers Fifty Fun Facts About Bank Failures Money Ning discusses 6 Neat Ways to Build Your Emerge...
Are You Letting Free Money Slip Through Your Fingers?
Both the government and employers provide provide financial support in the form of incentives; and chances are good that you may not be taking advantage of them all. By passing on them, you’re effectively leaving money on the table…Fr...
