Comments for Carnival of Personal Finance

Comment on Holidays Gifts in the Office by MSH

MSH — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:44:13 +0000

Personally, I like a really good chocolate bar! Somewhere from Chocolove to Valrhona. But if you are worried about lactose-intolerance, you will want to shoot for dark chocolates and maybe consider kosher options as well. I hear good things about Trader Joe’s options. If you are talking about an out-and-out milk allergy, now, that’s more tricky.

Comment on Breaking free from Chase Once-Free Checking by jon stein

jon stein — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 14:31:01 +0000

Sometime a local bank can give you a much better deal then one of the multinational megabanks. One in my area did, free checking, no minimum balance etc.

Comment on Breaking free from Chase Once-Free Checking by The Debt Princess

The Debt Princess — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 01:23:42 +0000

I need to check into this. I refuse to pay $10 a month for them to hold my money for about 24hrs before it all goes out to bill payments (I transfer from another account because I like Chase’s Bill Pay). If they will not waive it, I’m out.

Comment on Do you treat time like money? by Flexo

Flexo — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 06:19:23 +0000

I don’t use my time efficiently… it’s a weakness that I’ve learned to accept for now.

Comment on Breaking free from Chase Once-Free Checking by Auditioning for Adulthood

Auditioning for Adulthood — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 22:06:51 +0000

I closed my WaMu-turned-Chase bank account cold-turkey.

Read all about my customer-no-service experience while closing it here: http://auditioningforadulthood.blogspot.com/2011/02/straight-no-chase-r.html

Comment on Breaking free from Chase Once-Free Checking by Shawanda

Shawanda — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 07:33:49 +0000

Interesting you should say. When Chase acquired Washington Mutual, I opened a Charles Schwab Investor Checking account in anticipation of Chase pulling a stunt like this. The change came much later than I expected. Either way, I closed both my Chase savings and checking accounts a couple weeks ago. I believe the notice I received mentioned something about a $12 fee being assessed on accounts that didn’t maintain a certain balance or a certain amount of activity each month. How ridiculous!

Comment on Starting classes? Save money! by HighClassLowIncome

HighClassLowIncome — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 14:33:58 +0000

Textbooks are such a waste of money, and sometimes I felt like I didn’t even need them for the most part of the class. I usually went the half.com route. I tried to find my book list before the semester started to make time for it to be shipped to me. When I did this I usually had good luck with selling it back to close to the price I paid for it.

The worst part is when you buy a textbook (usually new from the bookstore) and then find out at the end of the semester that the professor isn’t using that book next semester and they won’t buy it back!

Comment on Starting classes? Save money! by Derek

Derek — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 20:16:44 +0000

I hated buying textbooks. A few tips from my experiences:

1. Borrow from the Professor. The professor gets the book for free, and will more than likely have more than 1 copy. See if it is possible to borrow it from him/her.

2. Don’t buy it. Ask the professor if this book is absolutely necessary. A lot of departments on campus REQUIRE professors to recommend a textbook in the syllabus. Check and make sure to see if the textbook is that critical for your success in the course.

Comment on Frugal or just cheap? by FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com

FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 16:28:46 +0000

It’s just relative to what YOU personally put a value on for your items

For example, if you were looking for a case to store your $5000 ring, you may be willing to pay more than $10 for it

But since you paid less for your business cards, AND it isn’t really necessary, assuming you can just stack them into your wallet, then a case has low to no value to you.

It’s like a purse. Some people want to pay $200 for it, others can’t see the point and pay $5 because they don’t value having a roomy, soft, good quality purse when it’s just to hold their stuff

Comment on Business, Friendship, and Money Etiquette by Andrew @ Financial Services

Andrew @ Financial Services — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:06:00 +0000

I’m with you on this one. I always insist on footing the bill, but when I’m down and out, I just politely say that I have no money. I tell my companion beforehand that I’m having some money problems and I may not be capable of fast cash at the moment. Any decent person will respond accordingly when asked in a polite manner.

Comment on Is frugality fading? by Revanche

Revanche — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:28:52 +0000

Andrew: “Like it or not” is right enough, I just wonder how long the lessons learned about the drawbacks of building a life on credit will stick.

Comment on Family, Money, and Loans by Revanche

Revanche — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:23:56 +0000

Paul: Thanks for weighing in!

Ron: Yes, inequity in lending and the power transfer involved are other potential sore points I didn’t mention. There are nuances in every familial relationship that make lending/giving a bit of a minefield.

FB: Absolutely.

Sarah K: Now that is a fine example of gracious lending and repayment. Your mom did a great job, as did you and your sibs!

Comment on Is frugality fading? by Andrew @ Financial Services

Andrew @ Financial Services — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:16:16 +0000

Well I think the middle class will need to learn how to be frugal whether they like it or not. We can’t keep on making paycheck advances just to sustain our lifestyle. Besides, doing away with purchased being imposed on us will be better; at least we know we won’t be spending just to keep up with the Jones’.

Comment on Family, Money, and Loans by Sarah K.

Sarah K. — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:21:47 +0000

I borrowed money for grad school from my mom, and paid her off promptly in installments as soon as I landed a job. It worked out well because I was more anxious to get the debt paid off than she was to get the money back(!).

She has helped my siblings in similar ways at various points. As far as I know, those loans all went well, and got repaid too.

She told me up front, “I’m happy that I can help my kids, and I’m not going to bug you about this. Pay me back when you can.” I think she went into it with the same attitude that you’re suggesting.

The attitude of the party on the receiving end of the loan is important, too. I treated the loan the same way I treated my car loan from the bank. I think Mom was even a little sad when I paid her off (after about 16 months), because each month I put in a little note with my check saying how things were going. (I guess I didn’t treat the loan EXACTLY like a bank loan…)

Which reminds me…think I’ll go drop Mom a line now!

Comment on Family, Money, and Loans by FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com

FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:32:21 +0000

I have never given a loan to any of my family members, and if I did, it’d be a gift that I could afford to let go.

It is just so much harder to think about money when it comes to family and friends.

Comment on Family, Money, and Loans by Ron

Ron — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:36:28 +0000

Borrowing money between family members is hard on everyone. Back 12 years ago, I borrowed $1,200 from my father and mother so I could move my family out of state to a new job. I was hounded for repayment by my mother who didn’t support our move but at the same time, my little brother, who borrowed $27,000 from them and never paid it back, was never questioned.

Comment on Family, Money, and Loans by Paul @ FiscalGeek

Paul @ FiscalGeek — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:03:29 +0000

Wow, very well said and something I’ve learned to adopt as well. The last thing I want is someone I love to feel in debt to me, if I have the money and the need is there, I’ll give it. If I don’t have the means or I’m not comfortable with the gift then the answer’s no.