Everybody's working for the weekend. Yes, the sage wisdom of Loverboy rings true for most of us, doesn't it? You put in 40+ hours a week, only to enjoy those fleeting moments of independence on Saturday and Sunday. Then, it is back to the grind, to a job you probably don't even enjoy. Some of us sacrifice the weekends, too, perhaps to work overtime or an additional job. It doesn't seem like you are really living when you go to the same office, see the same faces and repeat the same tasks every day.

Well, now that we've painted a depressing picture of your life, here's the good news: you can earn more money by working less. No, this isn't about to turn into a sales pitch for a self-help book - we are talking about establishing multiple passive and/or portfolio income streams. Confused already? Don't be, as you won't need a business degree to achieve financial freedom. Also, know that this isn't a pipe dream. Millions of people are enjoying life, real life, every day while making money. Here are 25 ways you can do it, too.

Continue reading "25 Ways to Earn More and Work Less" »

Many people are intimidated by the prospect of art investment, as a mental image is quickly conjured of stuffy auctions selling oil paintings for millions of dollars. Or, people imagine underground galleries where fashionable elitists use art-speak, fawning over bizarre, modern sculptures. While both of those atmospheres are alive and well, most investors delve into art because they simply admire it. If you aren't rich or hip, that doesn't mean you weren't meant for the art world. In fact, it can be a great way to diversify your investment portfolio.

Art investment is a viable way to earn money and, in many ways, it is less risky than paper assets. Although there must always be demand for your supply in order to turn a profit, the fickle stock market has little to no affect on your art investment. Rather, you must simply choose a piece of art that will increase in value over time. Yes, it sounds simple enough, but there is a bit more to it. Below, we will share with you a beginner's guide to investing in art.

Continue reading "A Beginner's Guide to Investing in Art" »

At Ask the Advisor, we enjoy keeping tabs on what other personal finance bloggers are saying. Recently, our interest in personal finance and blogging begged the question: which personal finance bloggers have the biggest reach? With nowhere to turn to answer this question definitively, we thought it would be an interesting exercise to rank all of the blogs in the personal finance blogosphere.

In ranking the most influential personal finance bloggers, our goal was to show — using objective data from reliable sources — which blogs about personal finance are the most popular. To this end, we used data for these four metrics to calculate the rankings:

• — Google PageRank
• — Alexa Rank
• — Technorati Authority
• — Bloglines Subscribers

Top 25 (see complete methodology below)

Rank	Site					Score
1	BloggingStocks	7	10	10	10	37
2	Get Rich Slowly	6	10	10	10	36
3	The Simple Dollar	5	10	10	10	35
4	My Money Blog	5	10	10	10	35
5	I Will Teach You To Be Rich	6	9	10	10	35
6	Blueprint for Financial Prosperity	6	9	9	10	34
7	Free Money Finance	5	9	10	10	34
8	Money, Matter, and More Musings	5	10	10	8	33
9	Consumerism Commentary	5	10	9	9	33
10	The Digerati Life	5	10	10	8	33
11	fivecentnickel.com	5	9	9	9	32
12	AllFinancialMatters	5	9	9	9	32
13	Personal Finance Advice	4	9	10	8	31
14	Generation X Finance	5	9	9	8	31
15	PFBlog	5	8	8	10	31
16	Mighty Bargain Hunter	5	9	8	8	30
17	No Credit Needed	5	8	9	8	30
18	Blogging Away Debt	4	8	9	8	29
19	My First Million at 33	5	8	8	8	29
20	Boston Gal's Open Wallet	5	7	8	9	29
21	Getting Finances Done	5	7	7	10	29
22	Online Business - Inside and Out	4	10	7	7	28
23	My Two Dollars	5	9	8	5	27
24	Binary Dollar	4	8	8	7	27
25	Grad Money Matters	4	8	9	6	27

Methodology

To begin, we found a set of Web sites that met a certain criteria. To become a member of the set of Web sites to be ranked, a Web site must, as of August 14, 2007:

• be listed on our previous post, Top 100 Personal Finance Blogs; or
• be ranked in the top 200 for the phrase finance blog on Google; and
• be primarily a blog about personal finance.

For each metric, a score was assigned on a 0–10 scale. For Google PageRank, raw PageRank data was scored. For Alexa Rank, Technorati Authority, and Bloglines Subscribers, the Web sites were broken up into deciles. If a Web site was in the 0>10% decile, a 1 was scored; for the 10>20% decile, a 2 was scored; and so on, up to a 10 being scored for the 90–100% decile. If no data was available, a 0 was scored.

The overall score for each Web site is the sum of the scores of the four metrics. In the event of a tie in overall score, the tie is broken according to the Alexa Rank raw data.

Raw Data for Entire Set

Rank	Site
1	BloggingStocks	7	24,932	1,737	570
2	Get Rich Slowly	6	31,203	1,841	1,453
3	The Simple Dollar	5	30,618	1,673	863
4	My Money Blog	5	55,600	656	843
5	I Will Teach You To Be Rich	6	73,500	596	10,859
6	Blueprint for Financial Prosperity	6	58,860	432	382
7	Free Money Finance	5	84,172	659	341
8	Money, Matter, and More Musings	5	48,382	939	106
9	Consumerism Commentary	5	53,753	448	221
10	The Digerati Life	5	54,452	1,146	85
11	fivecentnickel.com	5	55,774	413	226
12	AllFinancialMatters	5	94,399	273	155
13	Personal Finance Advice	4	64,866	1,144	77
14	Generation X Finance	5	82,475	300	115
15	PFBlog	5	165,694	257	543
16	Mighty Bargain Hunter	5	106,879	249	105
17	No Credit Needed	5	172,170	325	111
18	Blogging Away Debt	4	148,716	416	96
19	My First Million at 33	5	247,094	218	77
20	Boston Gal's Open Wallet	5	288,330	186	171
21	Getting Finances Done	5	333,824	156	329
22	Online Business - Inside and Out	4	52,519	155	64
23	My Two Dollars	5	99,483	214	21
24	Binary Dollar	4	132,848	198	53
25	Grad Money Matters	4	162,878	303	22
26	Queercents	3	288,651	379	84
27	2million	5	386,438	150	133
28	Make Love, Not Debt	6	582,602	136	143
29	Money Blog Network	4	23,995	56	57
30	The Frugal Law Student	4	255,458	267	22
31	We're In Debt	5	461,837	177	73
32	My Open Wallet	2	458,152	180	145
33	Single Ma's Fabulous Financials	5	627,875	210	52
34	FIRE Finance	4	433,139	527	16
35	ETF Trends	4	453,790	75	88
36	The Frugal Duchess	5	610,765	130	72
37	22 Dollars	5	163,997	30	22
38	Money Musings	5	266,269	0	183
39	My Financial Journey	4	278,793	176	21
40	Savvy Saver	4	934,592	80	167
41	Don't Mess With Texas	5	502,102	34	52
42	It's Just Money	4	720,015	101	71
43	Broke-Ass Student	4	511,992	114	13
44	Young and Broke	5	685,373	0	140
45	Well-Heeled	5	870,155	101	36
46	Million Dollar Journey	4	113,534	0	35
47	My Money Forest	5	743,602	44	22
48	The Budgeting Babe	5	1,089,926	1	245
49	Accumulating Money	3	278,289	88	11
50	Dual Income No Kids	5	821,775	67	21
51	An English Major's Money	4	1,119,108	110	27
52	Frank the Financially Savvy Atheist	5	1,360,235	119	17
53	How to Make a Million Dollars	4	578,065	95	5
54	Live Learn Invest	4	601,352	110	11
55	Bryan C. Fleming	2	774,138	112	21
56	VInvesting.com	4	1,127,477	39	21
57	Adventure Money	4	971,168	28	16
58	Enough Wealth	4	1,024,883	85	8
59	Mad Money Machine	5	1,301,865	26	15
60	Penny Foolish	5	1,426,223	0	42
61	OSAWatch	4	2,285,533	83	14
62	City Girl's Financial Blog	4	2,644,944	54	18
63	A Penny Saved	2	271,678	0	17
64	Money Crashers	5	396,725	0	9
65	Moneysmartz	4	581,479	9	12
66	The Finance Journey	4	858,903	65	8
67	Ask Uncle Bill	4	1,248,652	1	32
68	The Corner Office Blog	4	1,387,462	29	15
69	Adult ADD and Money	4	2,719,866	27	21
70	Credit Card Lowdown	4	345,655	0	1
71	Mapgirl's Fiscal Challenge	0	439,234	0	47
72	Debt Hater	4	1,904,900	0	29
73	The Weight of Money	4	6,336,060	38	14
74	Finance News Today	4	596,723	15	3
75	Aridni	4	1,038,672	0	12
76	Dimes to Dollars	4	1,440,682	19	10
77	The Financial Ladder	4	1,648,483	53	8
78	To One Million and Beyond	3	1,672,099	40	12
79	Stubborn Capitalist	3	7,048,515	18	23
80	Kirby on Finance	5	1,962,206	1	11
81	Medicated Money	4	7,321,379	23	11
82	Tired of Being Broke	3	8,121,493	35	12
83	Fearless Money	4	1,905,946	0	5
84	The Money Tortoise	4	2,453,130	0	9
85	Debtective.com	3	3,522,099	12	11
86	Debt in Seattle	3	3,655,097	34	3
87	My Money Path	3	No Data	22	10
88	Retiring Early	4	No Data	15	9
89	Credit Cave	4	3,811,730	0	3
90	Just Another Money Blog	3	6,328,333	3	7
91	Million Dollar Countdown	4	No Data	4	2
92	Cents to Save	3	No Data	5	2
93	Hill's Personal Finance	2	6,927,638	4	3
94	A life After College?	0	No Data	26	4
95	Finding Freedom	0	No Data	5	2

At Ask the Advisor, we love reading a good investment-related blog post. Recently, our interest in investing and blogging begged the question: which investing blogs have the biggest reach? With nowhere to turn to answer this question definitively, we thought it would be an interesting exercise to rank all of the blogs in the investment niche.

In ranking the most influential investing blogs, our goal was to show — using objective data from reliable sources — which blogs about investing are the most popular. To this end, we used data for these four metrics to calculate the rankings:

• — Google PageRank
• — Alexa Rank
• — Technorati Authority
• — Bloglines Subscribers

Top 25 (see complete methodology below)

Rank	Site					Score
1	Get Rich Slowly	6	10	10	10	36
2	My Money Blog	5	10	10	10	35
3	I Will Teach You To Be Rich	6	9	9	10	34
4	Consumerism Commentary	5	10	9	9	33
5	Money, Matter, and More Musings	5	10	10	7	32
6	Personal Finance Advice	4	9	10	7	30
7	The Ad-Free Personal Finance Blogs Aggregator	5	8	8	9	30
8	The Sun's Financial Diary	5	9	9	6	29
9	AllFinancialMatters	5	8	8	8	29
10	PFBlog	5	7	7	10	29
11	Blogging Away Debt	4	7	9	7	27
12	Neville's Financial Blog	5	7	6	9	27
13	Binary Dollar	4	8	7	6	25
14	Boston Gal's Open Wallet	5	5	7	8	25
15	Not Made of Money	4	7	6	6	23
16	Frugal For Life	4	6	8	5	23
17	Savvy Saver	4	4	5	8	21
18	The Budgeting Babe	5	4	3	9	21
19	Everybody Loves Your Money	5	5	3	7	20
20	Experiments in Finance	4	5	5	5	19
21	Money for the Rest of Us	4	4	7	4	19
22	Daily Speculations	3	6	3	5	17
23	Dedicated to Financial Freedom	4	4	6	3	17
24	Ask Uncle Bill	4	3	3	5	15
25	Finance For Youth	6	3	4	2	15

Methodology

To begin, we found a set of Web sites that met a certain criteria. To become a member of the set of Web sites to be ranked, a Web site must, as of August 14, 2007:

• be listed in the DMOZ category, Money Management Weblogs; or
• be ranked in the top 200 for the phrase investing blog on Google; and
• be primarily a blog about investing.

For each metric, a score was assigned on a 0–10 scale. For Google PageRank, raw PageRank data was scored. For Alexa Rank, Technorati Authority, and Bloglines Subscribers, the Web sites were broken up into deciles. If a Web site was in the 0>10% decile, a 1 was scored; for the 10>20% decile, a 2 was scored; and so on, up to a 10 being scored for the 90–100% decile. If no data was available, a 0 was scored.

The overall score for each Web site is the sum of the scores of the four metrics. In the event of a tie in overall score, the tie is broken according to the Alexa Rank raw data.

Raw Data for Entire Set

Rank	Site
1	Get Rich Slowly	6	31,203	1,841	1,453
2	My Money Blog	5	55,600	656	843
3	I Will Teach You To Be Rich	6	73,500	596	10,859
4	Consumerism Commentary	5	53,753	448	221
5	Money, Matter, and More Musings	5	48,382	939	106
6	Personal Finance Advice	4	64,866	1,144	77
7	The Ad-Free Personal Finance Blogs Aggregator	5	86,121	282	185
8	The Sun's Financial Diary	5	62,754	642	56
9	AllFinancialMatters	5	94,399	274	155
10	PFBlog	5	165,694	258	549
11	Blogging Away Debt	4	148,716	416	96
12	Neville's Financial Blog	5	156,653	141	417
13	Binary Dollar	4	132,848	198	53
14	Boston Gal's Open Wallet	5	288,330	187	171
15	Not Made of Money	4	187,317	111	46
16	Frugal For Life	4	218,733	324	32
17	Savvy Saver	4	934,592	80	167
18	The Budgeting Babe	5	1,089,926	1	245
19	Everybody Loves Your Money	5	590,012	0	71
20	Experiments in Finance	4	542,745	43	33
21	Money for the Rest of Us	4	685,363	177	23
22	Daily Speculations	3	275,386	0	40
23	Dedicated to Financial Freedom	4	1,043,622	81	12
24	Ask Uncle Bill	4	1,248,652	0	32
25	Finance For Youth	6	1,362,733	19	3
26	A Penny Saved	2	271,678	0	17
27	AL6400 Blog	4	1,442,180	26	3
28	How To Be Poor	4	1,935,532	11	28
29	A Frugal Living Blog by a Frugal Living Guy	5	3,616,499	25	10
30	Capital Ideas	4	No Data	0	44
31	Financial Reflections	4	4,023,372	0	10
32	Molly's Brother On A Mission	4	2,985,356	0	7
33	everySecondPaycheck.com	3	1,814,978	8	1
34	TheGoldenParachute.com	2	1,994,643	10	2
35	The Paranoid Brain	3	3,489,192	0	3
36	Indie Mission	3	No Data	0	2

Credit cards — can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. If interest rates, annual fees, rejections, and mistakes generated by credit card companies have raised your blood pressure in the past, you may have become cynical about credit cards in general. But what if you could gain access to a "dream" credit card? Who would issue that card? What would the perks be like? Think about it — if you could design your dream card along with a flexible program, wouldn't life be grand?

To that end, the following ten cards represent our dream credit cards in alphabetical order. No matter if you're a geek, a gypsy, or a bigwig, you might find a card here that will suit your taste. At the very least, these ideas might generate thoughts about your personal dream credit card. Then, after you're through dreaming, you can visit our best deals at Your Credit Advisor.

Continue reading "10 Dream Credit Cards" »

Most people can expect to spend over 40 years in the workforce. As you approach retirement age, the years can begin to seem longer and longer. It may be possible to shave a few years off of the time you have to spend working, however, and start enjoying your retirement early.

With a possible rise in living costs, retiring early can be tricky - but it isn't impossible. At year-end 2006, there was $16.4 trillion in American retirement accounts. There are a number of things that you can do to prepare yourself for those extra retirement years, and with careful planning and the right investments you can actually live quite comfortably. Here are a few things that you'll need to consider before you head to the golf course rather than back to work.

Continue reading "How to: Retire Early" »

In the unfortunate event that you get a divorce, worrying about your credit score may be the last thing on your mind. However, even during the most trying times of our lives, the world keeps spinning and the fact is, divorce can greatly impact your finances and credit history. If you are seeking or have finalized a divorce, it is time to assess what needs to be done to preserve or restore your financial reputation. Below, we will explain how divorce can affect your credit, as well as what you should do before and after your separation.

Continue reading "How Will My Divorce Affect My Credit?" »

If you don't know how many data breaches have occurred within the past few years, you must be living under a rock. From the Veterans Administration to TJ Maxx (one of the largest consumer leaks ever) and from hospitals to corporations, security breaches have compromised many American identities. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse reports that more than 150 publicly reported data breaches occurred between February 2005 and March 2006 alone, putting the personal information of more than 54 million Americans at risk.

Although veterans, shoppers, patients and employees have demanded more privacy protection, federal legislation can prove ineffectual unless data wasn't secured sufficiently. States have stepped in, but they've passed privacy laws that represent mere patchwork solutions to an international problem. In addition, technological advances have expanded potential for data to be used and compromised by legitimate companies and in underground chat rooms. How can you protect yourself from personal data exposure?

The following information will help you to discover whether your personal data has been compromised in the first place. If it has, you'll find more information about what to do to correct the problem - if anything needs to be done - and ways to protect yourself in the future.

Continue reading "How Many Times Has Your Personal Data Been Stolen This Year?" »

Do you constantly borrow books, pens, and small amounts of money from friends and relatives, then forget to return or repay those small items? Do you often forget the amount of money you owe on your credit cards or loans? Do you bounce checks, constantly pay late fees, and have debt collectors knocking at your door? The signs that indicate an addiction to borrowing might be subtle at first, but these small indicators can lead to big problems. When your debt causes problems with your relationships and affects your health, it might be time to step back and take stock of your situation.

An addiction is a psychological and physiological dependence on any substance or activity, and the signs of addiction vary depending upon your "drug" of choice. When it comes to debt addiction, the signs that a person might be addicted to borrowing begins with actions that the debtor justifies. The problem escalates and often ends with symptoms that can affect the debtor and his family and friends physically and emotionally. All the while, the debtor develops a strong case of denial about his problem. Addiction is powerful and the behaviors are difficult to overcome.

If you realize that you're in debt over your head and you also realize that your "lucky" break to pay off that debt may never come, then you might recognize your behavior in this list developed by Debtor's Anonymous (DA), if you answer "yes" to at least eight out of the following fifteen questions on that list, you might be a compulsive debtor. Some other signs that you might be addicted to borrowing include the following.

Continue reading "Are You Addicted to Borrowing Money?" »

Whether you are making a large purchase, starting a business or going to school, you will want to lock in on the lowest rate possible for a loan. Luckily, interest rates are generally considered to be reasonable right now. However, that can fluctuate dramatically on an individual basis if you aren't careful. Taking out a loan is a delicate process, one that shouldn't be rushed if you are determined to sign an agreement without losing your shirt during repayment. Never assume that you won't qualify for a low-interest loan because of your past credit history, either. With some careful planning and a little patience, you should be able to get the best rate on a loan, every time.

Continue reading "How to: Get the Best Rate on a Loan, Every Time" »

If you're self-employed, then you know you've socked away many a dollar into your self-employment tax (SE) over the years. This money is intended to pay for your social security and Medicare upon retirement; but you might have wondered whether this money is enough, or if it will be available when you need it most. Have you planned for retirement? Do you know your options?

The bad news is that most self-employed individuals don't take time to learn about their retirement options, even though they may know exactly how they want their businesses to grow. The good news is that you can set up and - in most instances - control your own tax-advantaged retirement program and put aside more each year than the average wage earner. The following list details the best self-employed retirement plans based upon 2007 tax rules.

Continue reading "Self Employed? Know Your Retirement Options" »

To simplify your personal finances is essentially to strengthen them. Many of us become confused by too many accounts, invoices, due dates, etc. Once things become messy, debt can easily be incurred and a comfortable retirement soon becomes a pipe dream. Don't worry too much about your confusing money situation, however, as there are many things you can do to streamline your life. Below are 17 ways to simplify your personal finances.

Continue reading "17 Ways to Simplify Your Personal Finances" »

The IRS states that most people who are picked for audits are selected by computer analysis, an entirely random affair. The number of audits is low, and your chances of an audit are actually slim. Plus, a knock-on-the-door visit from the IRS is even more rare- only a little over nineteen percent out of one percent of all taxpayers came face-to-face with an auditor in 2005. In fact, you may have already been audited if you ever received a letter from the IRS that informed you about a miscalculation on your return. So, audits are not life threatening, but they can be horrid if you're convicted with criminal activity.

If you're self-employed, your risk for audits may be higher because the IRS feels that self-employed individuals are more likely to cheat on their taxes. With the ability to take cash payments and to avoid a W-2 paper trail, the self-employed can fudge on their returns.

You can lower your risk for an audit when you're honest about your income and your deductions; however, even a minor change in your income or lifestyle might trigger an audit. How can you avoid an audit, or worse, a criminal investigation? If you're a sole proprietor, an independent contractor, a member of a partnership, or are otherwise in business for yourself, the following tips might help you to avoid a visit from the IRS:

Continue reading "How to Avoid Being Audited When You're Self Employed" »

If you're wasting your time trying to find all the information you need for investment strategies, learning more about how everything works, or if you just want to find things a little bit easier, here are 57 must-have resources to get you started.

Continue reading "The Investor's Toolset: 57 Must-Have Web Resources" »

If you are between the ages of 18 to 29 and you live in Phoenix or Los Angeles, your chances for identity theft are higher than the national average according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) [PDF]. But, if you're over age thirty and you live in Somerset, Vermont (population 5), don't wipe the sweat off your brow just yet. Identity theft can occur through numerous methods, and you could be the next victim no matter where you live or your age.

Identity theft accounted for 255,000 — or 37 percent — of more than 686,683 complaints registered with the FTC in 2005. These figures mark the sixth year in a row where identity theft has topped the list of complaints filed with this agency. The most commonly reported form of identity theft was credit card fraud, followed by phone or utilities fraud, and bank (electronic funds transfer) and employment fraud.

You can reduce your risks for identity theft, but you don't have control over government agencies, hospitals, or retail stores that manage to lose your personal information. The following list will walk you through the steps that will help you recover your identity and restore your credit rating.

Continue reading "Your Identity Has Been Stolen: a 24-Point Recovery Checklist" »

There's a lot more to Google Finance than what you see when you load the page. Here are a few tips and hacks to help you get the most out of your Google Finance experience. You'll soon be well on your way to becoming a power user.

Continue reading "Become a Google Finance Power User: 13 Tips and Hacks" »

Although RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is still a tough sell to a many people, millions of contactless credit cards have been issued over the past year. Issuing banks are increasingly making RFID cards the default replacement card, and banks aren't required to tell cardholders that the new cards are RFID-enabled. Some contactless cards have visible microchips, but others don't, so it may be difficult to know if you own an RFID card.

The lack of knowledge about what type of credit card you have in your possession is just one part of the security problem. Other issues, like a misunderstanding about how these cards operate, create yet more reasons why you need to become proactive about your credit card security. One way to become more secure is to learn about what makes this technology "hackable".

Continue reading "Can Contactless Credit Cards Be Hacked? 5 Tips to Stay Secure" »

College is an expensive proposition, but a degree helps in getting a good career and comfortable life. Here are a few tips on reducing your expenses. Most of the suggestions are aimed at college students. A few are general enough that anyone can use them.

Continue reading "136 Tips for Saving Money in College" »

For the focused mind, opportunities for making money present themselves everywhere. One technique, arbitrage, is used in a number of areas including betting, the stock market, online advertising, and now transferring balances between credit cards. This method works best in the United States because there are so many competing credit card issuers, a sizeable population, and enough suitable liquid investment vehicles that the competition has resulted in low or zero percent credit card offers.

ARBITRAGE: Hedge two seemingly opposite transactions so as to make a guaranteed profit — that is, zero risk. Balance transfer arbitrage, with low-rate or 0% APR credit cards, requires only a bit of discipline, research to find good card offers, and organizational and planning skills.

PREMISE: Borrow money at a low rate and earn money on it at a higher rate until the intoductory low-rate borrowing term has expired.

Continue reading "How to: Make Money with Balance Transfer Arbitrage" »

If you're itching to start a new small business or if you simply want to clear up some credit card debt at a lower interest rate, you have a new venue to consider that could help you make or save money — the online Peer-to-Peer, or P2P, bank. Unlike the traditional lending institution where borrowing is predictable (either you get the loan or you don't; either you purchase a CD or you don't), the P2P banking revolution offers a variety of lending and borrowing solutions both to the risk-savvy entrepreneur and the average consumer.

These P2P companies match up lenders and borrowers directly, with the perception that the middleman disappears. In reality, the P2P venue becomes the middleman, but operates on much lower margins than traditional banks. Therefore, interest rates are lower for borrowers who are accustomed to high credit card rates, and the return rates are usually higher for lenders than the average CD or savings rates.

If you want to join this financial phenomenon, you have three types of lending/borrowing networks to choose from — The Family/Friend/Associate Network, the Unknown Person-to-Person Network, and the "Give With Your Heart" Network. While there are only a handful of sites to choose from within these three categories, expect this banking revolution to grow as the 'sexiness' factor within the grassroots borrowing and lending venue increases.

Continue reading "A Banking Revolution: The Top People-to-People Microlenders Reviewed" »

Your parents probably told you that there are three things you don't discuss publicly — politics, religion, and money. But Technorati, that storehouse of weblog rankings, indicates that there are over 800 blogs about personal finance (pfblogs). So much for listening to your parents.

According to the 2006 "World Wealth Report", there were 8.7 million millionaires worldwide in 2005, a 6.5% increase from 2004. So pfblogs are likely to grow in popularity. Here's a sampling of 100 pfblogs, chosen based on a multitude of criteria ranging from Alexa ranking to Technorati ranking. Some of the bloggers indicated here are financial experts, others share their hard-learned wisdom, baring their finances and souls. Note that certain types of blogs were left out:

Continue reading "Top 100 Personal Finance Blogs" »

Someone once said that if you were to make a list of your 10 closest friends and acquaintances and order your earnings and theirs from smallest to greatest, you'd probably find yourself somewhere near the middle. All that this means is that we are subtly influenced by our friends, even when we're not aware of it, especially in matters of money. Being somewhere in the middle is probably more comfortable for the average person.

If you are that rare person at the high end of the list, then you probably don't need to read this article. If you are not, then find out what's holding you back. There are hundreds of personal finance myths which are either misunderstood, taken out of context, or just plain incorrect. Here are our top 25.

Continue reading "Top 25 Personal Finance Myths" »

How do you manage your money? Investments? Do you remember what your roommate owes you, or what you owe someone else for lunch when they picked up the tab? Can't keep track of where you're spending all your money? Pulling your hair out after paying for your medical bills? Need to cut back, so that you can save and find a nice home? Or maybe you'd rather spend your lucre on a vacation for the best price.

The smart way to money management, personal finance, and investing is to use the right tools — tools that aren't so intimidating that you'll ignore them after a while. This guide to the top 25 web 2.0 applications should help you with the above will come in handy when it comes to managing all your money concerns. [If you're not familiar with "web 2.0", read: what is web 2.0, or the compact definition.] Many of these apps have a community nature to them, so if you need some friendly advice from members, or wish to give it, you can.

Continue reading "Top 25 Web 2.0 Apps for Money, Finance, and Investment" »

If you're anything like me, you graduated from college and perhaps even took a finance class or accounting class here or there, but you didn't learn anything about managing your personal finances. In fact, there probably wasn't even an opportunity to take any such class in either high school or college. But if college is partly about training us for a job, shouldn't we learn what to do with the money we earn from a job? Especially in a country where 45% of college students are in credit card debt and 40% of all Americans say they live beyond their means, I think it's time to wise up to some of the challenges of money management. A few (say, 102) simple rules can help get your financial life (back) on the right track.

Continue reading "102 Personal Finance Tips Your Professor Never Taught You" »

Okay, so a lot of credit cards are bad deals. But if you play your cards right (pun intended), you can make the most of your credit card. First of all, non-rewards credit cards are pointless. Why even have a credit card if you can't earn free stuff? That said, this list contains only rewards-type cards. Second of all, any cards with annual fees are bad deals. (What is this, a country club membership?) That said, none of these cards have annual fees attached. Thirdly, we realize that nerds, bloggers, and Digg users are not all one and the same, but their interests do tend to overlap, so please don't feel too offended by being lumped in with the nerds if you happen to be a hipster blogger.

Continue reading "Top 10 Card Offers for Nerds, Bloggers, and Digg Users" »

In the last year alone, nearly 10 million Americans became victims of identity theft, a crime that cost them approximately $5 billion total. It is the fastest growing crime in the United States, and if you're not careful, it could happen to you, or perhaps it already has. On average, it takes identity theft victims 12 months [PDF] to realize that they have been victimized.

Continue reading "The Ultimate Guide to Identity Theft Prevention" »