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Get a Deal!

I found some new coupons off Hustler Money Blog for this month, check them out:

1. Circuit City $40 off $199 is good until Oct. 30th
2. Best Buy 12% off is good from Oct. 5 to 8th
3. Office Max $10 off 20 Coupon is good until Oct. 30th
4. Babies R Us 15% off coupon is good until Oct. 14th
5. Border’s 25% off is good until Oct. 8th
6. Staples 12% off is good from Oct. 14th to 20th
7. Jamba Juice Buy One Get One Free
8. Toys R Us 20% off Oct 8th
9. Home Depot 10% off coupon
10. Lowes 10% off

ING Direct Shout Out - Free $25 for Signing Up!

I have been banking with ING Direct for the past 3 years and have been a strong advocate of them all along the way.

I always recommend that people set aside money in an emergency fund that is 100% liquid. Usually I will direct them to ING Direct because of the 4.3% rate as opposed to the whopping 0.25% that local banks offer in their savings accounts.

I feel that when interest is paid TO YOU this is good. When you can get more that is BETTER!

I have talked many times about alternative income streams and this is a major component on what comes in (from me just sleeping).

Plus right now all ING Savings accounts are paying 4.30% and are FDIC insured up to $100,000. What this means is, it is not risky. ALSO, by following a link from an existing member, ING will IMMEDIATELY GIVE you $25 if you open your savings account right now with at least $250.

You can even set up your account to automatically draft your account on a set frequency (weekly, monthly, etc).

INTERESTED? Just click one of the following links below.

These links are one-time use only links so if you see this message:

"We're sorry, but the referral link within the email you received has expired and is no longer valid. We recommend that you contact the sender and ask them to re-send the referral email. Or click 'Continue' to proceed with the application process without the account opening bonus."

Then just go on to the next link.

Link #1

Link #2

Don't Make the Same Mistake Twice

I have heard a lot of people talk about "re-establishing" their credit after getting themselves into a mound of trouble through debt. I just read an article saying the best way to re-establish your credit after a bankruptcy is to get a low-limit credit card, make small purchases, then pay it off early each month.

I am sure it does help your FICO score, however, I have a problem with this advice for two reasons.

#1) Why should you care about increasing your FICO score anyway? All a FICO score is for is to allow you to borrow MORE money (even though that is the thing that got you in financial ruin in the first place.)

#2) This advice takes the "human" element out of the equation. If personal finance was 100% finance and 0% personal then my advice would be different, but it is inaccurate to say this.

When a person files for bankruptcy it is because they were so far in debt the could not get out of it. At this point isn't this something that that person should avoid rather than jump back into it?

I advise people to not be concerned with "re-establishing" their credit. There are steps that you can take that we talk about on this website that will enable you to eliminate debt completely from your life. The only thing that I consider "acceptable" debt is a home mortgage and getting a home mortgage is a different kind of beast when applying for it.

The lender is 100% concerned with probability of paying it back (not with FICO score). If they see your savings increase and you don't have any new entries on your credit report they will notice this (not just the FICO score). In fact, I don't know of any lenders out there who would even turn down somebody that drops a 20% down payment on their house.

Dave Ramsey says, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." Getting back into what got you into a mess in the first place could be considered insane.

Extended Warranties: Are they a good idea?

I might not put this issue to bed but I can at least tell you my thoughts. I know many people swear by them and I know some people who say they usually get their money's worth out of them.

I am fine with people having that point of view. However, in my experience I have not gotten my money's worth out of them and I usually say that in most cases it isn't a good idea to get the extended warranty. Now before you get mad at me I can show my work behind how I came up to this reasoning.

An extended warranty is basically insurance. And the price/cost of insurance is driven by 4 factors: commissions, overhead expenses, the statistical probability of the event occurring, and profit. The cost of your warranty has to cover all of those things and I do not like the sound of that. What I actually would recommend is to set aside the amount of most extended warranties and I would be able to cover average repair costs and still come out ahead.

Generally, extended warranties are extremely profitable for those that are selling them and a bad idea for those buying them.