It's Just Money

Internet Ads I Hate

Have you seen this ad?

It's all over Yahoo Finance.  So, if you're here, I'm sure you've been there.  Sounds like a pretty good deal doesn't it?  Heck, if you're renting, you're just crazy!  At these rates, you could pay LESS and OWN!

Isn't that what they want us to believe?

Help! I Don't Know How To Spend Money!

This week's CNNMoney "Ask the Expert," reminded me of the Are you Saving Too Much and Can You Afford to Be So Frugal line of thinking.  The reader claims to have saved 70 percent of his net income, despite efforts to meet "minimum spending budgets."  "Do you have any suggestions on how I can spend more money?"  He asks.

The "expert" actually takes this letter seriously, and gives him ideas for spending his money.  Go get an overpriced mocha, he tells the guy.  Go to the ballpark and buy $6 dollar beers!

Give me a freaking break!  This guy doesn't need to be writing in to a money column.  He needs to be writing in to a "get a life" column.  He should take up learning about stocks or real estate investing if he's bored.  If he's not bored, what the heck is the matter?  His "hobbies" are music, games and sports.  I wonder what that means.  Listening to the radio, playing solitaire and watching ESPN? 

Okay, rant over.

Money Saving Advice from the Knot.com

I realize that saving money during the wedding planning isn't the top priority for most couples.  Or at least it seems that way.  TheKnot.com was recommended when I asked if anyone knew any good wedding planning books.  I have not yet spent much time on the site.  So, I thought I would go take a look today.  Of course, I immediately went to the link called, "wedding budget 101."  You can't miss it, it's right next to the Knot.com American Express credit card offer.  "Pay over time" the ad states.  Yipee!

So, they talk about who is paying, and how to ask your parents to pay for part of the wedding.  They talk about how much you should allocate to each category.  Then somewhere at the bottom, they have advice called, "How much can you save?"

Sweet Travel Website

I actually found this via Jeffrey's (of pfadvice.com) comments on Out of Debt Blog, when I was reviewing the site for Random Personal Finance Blog Sunday.

This site is very different from the thousands of other travel sites found on the internet.  First of all, it's user driven.  When readers find great deal, they write in and it is posted on this site.  Second, they are not simply harvesting the best deals that the air and hotel industries are creating.  They are digging under all that for the mistakes and glitches that the industry invariably makes.

Posts of the week, and other stuff

There's some really thought provoking stuff around the PF blogging community this week.  Here are some of my favorites:

College Grad asks, Why Aren't there More Black, Asian and Latino PF Bloggers? But read the comments.  It appears there are more of us than you may think.

In a somewhat similar vein, Jim at Blueprint presents... The Faces of PF Bloggers.  I haven't submitted my picture.  I realize that a picture doesn't actually compromise my anonymity, but It's too close for now.

Mapgirl received some unsolicited criticism which prompted her to question whether wandering "off topic" is acceptable, and perhaps even welcome.

Financial Freedumb shares some thought about when to use those miles and points that you have racked up.

Have you read Windy City Blues?  She just started at the end of March, but looks to be off to a great start.  Check it out.

Non Personal Finance Blog of the Week

With all the wedding buzz swirling around the PF Blogging community, I thought this week's Non-Personal Finance Blog of the Week should reflect that.

Before we move along, I just want to remind you to check out last week's entry.

Okay, so I found a great wedding site.  They just went live at the beginning of march and it appears that the author is anonymous.  But they have information and tips on everything from budgeting to planning the honeymoon to stress management!  So check out Wedding Blog.

Steve Garvey, Not the Millionaire Next Door

First of all, he's not the guy next door.  Sure that was his image.  Squeaky clean, the kind of guy who women wanted to be with and guys wanted to be.  For our non-sports fans, Steve Garvey was a legendary infielder for the LA Dodgers.  He was a ten time all star, and a member of the 1981 World Series Champion team.  I grew up a fan of him and many others on that team.  Man, what a team!  Ron Cey, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell...  He was true Dodger Blue, but we all know that professional sports is big business, and in 1984 the San Diego Padres offered him more money than the Dodgers could, more than $6 million over the next five years.  Compared to today's professional athlete salaries, this pales, but in any era, for most people, that's big money.

So, to read this in Sunday's LA Times, was very disappointing.

MySpace to hire a security consultant

I recently wrote a warning of the potential dangers for children and business people alike using myspace.com.  I'm glad to see that they are doing something about it.  According to this Reuters article, they are hiring the guy from Microsoft who has a ridiculously long title, but essentially he's the guy in charge of making sure that bad guys don't use MS technology to find and prey upon children.

There will not be any intention to protect adults from exposing their own stupidity.  If you post information about your love life, drug life, sex life, political views, family plans...  That's pretty much fair game for any employer, future employer, potential client, etc. to take a look at.  Don't be stupid.  These sites can be fun, but keep that.  If you need to broadcast to the world what is going on in your life, start a blog!

82 year old woman gets ticket for crossing the street too slow

I've seen low.  But c'mon!  Here's the article in the LA Daily News.  This woman, Mayvis Coyle, is 82, right?  She presses the crosswalk button, the light turns green.  She steps off the curb, so far so good.  She moves at a pace expected of an 82 year old woman with a cane!  Before she can reach the other side, the light changes, and lo and behold, there's the officer waiting with her ticket for $114.

Again, I say, C'mon!  Are you serious?

CNN Money's Best Travel Rewards Cards

We all have our opinions about which cards are the best.  Whether you are a fan of the cash back, airline miles or some other perk for charging it, there's a reason you carry what you carry.  Most of us in the PF blogging community (bloggers and readers alike) are not only trying to save money in every way possible, but also find the best value for the places we are spending our money.

CNNMoney.com posted their review of the best travel reward cards.  The cards were:  Starwood Preferred American Express, Marriott Rewards Visa, and the American Express Membership Rewards.  The article makes the point that hotel rewards are often the better deal, as we often spend as much or more on hotel stays as on airfare.  This is especially true for multi night stays or road trips.  I agree with this, and is why my card of choice is the American Express Hilton Honors Rewards card.

That being said, I was a little surprised that two of the three were American Express, which is known for higher fees to the retailers.  I was also very surprised that all three cards charged an annual fee.  In order to justify the annual fees, you must charge a considerable amount on your card on an annual basis and really take advantage of the rewards.  Even given that, there are so many terrific rewards cards (such as my Amex Hilton card) that do not charge an annual fee, I don't understand how much better the rewards for these cards could be in order to warrant paying the fee.

I also prefer the Hilton card because when I travel without using points to pay for my room, Hilton offers a wider range of less expensive locations to choose from.  Most points programs give extra points for using their services and paying full price.  The Starwood family has many beautiful hotels, such as the Westin brand, the W, Le Meridian and the Sheraton, but none are what you could call mid-low range prices.  The Hilton family also has nice hotels for those times that you are redeeming your points, but also offers the lower priced Hilton Garden and Hampton Inn.

If you are using a rewards card, always consider the alternative methods of accumulating points.  Hotel stays, online purchases, car rentals, airline partners may all be part of the formula that helps you amass enough points to go where you want sooner.