Michael on April 28th, 2009
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I’m heading out the door later today for DC and Chicago.
You: Why? Those two places aren’t even near one another.
Thanks for the head’s up. First, I’m flying down to BWI today in preparation for my keynote presentation tomorrow at  the Montgomery County Elder Law Series.  With previous keynoters including The Washington Post’s Michelle Singletary and [...]

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Michael on April 27th, 2009
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You might already know that I’m a pretty big Red Sox fan.  This weekend’s series with the NY Yankees was filled with a lot of unexpected events including a 2 run bottom of the ninth comeback, a 16-11 game (during which the Red Sox once trailed 6-0) and in my mind the craziest: Jacoby Ellsbury’s [...]

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Michael on April 24th, 2009
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Gary: Finally, a topic I can talk about!
Wow, it’s been a while, Gary.
Gary: You’ve been off-topic for a while with all this tax-related advice, education on saving strategies, and so on. I’ve been trying to talk product for a while!
Thrilling.
When my youngest daughter was born last year, we received the opportunity to purchase $5,000 of [...]

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Michael on April 22nd, 2009
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In response to the market turmoil Congress recently passed a one-year waiver on RMDs.
You: What are RMDs?
Required minimum distributions.
You: That didn’t help.
Shortly after you reach 70 1/2, you must begin to take a proportion of your money out of your qualified retirement plans annually.
You: Or?
You pay a penalty.
You: What if I don’t want to take [...]

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Michael on April 20th, 2009
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You: Did she irritate you?
Actually, she really irritated MoneyMonk, as she writes about in her recent post Can I afford it: Suze Orman, I’m mad at you!, which, like my review of Upromise (Upromise Underdelivers) is featured in this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance.
As you may already be aware, one of the most popular segments [...]

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Michael on April 17th, 2009
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I don’t like to talk disparaging about other people or other companies.
You: So I’ve noticed.
Life is too short and the world is too small.
You: But you’re going to bad-mouth Upromise anyway?
No, I don’t really have an issue with Upromise itself.  However, I am concerned about some of the people who have Upromise accounts.
You: Why?
Two reasons. [...]

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This is a guest post from Grant Baldwin, the author of Reality Check, a book about helping students transition into the real world.  His new website, BrokePiggy.com, answers questions from teenagers about personal finance, savings, and all things money.
This series “12 Things Every Teenager Needs To Know About Money (And How To Teach Them)” is [...]

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Michael on April 13th, 2009
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You: No, they don’t.
But they do influence your spending.
You: Sometimes, I guess. I hadn’t really given it much thought.
I haven’t written about it in a while. But entertainment spending irrefutably is tremendously impacted by those you go out with. For others, the amount they spend is also influenced by who they are with for [...]

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Michael on April 10th, 2009
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It’s Friday, so it’s time for this week’s reader-submitted Q & A. If you’d like to submit a question, click here for more information or simply email a question.
I was wondering if we qualify for a first time home buyer credit. We just bought our first house in Nov 2008. My husband purchased a [...]

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Michael on April 8th, 2009
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This week’s Carnival of Personal Finance featured two articles whose titles alone, I confess, got me to click on their stories.  The first title, The Hell With You Dave Ramsey! I’m Paying My Highest Interest Debt First! was no less shocking then Number One Frugality Tip: Don’t Be a Woman.
You: Are you for real?
A shocking [...]

Continue reading about Which debt first? Does your gender matter?