More than two years ago I posted Your Problem Isn’t Starbucks, emphasizing the importance of Saving Strategy # 5: Major on the major, minor on the minor.  Working with Ode Magazine, I created a video further illustrating the importance of the strategy. I think you’ll find it simultaneously liberating and motivational.  Am I right?

Here’s my next video on debt management. I hope you enjoy it?

You: Is the volume going to be a problem again?

That depends.

You: On?

On whether you want to hear it.

You: Of course I want to hear it!

Good. Then just increase the volume.  But keep in mind – in a work setting, far better for a video’s volume to be set too soft than too loud.  Especially when we’re talking about debt.

Enjoy and please let me know what you think.  Like videos? Want more? Podcasts instead? What topics?

I recently recorded a video on financial responsibility for Ode Magazine. Please take a few minutes to watch the video below and let me know your thoughts (only the first commenter gets to complain about the low volume, please). =)

Online Degrees did Yeoman’s work in compiling a list of the twenty best blogs for 20-somethings.  As she said, I’m not exclusively focused on our young people, much of my writing is targeted at this group and I am glad to be included in this list.   A few of the blogs I read regularly are included there too.  Check out the list.

Detroit or LA?

You: For basketball?

Back in the day, sure. Today? Not so much.

You: Then for what? Beaches?

I don’t think the shores of Lake Erie compete with the Pacific.

You: Cost of living?

I think the $8,000 house in Detroit buys you about one square foot in LA.

You: Then what?

TV. I was on TV in both Detroit and LA recently. The videos are more or less identical, so you’ll have to pick one.  As someone who once worked in Detroit, I’ve put their video first but you can pick either one, of course.

Here’s the LA version.

One of my relatives recently was charged a substantial fee for rolling his 401(k) plan out to an IRA.  In my opinion, that’s total nonsense, even if it’s disclosed.  It’s the equivalent of an “account closing fee.” Can you imagine?

You: I’d like to close my account.

Bank: I see you have $100 in your account so sorry, you can’t.

You: Excuse me?

Bank: We charge $100 to close accounts here.

You: That’s ridiculous.

Bank: It’s our policy.

You: So if I keep it open or if I leave it here, it’s the same for me, isn’t it?

Bank: Yes.

You: I’ll keep it open until you change your policy.

Bank: Very well then.

It’s as though you can’t win – you can only delay the inevitable.

You: It feels awful.

I agree. Jeremy at Taking Charge (a blog affiliated with creditcards.com) wrote of his experience trying to handle basic financial transactions and the onslaught of fees.  It’s an enjoyable read and not just because I’m quoted.  I give a couple of tips to avoid the headaches, including not dealing with banks for the types of transactions he was undergoing.

Rather than trying to get out of fees, choose vendors that don’t charge them in the first place.

What do you do to avoid silly fees?

I’m not a fan of traditional budgeting.

You: What do you mean when you say “traditional budgeting?”

I’m talking about where you make a list of all of your expenses and try to ensure that you don’t spend more than, say $35 on entertainment or $50 on groceries for a week.

You: Sounds like classic budgeting to me. What’s not to like?

First, I have no patience for such a budgeting process.  Since I don’t recommend others do anything I’m not willing to do, I can’t endorse the technique.  Second, and more importantly, I don’t think budgets like those actually work.

You: Why not?

They’re too inflexible to deal with the spontaneity that makes life what it can be.  Instead of budgeting your spending, I recommend budgeting your saving. To get a better idea of what I’m talking about, check out my post at Mint.com:  3 Dangers of Conventional Budgeting

Father’s Day Financial Lessons

Earlier this month, I wrote a detailed article Three Financial Reminders For New Dads over at FiLife (a joint venture between The Wall Street Journal and IAC.  I’m sharing it with you in honor of Father’s Day. How are you (or the Dad in your life) celebrating? I’m going to the Red Sox game – can’t wait!

A LifeTuner Interview

I was recently interviewed by LifeTuner.org, a new web site from AARP geared at (are you sitting down?) young people.  It’s a great site for several reasons I’ll probably get into sooner or later but for now, just go check it out because there’s some great discussions, great experts (okay, I’m slightly biased there), but not a lot of people yet because they’re still in beta. As a result, you can get a lot more help (for free and from true experts) there than nearly anywhere else on the web.

Here’s my hour-long interview with LifeTuner where I answered questions ranging from saving strategies to 529 plans and from health insurance to the new credit card legislation. I hope you enjoy it. Please let me know either way!

In conjunction with what has turned into what could be the world’s largest Q & A session on the first time home buyer tax credit (a fact I have not attempted to verify), I recently wrote about the 7 Things You Need to Know About the Home Buyer Tax Credit at Mint.com.

You may already realize that mint.com is a huge provider of online financial software with over one million users (It was also named the best online personal finance tool by Money Magazine.)  What you may not know, however, is that they also have one of the most widely read personal finance blogs on the Internet (or anywhere else, since I really don’t think you can have a blog offline). Anyway, it’s a thrill to share some of my personal finance education with their audience.  Plus, let’s be honest: the software is free and they disclose their compensation sources on their “About” page.  What’s not to like?

Earlier this month, I wrote a detailed article about the Tax Breaks for Higher Education Expenses over at FiLife (a joint venture between The Wall Street Journal and IAC).

Did you know that the Hope credit, once limited to the first two years of college expenses, is now significantly more widely available? Less important, but still worth three points, did you know it also has a new name?

Whether you’re in college now, still paying for your glory days, or are supporting a child doing either, check out the Tax Breaks for Higher Education Expenses.  And let me know what you think.