Capital One Venture card rewards math: how does it stack up?
I saw an ad for Capital One’s Venture card that got me curious. The ad stated the Venture card offers much better rewards than other cards offering miles, and it was named as one of Money Magazine's best credit cards. That claim naturally got me skeptical, so I dug into the ...

5 common credit card mistakes, and how to avoid them
Even though I consider myself an educated consumer, I know that smarts alone will not prevent money mistakes. I occasionally take time to read basic personal finance advice to remind myself of good habits. I came across a document at the Federal Reserve website about basic credit cards tips. These are basic ...

Do you protect yourself against identity theft? A cool risk assessment survey
Identity theft is serious business. According to the Bureau of Justice, U.S. households suffered $13.3 billion in DIRECT financial losses from identity theft in 2010. A few households were lucky to have identity theft with no financial loss. Those that did suffer had an average loss of $2,200. That doesn't ...

Poll results: debit card use
A couple months ago I asked readers of this site how frequently they used debit cards, if at all. Here are the poll results:

6 credit card tips when traveling internationally
I have been traveling a decent amount this year, and my credit cards have definitely been a huge convenience. I do not have to carry as much cash, and I am comforted that I can get access to money when needed. But since travel means I am using my credit card in ...

Which has better rewards: BankAmericard vs Amex Blue Preferred rewards card?
This is an interesting question that could be asked in a consumer ed class. Suppose Alice is shopping for a cash-back rewards credit card. She is considering between the BankAmericard and the American Express Blue Preferred credit cards. Here are the details of those cards, at the time of this writing. SUMMARY OF REWARDS Category BankAmericard Amex ...

How to save 15 percent on Groupon, and other sites ShopDiscover can save you big bucks
Groupon is already cool enough about deals on restaurants and fun activities. But did you know you can essentially save even more just by using the right credit card website? There's a way to earn 15 percent cash back through Discover's shopping website plainly named ShopDiscover. The ShopDiscover rewards program offers a way ...

Tip to remember rotating credit card rewards
If you're like me, you have a couple of rewards credit cards. And you try to pick the best card for a given purchase. This used to be easy. Rewards cards used to have fixed rewards categories--like 5 percent cash back on gas and groceries--and you could get in the habit ...

The Automatic Millionaire: book review and criticism
Can you become a millionaire...without making a lot of money or having willpower? You can, promises money writer David Bach in The Automatic Millionaire. Bach is one of the most popular money advisers and his explanations can be very catchy (he's the one who coined the term "the latte factor"). Does ...

The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous and Broke
What advice would you give to young people struggling with debt? I was wondering this question and decided to see what the experts had to say. I recently read The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke by financial expert Suze Orman. I have seen Orman appear on TV many ...

Understanding strictly dominated strategies, and 3 ways this can save you money
The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt--Bertrand Russell A few months ago I was trying to catch a cab in San Francisco on a busy Saturday night. It is quite a game to pick the right spot. The ...

Credit cards, debit cards, and cash–which way of paying is best?
At a bar, I once saw three people at a table receive separate checks, and amazingly, each of them paid in a different method. The first person threw down cash, the second a debit card, and the third a credit card. It got me thinking about why people pay in ...

The most important lesson: personal finance is not really about money
If money is your hope for independence you will never have it. The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability -- Henry Ford In my opinion, personal finance is about financial independence. It is about having the proper knowledge, ...