The title says it all. Some car maintenance jobs are very easy. If you do them yourself, you can save hundreds of dollars. I’m not a handy person at all. I have never operated a drill (don’t laugh). If I’m able to do some simple maintenance for my car, I’m sure you can too. Windshield […]
Latest Blog Posts
Download Price Quotes to Microsoft Money After Microsoft Pulls the Plug
There is a small piece of unfinished business in my series for replacing Microsoft Money. After giving my requirements and looking at Quicken, GnuCash, and Moneydance, I came upon two OFX scripts for downloading transactions directly from the financial institutions, outside of Microsoft Money. Those scripts will take care of the transactions. They will also […]
Mixing Money With Family and Friends
I picked up this book because of the title and the cartoon on the cover. Isn’t It Their Turn to Pick Up the Check is written by a couple Jeanne Fleming and Leonard Schwarz who answer money and ethics questions in their column Do The Right Thing in Money Magazine and on CNNMoney.com. This little […]
Replacing Microsoft Money, Part 5: OFX Scripts
This is part 5 in my series for replacing Microsoft Money. I gave my requirements in part 1. Then I looked at Quicken, GnuCash, and Moneydance. I still haven’t found a perfect replacement for Microsoft Money. Money isn’t perfect either, but it’s working. Well, sort of. I already know the bugs and limitations and I […]
Replacing Microsoft Money, Part 4: Moneydance
After evaluating the alternatives, I discovered a way to automatically download the transactions and price quotes and feed them to Money after Microsoft pulls the plug. See follow-up posts: Replacing Microsoft Money, Part 5: OFX Scripts Download Price Quotes to Microsoft Money After Microsoft Pulls the Plug. This is part 4 in my series for […]
Replacing Microsoft Money, Part 3: GnuCash
[Update on Sept. 5, 2009] After evaluating the alternatives, I discovered a way to automatically download the transactions and price quotes and feed them to Money after Microsoft pulls the plug. See follow-up posts Replacing Microsoft Money, Part 5: OFX Scripts and Download Price Quotes to Microsoft Money After Microsoft Pulls the Plug. This is […]
Replacing Microsoft Money, Part 2: Quicken
[Update on Sept. 5, 2009] After evaluating the alternatives, I discovered a way to automatically download the transactions and price quotes and feed them to Money after Microsoft pulls the plug. See follow-up posts Replacing Microsoft Money, Part 5: OFX Scripts and Download Price Quotes to Microsoft Money After Microsoft Pulls the Plug. This is […]
Replacing Microsoft Money, Part 1: Requirements
[Update: After evaluating the alternatives, I discovered a way to automatically download the transactions and price quotes and feed them to Money after Microsoft pulls the plug. See follow-up posts Replacing Microsoft Money, Part 5: OFX Scripts and Download Price Quotes to Microsoft Money After Microsoft Pulls the Plug.] Back in June 2009, Microsoft announced […]
Will Reward Checking Last In the Long Run?
You have probably heard of these checking accounts offered by smaller (“community”) banks and credit unions. They are branded different names but they work very similarly. The concept is called reward checking. A typical reward checking account offers no minimum balance no monthly fee high yield up to a point (4% up to $25,000 is […]
Rebalancing in a Bear Market
The stock market crash in 2008 provides a good case study for rebalancing. If you are not familiar, rebalancing means selling some assets to buy other assets and putting your asset allocation back to what you originally wanted. Rebalancing is good for maintaining a portfolio because you are buying low and selling high. For 2008, […]