Take Advantage of Your Corporate Credit Card

When I first started working, my firm gave me a corporate credit card from Diners Club, to which I can charge business expenses, such as plane tickets, overtime meals, and taxi cabs.  Over the past the three years, however, my corporate credit card has been my primary credit card.  Here are the reasons why: Two month [...]

Paying for Education, One Purchase at a Time

If you have student loans to repay to Sallie Mae or are trying to save for education through a 529 Plan, you may want to use Upromise to help you out.  Upromise is a service that gives you cash for certain purchases from grocery stores, restaurants, online retail sites etc., which can then be transferred to [...]

A Peek into My Wallet, Part II

Whether you are searching for a new credit card or re-evaluating the credit cards you already have, keep in mind that there are very few reasons to have more than 1-2 credit cards.  Having too many revolving lines of credit might lower your credit score and might increase the amount of time it takes to redeem any [...]

A Peek into My Wallet, Part I

There is no right credit card for everyone – the best credit card for you will depend on how much you generally spend each month, the type of purchases you make, and what benefits are most relevant to you.  While you should definitely review other credit cards if you are looking for a new one [...]

You Can’t Afford Not to Match

By “match,” I am not talking about your work outfit (although that goes without saying). I am talking about your employer’s matching contributions to your 401K.  401K  (so-called because of the section of the Internal Revenue Code that governs such plans) is a type of retirement plan that allows individuals to contribute pre-tax dollars to [...]

Countdown to Lower Student Loan Interest Rates

Last week came with really good news on student loans – the WSJ and USA TODAY both published changes to student loans, including lower interest rates, effective July 1st.  The bulk of these changes are part of the phased-in plan of the College Cost Reduction Act of 2007, which stipulated increases in Pell Grant maxima, [...]

Guard Your Miles

A while back, I received a piece of mail from US Airways regarding my Dividend Miles.  It looked official enough, complete with a message from the Director of Marketing Programs, and warned that my Dividend Miles will expire in a month, lest I redeem them for some magazine subscriptions!  It immediately aroused my suspicions – [...]

No Show? You Might Be Banned Forever

OpenTable.com offers a great service by allowing people to make their reservations online.  Reservations are often hard to make, but easy to break.  OpenTable discourages this kind of behavior, however, by automatically deactivating accounts that have more than four no-shows within a 12-month period.  Restaurants can assign you a no-show if you (1) arrived late (usually more [...]

Get a Break on Education

Most states have their own 529 Plan and you can enroll in any of them, but make sure to weigh the benefits carefully, as some states also allow residents to deduct contributions when filing income tax returns, but only when they are made to its own 529 Plan. DC taxpayers, for example, can get a deduction of up to $4000 ($8000 for couples filing jointly when both have 529 account and made contributions) on their contribution to a DC 529 Plan when filing state taxes. There is no income limit, but no deductions are allowed for investment in other states’ 529 Plans. In contrast, since 2006 Pennsylvania taxpayers have been allowed a deduction of up to $12,000 in contributions (per taxpayer, per beneficiary) to 529 Plans from any state.

Summer Training: Deals on Amtrak

The bus is undoubtedly the cheapest way to travel in the Northeast corridor, but the train has its convenience, too – namely, not getting stuck in weekend traffic.  And as an added upside, Amtrak is offering a 25% discount on the lowest available fares on the Northeast Regional throughout the summer.  Here are some of [...]