« HAPPY 4TH! | Main | Do These Arguments for Raising Minimum Wage Make Sense? »
The 2009 Personal Finance “How to” Roundup
By JLP | July 6, 2009
Welcome to the latest edition of “How to” Personal Finance Roundup. As you can tell from the list, this is a massive roundup. Don’t worry though. You don’t have to read all the entries now. I’d suggest you bookmark (click on the Share this icon at the bottom of the post for saving options) this post so that you can come back later.
I was so busy putting this post together that I left out my own posts. I’ll be adding them shortly.
Enjoy! Oh, and please tell your friends (if you find this helpful).
AUTOMOTIVE…
1. How To Prepare For Car Breakdown And Deal With Roadside Emergencies
2. How To Buy A Car (Without Getting Screwed)
3. How To Buy a Used Car (without sipping lemonade)
4. How to Find a Good Auto Mechanic
5. How to Improve Your Gas Mileage (and How Not To)
6. Hack Your MPG: How to Improve Gas Mileage by 15%
8. How To Get Help After Your Car Warranty Has Expired.
9. How to Find a Mechanic You Can Trust
BANKING…
1. How To Close a Bank Account in 7 Steps
2. How To Open a CD Ladder at ING Direct
3. How to Create ING Direct Subaccounts
BUDGETING & SAVING MONEY…
1. How to Create a Workable Budget
2. How to Bring “Shock and Awe” to Your Monthly Bills
4. How to Do Your First Budget
5. How To Set Up Your First Successful Budget – Part I (Understanding and Research)
6. How To Set Up Your First Successful Budget – Part II (Organizing and Setup)
7. How To Set Up Your First Successful Budget – Part III (Tracking and Review)
8. How To Save Money ? The 1,001 List Of Money Saving Tips And Ideas
10. How to Save on Paint for Home and Craft Projects
11. How to Set Up Google Calendar to Help Pay Your Bills on Time
12. How to Resist the Urge to Splurge
13. How To Turn Your Spending Report into a Budget
14. How To Understand and Overcome the Sunk-Cost Fallacy
15. How To Live Like a Grad Student
16. How To Talk About Money Before Marriage
17. How To Spend Less When Dining Out
18. How To Be a Great Host on a Tight Budget
19. How to Manage Money in Your Marriage
20. How to Handle Irregular Paychecks
21. How To Budget
22. How To Compare Mortgage Refinance Offers
23. How To Become a Coupon Ninja in 15 Minutes A Week
24. How To Save Money Buying Wine
25. How to Save Money on Groceries – 45 Ways to Reduce Your Grocery Bill
26. How to Plan a Wedding Without Breaking Your Budget
27. How to Haggle
28. How to Haggle: More Tips on Haggling
29. How to Save Money on Prescription Drugs
31. How to Order Checks Without Getting Ripped Off
32. How To Get Your Monthly Electric Bill Below $25.
33. Drastically Reduce Your Expenses Starting Today.
34. How To Save Energy & Money In Your Kitchen.
BUYING A HOME (and mortgage-related stuff)…
1. How To Find The Best Mortgage Rate
2. How To Save on Moving Expenses
3. How to Pay Off Your Mortgage Early
4. How to Decide When to Refinance Your Mortgage
5. How to Find the Best Mortgage Rates
6. How to Sell a House in a Down Market
7. How to Write a Mortgage Gift Letter
CAREER
1. How to Find a Job on Twitter
3. How To Set Minimum Freelance Prices
4. How to Make the Most of a College Degree
5. How to Market Yourself Into a Job
6. How to Keep Your Job – Rule 1 Edition
7. How To Deal With Job Rejection
8. How to Write a Resume (that gets job interviews)
9. How to Select an MBA Program: Introduction to a Series
10. How to apply to and MBA Program
11. How to Write a Resignation Letter
12. How to Resign on Good Terms
13. How to Dress for an Interview
14. How to Evaluate a Job Offer
15. How to Do a Phone Interview
16. When and How to Tell Your Boss You are Pregnant
CREDIT & CREDIT CARDS
1. How To Transfer Credit Card Balances
2. How To Get Your Free FICO Credit Score Online
3. How To Improve Your FICO Credit Score
4. How to Check Your Credit Report
5. How To Practice Delayed Gratification
6. How To Avoid The Debt Trap With Your First Credit Card
7. How To Get A Free FICO Credit Score
8. How To Pick the Best Credit Card
9. How To Review Your Equifax Credit Report
10. How To Build Your Credit History with Tradelines
11. How To Properly Loan Money to Family, Friends
12. How To Stop Credit Card Offers
13. How To Lower Your Credit Card Interest Rates
14. How To Max Out Credit Card Rewards
15. How To Start A Credit History
16. How To Fight Debt Collectors
18. How to Fix Errors on Your Credit Report
19. How to Profit from 0% Balance Transfer Credit Card Offers
20. How and Why to Freeze Your Credit
21. How To Fix Your Credit Report After Identity Theft
22. How to Understand Credit Card Offers
23. How to improve your credit score
24. How to Handle Late Credit Card Payments
25. How to Avoid Credit Card Fees
26. How to Save Money on ATM Fees
28. How to do a 0% Balance Transfer
29. How to Improve your Credit Score
30. How Two-Cycle Billing Works
DEBT (and getting out of debt)…
2. How To Eliminate Credit Card Debt On Your Own
4. How To Prepare for Hospital Expenses
5. How To Use a Student Loan Deferment Period Wisely
6. How to Prioritize Your Debts for Payoff
7. How To Complete College With No Debt
8. How I Paid Off My $17,000 Student Loan in 6 Months
9. How We Paid Down our Debt and Saved Money At the Same Time
11. How to Compute the Remaining Balance on a Loan (pardon the formatting issues with this post)
ESTATE PLANNING…
1. How To Name a Trust as a Beneficiary
2. Stretch That IRA – An Example
FINANCIAL PLANNING BASICS
2. How to Do a Financial Checkup
3. How To Get A Free Financial Checkup
4. How To Calculate Your Net Worth
5. How To Set SMART Financial Goals
6. How To Set Joint Financial Goals With Your Partner
7. How to be a Money Strategist to Reach Your Financial Goals
8. How To Open a Roth IRA for the First Time
10. How To Care {Not Worry} About Your Finances
11. How To Save Money Like a Madman
12. How to Simplify a Financial Life
13. How to do a Background Check on Your Financial Advisor
16. How To File A Complainst Against Your Broker
15. How Long To Keep Your Financial Statements
16. How to Calculate the Time Value of Money
17. How to Create an Asset Allocation Plan
19. How to Create a Cash Flow Statement
20. Analyzing Your Financial Statements with Ratios
GIVING…
1. How To Value Your Clothing Donation
2. How to Turn Down Charity Telemarketers and Find Legitimate Charities
HANDLING ADVERSITY…
1. How To Be Thankful When Life Is Tough
2. How To Deal With A Job Loss
3. How To Save Your Home From Foreclosure
4. How To Handle a Pay Cut (Financially Speaking)
5. How To Find Cash Fast When Unemployed
6. How to Deal With a Drastic Decrease in Income
7. How to Prepare for a Layoff
8. How To Prepare For a Layoff
9. How To Pepare For an Emergency and/or Storm
HEALTH INSURANCE…
1. How to Find Affordable Health Insurance Online
HOME IMPROVEMENT…
2. How To Paint a Room for Less
3. How To Buy a Flat Screen TV
4. How To Build Your Own Bookshelf
5. How to Prepare for a Power Outage – Without a Generator
6. How to Get Rid of Ants Safely and Without an Exterminator
IDENTITY THEFT & SECURITY…
1. How To Create A Strong Password You Can Remember
3. How to Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft
4. How to Protect Your Privacy in Three Easy Steps
5. How to Prevent Identity Theft and E-mail Scams
6. How to Avoid Identity Theft
7. How to Avoid Credit Card and ATM Scams
8. How To Avoid Counterfeit Goods
9. How to Detect and Avoid IRS Tax Scams
10. How To Avoid Investment Fraud
INSURANCE…
1. How To Buy Life Insurance Without Getting Screwed
2. How to Save Money on Life Insurance
3. How to Save Money on Car Insurance
4. How to Save Money on Health Insurance
5. How to Save Money on Your Homeowner’s Insurance Rates
6. How to Lower Your Car Insurance Rates
7. How To Prepare For Next Medical Exam For Life Insurance
8. How To Use Your Emergency Fund to Save on Insurance Premiums
INVESTING…
1. How to Buy Partial Shares of Berkshire Hathaway with ShareBuilder
2. How to Avoid a Mutual Fund’s Minimum Investment
3. How To Pick Your First Mutual Fund
4. How to Re-Enter the Market as a Conservative Investor
5. How to Probe for Signs of a Market Bottom
6. How to Start a Money Making Blog
7. How to Evaluate a Mutual Fund in 60 Seconds Flat
8. How To Easily Evaluate your Asset Allocation with Morningstar Instant X Ray Tool
9. How to Start an Investment Club
10. How to Prioritize Your Retirement Accounts
11. How to Make Money in the Stock Market
12. How to Make Money in the Stock Market (Revisited)
13. How to Make Money in the Stock Market, Re-Revisited
15. How To Build and Maintain CD Ladders
16. How to be Sure Your Money is FDIC Insured
17. How to Manage Your Asset Allocation With Multiple Accounts
18. How to Evaluate Online Brokers
19. How to Invest
21. How To Invest in Your 40′s to 50′s
22. How To Be Listed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average
23. How the Dow Jones Industrial Average is Calculated
24. How to Calculate Your Personal Rate of Return
25. How to Compute Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
26. How to Calculate Tax-Equivalent Yield
27. How ‘Total Returns’ Are Calculated
28. How to Calculate the Expected Return on a Portfolio
29. How to Insert Refreshable Stock Quotes into Excel
KIDS & MONEY…
1. How To Budget for a New Baby
2. How to Make a Baby Registry
3. How To open a 529 college savings plan for your children
4. How to Introduce the Concept of Credit to Your Kids
5. How to Teach Children to Save Money
6. How to Introduce Money to Preschoolers
7. How To Be a Stay At Home Mom
8. How To Prepare Financially for Your First Child
9. College Funding Math – Part 1
10. College Funding Math – Part 2
11. College Funding Math – Part 3
12. College Funding Math – Part 4
MISCELLANEOUS…
1. How to Get a Payday Loan (if you must)
4. How to Save Gas and Time With Google Maps
5. How to get the Best Cell Phone Service for the Deaf
6. How to Get a Free Education in Economics
7. How to End Over-the-Top Gift Exchanges
8. How to Write a Goodwill Letter
9. How to Get Rid of Semi-Used Gift Cards
10. How to Make an Accumulation a Collection
11. How to Find Rotated Die Errors
12. How to Comparison Shop on eBay
13. How to Bid Intelligently at an Auction
14. How to Calculate Melt Value
15. How To Earn Money With CashCrate
16. How to Sell Your Stuff on eBay
19. How to Save Money on Airline Tickets
20. How to Get the Best Deal with Priceline
21. How to Cancel Your Cell Phone Contract Without Paying Early Termination Fees
22. How To Turn Your Office Green
23. How To Be Approved On Suze Orman
24. How To Buy Property at an Auction
OWNING YOUR OWN BUSINESS
1. How To Set Up a Limited Liability Company (LLC)
2. How To Improve Your Productivity When Working From Home
3. How to Start a Blog for Profit of Fun
4. How to Start a Blog – What to Write About
5. How to Choose a Domain Name for Your Blog
6. How to Scare a Loved One – Start a Business
RELATIONSHIPS
1. How to Handle Marriage and Money Talks
2. How to Respond if a Family Member Asks for a Loan
RETIREMENT & RETIREMENT PLANNING…
1. How To Fix Mistakenly Forgetting your Required Minimum Distribution
2. How to Take a Loss on an IRA
3. How to Track Your Roth IRA Contributions… and Why You Need To!
4. How to Make Early Roth IRA Withdrawals
5. How to Make Your Retirement Money Last
6. How To Stretch an IRA For Your Beneficiaries
7. How To Tap Your 401k Without Penalty
TAXES…
1. How to Deduct Mileage on Your Personal Car
2. How to Request an Income Tax Filing Extension
3. How to Calculate Tax Equivalent Yield
4. How to Decide if Travelling to a Sales Tax Holiday is Worthwhile
5. How to Get an Employer Identification Number (EIN)
6. How to Claim the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit
7. How to File a Federal Tax Extension
8. How to File Your Federal Taxes For Free
9. How to Claim a Dependent on Your Tax Return
10. How To Survive an Audit For Small Business
11. How To Save On Property Tax
12. How to Determine How Long You Should Keep Bank, Financial, and Tax Statements
WEALTH…
1. How to Become a Millionaire
2. How to Become a Millionaire – Tips on Getting Rich from the World’s Richest Man
3. How to Become a Millionaire – The Simple Truth
4. How to Become A Millionaire
5. How to Become a Millionaire – Invest Your Money
7. How to Determine if You Are “Wealthy”
Topics: How to..., Weekly Roundup | 25 Comments »
July 6th, 2009 at 9:12 am
Amazing job on this roundup; I gave it a stumbleupon review.
And thanks for including my articles!
Penelope
July 6th, 2009 at 11:39 am
Great job with the extensive roundup! Thanks so much for the link.
July 6th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
This list is huge!
July 6th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
This will take me days to get through WOW! Thanks
July 6th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
This post's a keeper; thanks for putting it together.
July 6th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Killer list. Definitely worth a stumble.
July 6th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Wow! Thanks JLP! Stumbled!
July 6th, 2009 at 10:15 am
JLP, great idea putting this together. And thank you for including my articles.
July 6th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Quite possibly the best ever "How to" list for financial topics. Thanks for sharing!
July 6th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
Too late to suggest my College Aid post for the Kid section?
http://www.joetaxpayer.com/archives/1537
Thanks, Joe
July 6th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
wow, this is quite the list! Sharing it with all my social media contacts~!
Thanks for including me!
July 6th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
Nice list. Can I suggest this for the investment section?
How To Get Started In Commission-Free, Fee-Free Investing
http://www.getmoneyenergy.com/2009/04/commission-...
July 7th, 2009 at 12:39 am
What an incredible list! Thank you for including my posts and for putting this together.
July 7th, 2009 at 2:13 am
Absolutely outstanding JLP.
July 7th, 2009 at 3:00 am
Whoa! That is some list. I have some reading to do.
July 7th, 2009 at 3:45 am
Nice! Stumble and Tweet coming your way!
July 7th, 2009 at 7:38 am
Not much to say here beyond the obvious. Brands have built-in audience awareness. You don’t need to educate them, or advertise as heavily. Each studio has an enormous number of properties it already owns. Make some into TV series.
July 7th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Nice work, JLP!
July 7th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Great list, JLP!
July 7th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Awesome list JLP! Now I only wish I participated with my sewing a coat button post.
July 7th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
Thanks so much JLP! Awesome List!!!!!!!!!
July 9th, 2009 at 8:43 am
Wow! So many “How to” articles. I’ll definitely have to bookmark this and read through these. Thanks JLP!
July 13th, 2009 at 12:57 am
Thanks for sharing such great post, according to me Our financial life planning is also the same as football, there are so many similarities like never give up, have patience, try another goal, etc.
April 26th, 2010 at 3:28 am
i love it….
June 21st, 2010 at 11:44 pm
there are many ways to earn money, all you need to do is work hard and work smart.`~,