Blog Posts by Quizzle.com

Tips for Traveling with Credit CardsBy: Kristie Lorette

Personal vacations and business trips typically require you to have at least one credit card on hand. After all, traveling with too much cash can be dangerous if it is lost or stolen. Plus, hotels and rental car agencies require credit cards to make reservations.

Learning how to travel wisely with your credit cards can save you time, money and financial frustrations. This is the case for domestic and foreign travel, but may be even more important when traveling abroad because of currency exchange rates, foreign transaction fees and being far away from home - and your credit card issuers.

Review Fees and Interest Rates

When choosing the credit cards to use, first take a look at the interest rate and fees for each card. Ideally, you should choose the cards with the lowest interest rates and low or no fees, such as cash advance and foreign transaction fees (if traveling abroad). Again, it's best to choose the cards that offer the most favorable terms. If you travel

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Save Money by Making the Most of Your FoodBy: Juliana Weiss-Roessler

We've all found that tub of moldy cream cheese that got lost at the back of the fridge or gone to eat the pear you purchased at the market and found that it had already gone bad. Did you know that the average four-person household in the United States wastes about $600 worth of food a year? Imagine what you could do with that extra cash! All you need to do is make full use of the food you buy. Don't let it go to waste and you'll be saving big:

Eat leftovers.

It sounds simple enough, but there are many reasons why we don't do it. Find a system that works for you. Keep enough Tupperware around, so that storing the food is easy. Label containers, and don't forget to include the date. It can also be helpful to have a marker board on the fridge where you can keep track of what you have.

Find new uses for those leftovers.

Don't feel like eating grilled chicken again? Top it with some marinara sauce and cheese to make chicken parmigiana. Sick of tacos? Use the

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us-bonds-579By: Benjamin Gran

Many Americans are concerned about the national debt. The United States government has borrowed over $14 trillion (as of June 29, 2011), placing America as the #12 highest national debt in the world. Some financial experts are starting to raise questions about just how we as a country intend to pay it all back.

On April 18, 2011, the rating agency Standard & Poor's changed the U.S. credit outlook to "negative," indicating that the United States government was becoming less creditworthy. In July, another rating agency, Moody's, warned that it would cut the U.S. government's AAA credit rating if the government misses making any debt payments (this is kind of like an individual's credit score decreasing because of missed payments).

What Does the National Debt Means for Your Wallet?

Clearly, the U.S. government (and by extension, all U.S. taxpayers) has been living beyond its means. But how much longer can it continue? And if we don't reduce our national debt, how bad

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Can Money Buy Happiness?

By: Jeremy Shapiro, Ph.D.

Good relationships with money - like good relationships with people - require a balance between fun in the present and security for the future. The key is to respect both priorities and go back and forth between them in an efficient way. To succeed at this balancing act, we must learn how to enjoy ourselves today without creating problems for tomorrow and how to build a secure future without feeling deprived in our day-to-day lives.

There are two types of mistake to avoid - and they are opposites. Spontaneous self-indulgence and impulse buying provide kicks for an afternoon, but if we can't pay the credit card bills that result, the compounding interest will erode our future long after those kicks are forgotten. On the other hand, if we endlessly deprive ourselves of pleasures, our dreary days might grind on endlessly toward a future that never arrives.

How can we identify the sweet spot in the middle of the spectrum between these two extremes? Read More »from 5 Ways to Improve Your Relationship with Money

How to Save Money at WalgreensBy: Kate Parham

If you've been following along for the last couple of weeks, you know we've been analyzing coupon policies and saving strategies at some of the nation's leading retailers. First up was how to save money at CVS and Kroger. Now it's time to look at Walgreens, the largest drugstore chain in the United States with more than 8,100 stores. Here's what you need to know about Walgreens before shopping:

Sales Cycle: Walgreens sales cycles run Sunday through Saturday, meaning that the advertised sale prices change on Sunday. Walgreens also includes coupons right in their weekly ad, which can be used in conjunction with manufacturer coupons. In addition to weekly deals, Walgreens also offers monthly deals in their monthly coupon booklet and Register Rewards coupons.

Bonus: Top 5 Places to Find Coupons

Rewards Program: While Walgreens doesn't have a loyalty card, it does offer Register Rewards (RRs), which are good for cash off of your next purchase. RRs are printed at the end

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Save for Retirement or Enjoy Life Now?By: Kristie Lorette

It's typically a joke you hear your parents say: "We're spending your inheritance, but we're having fun while doing it!" Couples and individuals of all ages contemplate whether they should focus on putting away money for their retirement years or spending the money now on things they love doing, like traveling, charity or buying a dream home.

Finding the Balance

It's important to find the right balance between how much of your money you should be spending now to live your life and how much you should be putting away to live out your retirement years. This requires you to do some analyses, which includes reviewing the amount of money you make, how much you need to live post-retirement and what you envision your retirement years will look like in the near or far off future. While there are certainly ways to both enjoy your life now and ensure a secure tomorrow, the bottom line is that you have to save for your retirement years. Otherwise, how will you pay for the

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Money Saving IdeasBy: Juliana Weiss-Roessler

You often hear stats about how if you give up that morning cup of coffee at Starbucks, you'll be saving x dollars per year. That's great, but some of us just aren't ready to give up that shot of energy in the morning. That's okay! There are many other small changes you can make in your life that can add up to big savings over time. Here are a few to consider:

Get water when you go out to eat.

When you purchase a Coke at a restaurant, it can run you around the same price as a whole two-liter at the store. You can save yourself around $730 a year by ordering water instead of soda once a day. The savings go up if you are avoiding pricy mixed drinks, wine, or any other alcoholic beverage. Save these treats for at home. Want to take it a step further? Skip the restaurant meal altogether every now and then. You can probably make the same meal at home for a fraction of the price.

Give your library some love.

With apologies to book stores and video rental places

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Annuities Have Risks TooBy: Kevin R. Worthley, CFP®

As a Certified Financial Planner™, I've been privy to a higher-than-normal amount of discussion and advertising about insurance annuities lately. Marketing materials and wholesaler calls have increased at my office and even the venerable financial news-magazine, Barron's, chose to make annuities their featured article in a recent issue. It seems there is a lot of interest on all sides to give annuities a closer look these days.

What's the Attraction of Annuities?

Annuities have many features to consider in constructing a retirement plan. These may include tax-deferral, more stable returns, and interest rates that exceed other options. In times such as these when financial markets are volatile and other product interest rates are paltry, annuities may look particularly attractive. Today's financial fears may be driving consumers to annuities and these fears are utilized very creatively by insurance companies and their agents to push sales.

Thinking

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