So today hasn’t been much of a good day for me. I got my electric bill and it was over $150…again. This is in spite of the fact that I’ve cut my AC usage way …

The fall of IndyMac Bank makes the sixth bank this year to go under. People are rightfully concerned about their money and I’ve gotten an influx of questions from members about protecting their money. So, let’s revisit how to protect your money with financial institutions.

First and foremost, if your bank or credit union is not FDIC or NCUA insured, dump them. You’re not protected and if they go belly up, you will probably lose your money. FDIC insurance covers banks and NCUA insurance covers credit unions…

Here’s a scary thought: if your credit cards are stolen, they could be funding terrorism. There’s been a lot of concern about credit card fraud funding terrorism and the reality of it is it makes sense to some degree.

Many of the perpetrators of 9/11 had stolen credit card numbers on their computers. In 2007, one of the al-Qaeda’s top cyber terrorists was arrested and admitted that they used stolen credit card numbers to fund $3 million worth of materials to carry out terrorist attacks…

Hello, and welcome to the maiden edition of the PFBloggers group writing project. To aid us in our journey towards world domination becoming better bloggers, we’ve decided to team up with one another and write posts that focus on the same topic at least once per month.

This month’s topic is: my family financial history, or how you came to be in the financial position you’re in today. Be sure to check out the other members’ posts over at PFBloggers.com, and don’t be afraid to join in by leaving a breif outline of your own financial history in the comments!

We’ve had a recent rash of people come in to dispute charges on their accounts from the unauthorized use of their debit cards. What’s worse, these mysterious charges have come up with some other surprises for unsuspecting customers when they’ve checked their credit reports. Many of my clients are finding their identities have been stolen.

So, while this is a little off the topic of credit card advice, I thought I’d run through some simple ways to help protect yourself from identity theft. It’s certainly not a disappearing crime, so it is better to be safe than sorry.

So it’s been a long week for me and I’m glad it’s over. It’s now my time to sit back and read what everyone else has written and I’ve found some interesting things out there. Here’s what’s on my reading list this weekend. Enjoy!

Penelope over at Our Fourpence Worth talks about the new proposal from Gov. Schwarzenegger to impose a surcharge on ALL California home and property owners to help firefighting efforts. While I’m all about being charitable to those in need, I have to agree with Penelope’s stance. I’d write a letter for you, Penelope, but I don’t think a lone Texas girl would be much help.

Welcome to my Green Living series. This series has been inspired by David Bach’s latest book, Go Green, Live Rich. And you can enter to win this book by leaving a comment on this post or any posts on my green living series. I post Green Living posts on Tuesdays over on my blog.

Green Credit Cards

If you want to help the environment without changing your lifestyle you can get a green credit card. Green credit cards earn rewards…

My best friend is getting married soon and it prompted me to have the discussion with them about their individual finances. It wasn’t an in-depth conversation on my part simply because they already know each …

I came across a website today that listed five good reasons to rack up credit card debt. You can read the original post here. But, I’m in a bit of a crusty mood today and …

We all know that credit card companies can be pretty sneaky with the fees and their practices have been attracting the attention of Congress lately. But, of the things they do, what are the worst?
Here’s …

Normally Jonathan handles the roundups, but I think I’ll jump in and let you guys in on what I’m reading on the weekends. To everyone writing such fantastic posts, thanks for your insight. To everyone …

The good news is credit card debt can’t follow you into the hereafter – I’m pretty sure there’s no debtor’s hell where you spend time for leaving debt here on Earth. The bad news is …

For some economists there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Sure, the economy is bad right now, but things are looking up. For other economists, things have only begun to get bad and …