http://www.gregkarp.com/blog Live Rich Tue, 24 Jun 2008 15:59:08 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Virgin Mobile today announced the lowest price I've seen for unlimited wireless calling at $79.99 per month. The plan, which requires you to pay upfront every month but requires no contract, is available July 1. Virgin operates on the Sprint network. I'm not necessarily endorsing that deal, but it highlights ... http://www.gregkarp.com/blog/2008/06/24/unlimited-cell-plans/ There are many ways to get bargains on books and audio books. The best is getting them free from your public library. You could also get them used online at such sites as Half.com. Even Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble (with a membership) have decent prices. I personally have a ... http://www.gregkarp.com/blog/2008/06/19/book-bargains/ Bankrate.com, a great source for a variety of personal finance information, today released a Debt Management Guide. It integrates some of the helpful calculators on the Bankrate.com site. Best of all, it's free. Look for several upcoming Spending Smart newspaper columns, by yours truly, on one of the fundamental components of debt, ... http://www.gregkarp.com/blog/2008/06/18/deal-with-debt-guide/ I consume a ton of personal finance stuff every week from books, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, blogs, podcasts, news releases, etc. Most of it is a rehash of stuff I've seen a hundred times before. When I run across something interesting, I set it aside or make notes. Here's a rundown of ... http://www.gregkarp.com/blog/2008/06/13/sundry-savings-and-spending-advice/ HSBC Direct, the online-only division of mega-bank HSBC, this morning raised its savings rate to 3.5 percent. While that doesn't sound like a high rate, it beats most others available now. I think it's a good idea to have your emergency fund of three to six months of expenses stashed in ... http://www.gregkarp.com/blog/2008/06/02/hsbc%e2%80%99s-new-35-savings-rate/ The pitch: Earn 6 percent on a bank checking account with no ATM fees and free online bill paying. The catch: You have to make 10 debit-card purchases per month, create at least one direct deposit and get an electronic statement instead of a paper one. If you can handle the requirements, ... http://www.gregkarp.com/blog/2008/05/30/banking-pitch-and-catch/ In print, on TV, on radio and in live presentations, I talk about spending money smarter. One of the examples I often use is getting prescription eyeglasses starting at $8 from ZenniOptical.com. I have two pair myself and am satisfied with them. (Full disclosure: I learned about the site from ... http://www.gregkarp.com/blog/2008/05/19/cheap-eyeglasses-part-ii/ Citing increased costs of dairy ingredients and energy, the nation's two largest ice cream makers have been downsizing. They reduced their 56-ounce cartons to 48 ounces, according to MousePrint.org. This is the second time in the past four to five years that Nestle (maker of Dreyer's and Edy's) and Unilever ... http://www.gregkarp.com/blog/2008/05/12/inside-scoop-on-ice-cream/ You might have missed it, but besides help some consumers are receiving to avoid mortgage foreclosure, there's been other good news. Walmart today began expanding its discounted prescription drug program to offer 90-day supplies of popular generic drugs for $10 and lower the prices on more than 1,000 other drugs. I ... http://www.gregkarp.com/blog/2008/05/05/consumers-in-the-news/ As more consumers struggle to pay the mortgage, Sheila C. Blair, chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., offered this advice in a speech I attended this morning at the annual conference of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers in Baltimore. Blair's photo is at right: Work with a ... http://www.gregkarp.com/blog/2008/04/29/housing-crisis-advice/