How Much Does It Cost Businesses To Allow Credit and Debit Card Payments?

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Imagine going through a fast food drive through, and seeing a sign stating that you will be charged a service fee for each order. If that wasn’t odd enough, the sign goes on to say that your $0.39 will be refunded if you pay with credit card, cash, or gift card. That’s exactly what a long time EOD reader reported to me via email recently, and after some internet searching I found that a company that owns 20 Taco Bell and KFC restaurants across the Midwest has indeed implemented this policy. If you were reading carefully, you should have come […] Read more »

I Love You Like a Blogger Roundup – 5/30

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Last week was a complete whirlwind.  Party preparation, having people stay at our house a few nights, and then taking most of Sunday and Monday to clean up left me  exhausted by the time I had to go to work on Tuesday.   We combined our annual Memorial Weekend Luau themed party with a celebration for us completing our Debt Management Program at the end of January, and it was a fist pumping great time. So what am I doing this weekend?  Nothing.  Nada.  Zero.  I may just climb into bed after work this afternoon and fist pump from underneath my […] Read more »

Knowing when to throw in the towel is an art: bankruptcy and liquidation are a hard choice

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Today’s post comes a brand new member of the TeamEOD writing team – please help me give a warm welcome to Maria who hails from The Money Principle!   I have a lot of admiration for Maria, as she has an absolutely INCREDIBLE debt payoff story. She’ll be appearing here from time to time, and I can’t wait to read Maria’s take on saving money and debt.  Take it away, Maria! Our readers over on The Money Principle (and some others) know that slightly over four years ago we were in debt; heck we were in a lot of debt. We […] Read more »

Confession: I Broke My Number One Rule Of Shopping

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I know I cannot be trusted with credit cards; the temptation of overspending is just too much for me to handle. That’s why I will never carry them again.   But I would have never guessed the events that unfolded late last week as I was shopping for needed items for our annual Memorial Weekend Luau themed party. The party was going to be a little bigger than it has been the last few years, because it was also doubling as our celebration for completing our Debt Management program. We’ve been saving up since the end of January to make sure […] Read more »

I Love You Like a Blogger Roundup – 5/23

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It’s been a whirlwind couple of days…I’ve been on “vacation.”  What I mean by vacation is smoking brisket, dusting, organizing, cleaning, shopping, cleaning carpets, decorating and countless other things in preparation for THE largest party we’ve every thrown.  It’s a combination of our annual Memorial Weekend Party and celebration for completing our debt management program.  Which reminds me, I gotta make another trip to the grocery store. You’re gonna have to fist pump without me this week.  Nope, I can’t leave you hanging, I’m pumping both fists as I run out the door….. Posts That Make Me Fist Pump I […] Read more »

How Delinquency and a Debt Settlement Program Can Affect the APR on Your Credit Card (Part 2)

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In part one of this two-part post, we examined APRs of current and delinquent credit card accounts under a few conditions. From good standing to charge-off and collection situations, creditors may treat account APRs differently, but a few things can be applied across the board. Here is a more in-depth look at APRs under debt settlement programs. The following assumes that you haven’t been paying your unsecured creditors and that a debt settlement program is a viable option.   It also assumes that your delinquency isn’t recent and that a debt management plan isn’t a viable option.   If you enter into […] Read more »

Credit Card Companies Aren’t Providing Credit Scores For YOUR Benefit

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The credit card companies are at it again. Remember, these are the same companies that think you’re so stupid that they actually created a commercial that suggests it would be a great idea to buy things for your friends just to earn credit card rewards. What are they up to now? Credit card companies are offering to give you your credit score for free. On the surface, it sounds like a good deal for consumers. Obtaining your credit score will usually cost you somewhere around $20. The credit card companies are doing us such a nice favor by providing us […] Read more »

“I Don’t Have Time” and Other Budgeting Excuses You Can Fix Right Now

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I’ve been recommending doing a written monthly budget for many years now.  That’s not gonna change any time soon. Today I’ll cover what are probably the most common excuses for not making a budget.  I’ll give you tips on how to overcome those excuses, and provide you with a load of killer resources at the end to help get you moving forward.   Everybody Has a Budgeting Excuse Doing a consistent, written budget is the best thing you can do to start getting your finances under control.  When you start this valuable habit and stick to it, you’ll stop living […] Read more »

I Love You Like a Blogger Roundup – 5/16

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“Welcome To Jurassic Park” It’s the last line of my email signature at work, but  since it’s placed there automatically through my email preferences I honestly had forgotten it was there.  For some reason it caught my eye yesterday, and made me remember the reasoning for including it on each and every email I send. If you’ve seen the movie Jurassic Park, you may remember where the line is said.  It’s towards the beginning of the movie when the two paleontologists are riding in an open air jeep through the island seeing plants that they believe have been extinct for […] Read more »

The Big Wins You Should Go After

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The following is a guest post from Martin of Studenomics, where he’s totally focused on creating financial freedom by 30! I’ve been writing about personal finance for five years now. I’ve explored every topic from big wins to frugality to real estate. There are times where I discuss more advanced topics. Then sometimes I run into a friend and they want to hear about getting started. I know that most of you are past the stage of getting started so we won’t discuss the basics. Instead we will refresh on the big wins. The one thing that we’re all delusional […] Read more »

Having Money Doesn’t Guarantee A Happy Marriage

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My wife and I have had our share of arguments about money. Especially during the four and a half years that we were paying down our credit card debt and our budget was extremely tight. Like many people, I would frequently think about how much happier I would be if we had more money. It’s hard not to agree with the thought that money could buy happiness now that we have a significant amount of extra funds given we no longer have a huge debt payment each month. I admit that our marriage and life in general seems much easier […] Read more »

I Love You Like a Blogger Roundup – 5/9

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We made our final payment to our debt management program back in January.  We wanted to have a party to celebrate, but we also wanted to save up the money to pay for it with cash.  We decided to take the time to save up some funds, and combine our celebration for completing our program with our annual Memorial Weekend Luau.  This will be our 18th consecutive year of having the party and we’re looking to kick it up a notch this year.   We have the funds and we have a reason to celebrate.  It’s gonna be a great time.  […] Read more »

Renting isn’t throwing money away

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How many times have you heard someone say “renting an apartment is just throwing money away?” Maybe you’ve been told it’s better to buy a house when the monthly mortgage payment is equal to rent. It sounds reasonable but it isn’t true: Renting isn’t throwing money away. The dollars left out of the deal Buying a house will cost you much more than just a monthly payment. Rentals often include things like water, trash collection, and even heat that a mortgage just doesn’t cover. A home owner has to pay those on top of their principle, interest, taxes, and insurance. […] Read more »

When Your Kid Shows More Financial Responsibility Than You

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Have you ever had one of those moments where as a parent you just hang your head in shame, because your son or daughter showed more responsibility you? Yeah, I had that happen to me just this weekend. My son got his Xbox360 a few years ago, and instantly wanted to take advantage of the console’s ability to play games online with his friends. In order to make that happen, we had to purchase an Xbox Live membership. We gave him a year’s subscription as a birthday present, and to pay for it we attached our checking account to the […] Read more »