During the recession an ancient form of economy made a comeback: bartering. Bartering occurs at the household, business, and country level. According to the International Reciprocal Trade Association, based in Portsmouth, Va., more than $16 billion of goods from US companies alone were bartered in 2008. Worldwide, the figure is much higher. The motivation behind [...]

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So…I’ve officially relocated to Texas! I’ve mentioned several times that I didn’t own a car in DC. It was a great way to reduce my expenses, contribute to environmental conservation efforts and get in a bit of daily exercise. On the east coast, public transportation is a way of life…in Texas, we drive. And like so many other [...]

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We became first-time homebuyers in September 2009. What an exciting time it was for us! We had just gotten engaged several months earlier, decided to pay cash for our wedding and honeymoon, and decided in the meantime to place a decent down payment on a home. We were also able to take advantage of the [...]

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Looking for a new, simple place to invest? This week’s Free Money Friday offer from Betterment may be for you! Betterment is offering a $25 sign up bonus for 5 minutes of your time. How to Get Your Sign Up Bonus Open a new Betterment account. Make an initial deposit of at least $250 within [...]

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Are you thinking about switching jobs? As the job market starts to loosen up just a little bit, unhappy and underpaid workers everywhere are considering brushing up their resumes to submit applications. Nearly everyone who seeks to switch jobs attempts to get at least a small raise…but a small raise might not be enough if the [...]

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