Articles by Amanda


5 More Ways to Earn Some Extra Cash

Posted by Amanda on March 1, 2010

Who couldn’t use some extra cash? Perhaps you are planning a trip this year or next, your bills seem to have ballooned out of control, or you are building up your emergency fund. For me and my fiance, we are getting married in April, taking a honeymoon afterwards, and building up our savings after depleting […]

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Special Tax Deduction for Haiti Donations Made in 2010

Posted by Amanda on February 23, 2010

Most of us watched as the horrible events unfolded after the earthquake hit Haiti on January 12th, 2010, eventually killing over 217,000 people. Financial aid began pouring into the ravaged country, totaling more than $625 million at the writing of this article. However, much more is going to be needed to bring a country that […]

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New Credit Card Laws to Protect Consumers Begin

Posted by Amanda on February 17, 2010

After graduating college several years ago I opened my first credit card and fell in love. When the shiny plastic came in the mail, I read over the terms and conditions and quickly realized that almost none of it would apply to me: interest rate hikes, the grace period, cash advance fees and rules, minimum […]

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How to Take a Property Tax Deduction Without Itemizing

Posted by Amanda on February 10, 2010

Take your property tax deduction without itemizing. It’s another deduction you’ll want to claim on your 2009 tax return, as we continue our series on tax deductions. We recently reviewed the new car tax deduction. Home ownership can have some enticing tax benefits because you can itemize and deduct home expenditures–such as mortgage interest paid […]

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Throw a 50th Wedding Anniversary on a Budget

Posted by Amanda on February 3, 2010

Over the holidays I had the privilege of being a part of a very momentous occasion: my grandparents’ 50th wedding anniversary Gift. Celebrating 50 years of love, triumph, children, tears, and joy was such an overwhelmingly wonderful feeling, and one that I hope all of you can experience in either your own milestone anniversary, or […]

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Do You Have a Worst Case Scenario Plan?

Posted by Amanda on January 27, 2010

As a child, my Uncle Andy and Aunt Anita bought my sister and I a book by James Stevenson called Could be Worse. It was a humorous book about an old man who’s favorite response to any sort of complaining—such as when his grandkids get a splinter, or their kite flies up into a tree—is […]

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New Car Tax Deduction

Posted by Amanda on January 20, 2010

Want to get a tax credit for your new car? If you bought a new vehicle last year, you may be able to take advantage of the following tax credits on your 2009 taxes: deducting the amount of state and local sales and excise tax paid. You can also take further tax deductions if you […]

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How to Donate Your Used Car

Posted by Amanda on

While the Cash for Clunkers program helped many people in the market for buying a car optimize their savings, many people were unable to take advantage of this program (like myself!) because their ‘clunker’ or used car had too good of gas mileage to be counted. Another downfall was the fact that it significantly dropped […]

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Savings: Starting from Scratch

Posted by Amanda on January 19, 2010

My fiancé and I recently purchased a home, as well as a used vehicle when my car died. In other words…we are close to starting from scratch with our savings. We have not been this low in our emergency or other savings accounts in years, and so I thought this would be a great time […]

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Score Free Stuff on Your Birthday

Posted by Amanda on January 13, 2010

Birthday freebies and free stuff for your birthday this year! Birthday gifts and surprises are not just for kids. After all, why should they have all the fun? My birthday is coming up, and I thought this would be a great opportunity to share with you lots of companies who offer freebies on your birthday […]

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