[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).] No matter what our professional domains are, we often face these two obstacles when we start out: inexperience and credibility. As rookies we have to work hard to overcome them. Whether it is setting up a new personal finance blog, or a web design firm or an advertising company or some other business, we need to put in sweat equity to learn the ropes of the trade to overcome our inexperience (and... Read Full Story

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).] It's that time of the year when we are needed to renew our cars' registrations and our driving licenses. We were trying to figure out how to go about doing the tasks online. At DMV's website we found that the rules vary from state to state. So we had to dig on a little further. In the process we came across an interesting article at MSN SmartMoney which was an eyeopener for us. It presented some of... Read Full Story

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).] For folks like us who travel a lot from coast to coast through major US metropolitans, Citi's Hilton Honors Visa offers great savings in the form of rewards points. We can use these points for free nights at opportunity category Hilton Family of hotels. The best part of this deal is a sign-up bonus of 15000 Hilton Honors bonus points (worth at least $150) which is enough for a 2 night stay at... Read Full Story

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).] It is a known fact that credit card companies attract new clients by advertising low "Fixed" APRs. Newbies might think that APRs on their balances are fixed till they pay it off, right? No dear, we are nowhere near the truth! What is sneaky about fixed rates? According to credit card jargon, "fixed rate" means that the credit card company has to give us a 15 days' notice before raising... Read Full Story

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).] July 21, 2008: In order to diversify a portfolio, many experts suggest adding a few sector funds or ETFs. Why? Such a diversification helps hedge a portfolio during a bear market. Sector funds having a high negative co-relation to stocks help dampen the losses when the stock market takes a nose dive. Quite often one of the sectors suggested is precious metals. Arguably, allocating a portion of our... Read Full Story

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).] With the growing power of the Internet and e-commerce, it has become easier to own a small business. Consequently the number of small business owners are on the rise. This is really good news since it helps us to be our own boss, do something which we enjoy and also earn a livelihood. Sounds like a win win situation :). But owning a small business with being fully informed about various legal and tax... Read Full Story

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).] In our popular post "Top Resources For Early Retirement Planning," we had presented a short profile of Billy and Akaisha Kaderli. They are well known for having reached FIRE really early. Today while browsing through Kiplinger archives we found a detailed case study profiling Billy and Akaisha's early retirement and how they achieved it. Here is an interesting excerpt. When they were in their late... Read Full Story

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).] In our college days there were hardly any credit cards that offered cash back rewards. To get an unsecured credit card which was by itself a big deal. But Citi has eased it for present day college students with mtvU Platinum Select Visa. It offers 5% cash back for purchases which students make every day at restaurants, bookstores, record stores, movie theaters and video rental stores. And Citi is... Read Full Story

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).] Cash is king when its not a debt but has been accumulated as a result of our savings. And like convenience checks, cash advances from our credit card accounts is a terrible mistake. We should avoid it at all costs. What is sneaky about cash advances? The rate for cash advances is much higher than the APRs charged to our credit card's balances. And there is no grace period. We start paying interest... Read Full Story

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).] Jul 14, 2008: We found a very pithy article (at fool.com) by Robert Brokamp about Dilbert's views on personal finance. The essence of the article is quoted as: In his book Dilbert and the Way of the Weasel, Adams offered his one-page personal finance book. Here it is: 1. Make a will. 2. Pay off your credit cards. 3. Get term life insurance if you have a family to support. 4. Fund your 401(k) to... Read Full Story