One of the ways that you can save money on your health insurance premiums is to get high deductible health insurance. In this case, you pay more out of pocket for your health care, which results lower premiums. As many begin to consider their options during this year’s open enrollment season, it is little surprise that many are considering the high deductible option. However, it may not always be the best option. Here are some things to consider before you spring for high deductible insurance:

Loopholes in coverage: As always, read the fine print. In some cases, you might find there …read more

This week has seen some really great stuff come out of the personal finance blogsphere. Here are some of my favorite posts from this week:

How to Get Laid Off: A Step-By-Step Guide from Wisebread
Why You Need a Larger View of Your Finances (And So Do I)! from Redeeming Riches
Being Good With Money When You’re Bad With Math from Fiscal Fizzle
Debt Testimonials — Rethinking Interest Paid Moves Fred Into Action! from Debt Free Adventure
Another Case for Emergency Savings — Credit Score from Free From Broke
Review: The Bogleheads’ Guide to Retirement Planning from The Oblivious Investor
How To Save Money Without Thinking from …read more

Many people operate on the idea that they can borrow from the future — or just get an advance on something — in order to make their finances work. (Our government has been doing this for decades, but that’s another story.) However, this is usually a bad idea. In many cases, it is an indication of a lack of financial discipline. Instead of saving up for things, or creating some sort of a plan to determine where the money goes so that everything is paid for, the idea of an “advance” or raiding one’s savings or money jar, is one …read more

This week, I thought it might be interesting to share other people’s round ups. Of course, there aren’t a lot of round ups this week. I don’t know whether most people do them on Saturday like I do, or if they’ll go up at a different time of day. At any rate, here’s what I got so far. Enjoy the round ups. It’s provide you with a wide variety of posts to peruse this weekend.

Friday Links from The Canadian Finance Blog was based around babies and children, and included some posts on preparing financially for a baby, as well as …read more

I maintain that now is a good time to start your holiday shopping. You’ll go easier on your wallet that way. However, whether you start holiday shopping now or not, you can save some money between now and the holidays. All it takes is a little planning. Here are 3 things you can do right now to pad your holiday spending by Christmas:

Check your tax withholding: This is probably the way you can save the most. I like to try and get it so that my tax refund is $0. This is because if you are getting a tax return, …read more

Enjoy some especially fabulous personal finance blog posts this week:

7 Ways to Make Your Money Go Further from Redeeming Riches.
10 Attributes Of The Perpetually Broke from Bible Money Matters.
How to Rollover a 401k Plan into an IRA from Cash Money Life.
What is Social Investment and How Does It Apply To You? from Gather Little by Little.
What Comic Book Characters Taught Me About Personal Finance from Green Panda Treehouse.
5 Steps to Optimize Your Freelance Job Search from Mrs. Micah.
Own a Home? You’re On Welfare from My Two Dollars.
Time to Scale Back Market Exposure from Stock Trading To Go.
How to Prepare for …read more

One of the more interesting things to land in my email inbox this morning was a press release from FindLaw.com. It was about young married women, and how they are taking the lead financial lead more than the generations before. Some of the interesting findings from a survey conducted by FindLaw.com include the following:

37% of young married women handle all of the household finances on their own, as opposed to 30% of young married men. (I presume that the remainder have some system of joint financial management.)
Most young  married women knew about their spouse’s finances before they married. This is, …read more

It’s time for another trip around the personal finance blogosphere. As usual, there were a bunch of very useful articles that can help you get a better handle on your personal finance situation. Here are some highlights from this past week:

Pregnancy Expenses in the Second Trimester from Fiscal Fizzle.
3 Alternative “Investments” for Long Term Enjoyment and Appreciation from Wise Bread.
What Are Your Options for a 401k Rollover to IRA from Good Financial Cents.
Do you have to be wealthy to be financially independent? from Funny about Money.
Is Your Emergency Fund Big Enough? from Prime Time Money.
Fear, Responsibility, and Investing from The …read more

Reflection is good for you. And reflecting on your finances is a good way to establish better habits and figures out what you need to improve on. This week, here are some great posts that can help you make better financial decisions. Enjoy!

Installing Financial Red-Light Cameras from Fiscal Fizzle.
Develop a Healthy Attitude About Money and Spot Unhealthy Habits from Generation X Finance.
Investing Rules of Thumb from The Oblivious Investor.
How To Prioritize Your Debt Repayment Plan from Moolanomy. (Disclosure: I wrote this one. I’m now a staff writer for Moolanomy!)
Living within your means is good for the economy from Funny about …read more

One of the ways that banks make a great deal of money is through overdraft charges. When you exceed the amount of money you have in your checking account, the bank charges you an extra fee. This can be anywhere between $25 and $45 per transaction. That’s right per transaction. Consider that you have $20 in your account, and you make the following transactions:

$15 for a book.
$6 for coffee and a pastry.
$3 for parking.

Now, that $6 transaction put you $1 over your limit. You will be charged, on average, $39 for that transaction. And, of course, you will also be …read more