Financial Friday

I love surfing personal finance blogs, hearing tips & tricks and pretending that I can speed the whole process of mastering my money. In my cybertravels, I've turned up a few favorite ideas:

1) Create an ING Firewall Account - Do you worry about getting hacked? If you have something like Paypal, which connects to your bank account, a single hack could open your entire financial resource to an intruder. Create a free ING Direct online savings account and link your payment accounts to this. When you need to pay something, put the money in the firewall account. If you're mugged a crafty crook will only get $50. ING Direct accounts are a breeze and you can have more than one (each with a different account number). If you don't have an ING Account, comment here and I'll refer you. I'll get $20 and you'll get $25. That's dinner on me. ;) (From Bargaineering.com)

2) Opt Out of Pre-Approved Credit Card Offers - Every time you get pre-approved credit card junk mail, they are accessing your credit report. Someone clever could open this account in your name, and max it out before you know what hit you. Use this site to get off those mailing lists. It only takes a minute. There is a place where you can enter your SSN, and the site is secure (backed by the three major credit bureaus). But you don't have to enter your SSN, it just might mean that some pre-approved applications slip through the net.
(From Bargaineering.com)

3) Ladies: Be Realistic, and Start Now - I had no idea about some of these statistics. Women account for over 80% of consumer spending, and at the same time elderly women make up over 80% of this country's impoverished. This article is a real eye-opener.
(From Wisebread.com)

4) The Weekly Cash Diet - Funny, honest updates from the trenches as a man commits to a budget by taking out $100/week for disposable income. What's worth it, what's not and what's surprising make it fun to follow his progress.
(From ConsumerismCommentary.com)

5) How to Raise Frugal Kids - Noreen Valcich invented this. When we were little, if we spotted a yard sale I'd announce that I'd decided to join the traveling circus in a desperate act of distraction. Shane would start throwing punches, I'd dry-heave. Not once, not ever, did it work. Someday, I'll write an entry about the effectiveness of making your kids sort through other people's junk on a sheet thrown over their lawn. Suffice to say, it makes for frugal adults. I plan to do the same someday with my kids.
(From ManvsDebt.com)