Monday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: Hidden taxes that can bust your budget. Also in the news: how to job hunt during the holidays, the fastest growing jobs in America, and how to make the most out of your year end charitable giving.

Hidden Taxes That Can Bust Your Budget
How to avoid being caught by surprise.

3 Holiday Job Hunting Tips
Turn a holiday party into a networking event.

7 fastest-growing jobs in America
Find out which jobs are in demand.

Make the most of charitable giving and tax breaks
Do your homework before donating.

6 ways to avoid a holiday spending hangover
3 key components: a plan, a budget, and some discipline.

Friday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: How driving could affect your credit. Also in the news: The five C’s of credit, what you shouldn’t do this Christmas, and what we can learn about personal finance from three holiday classics.

How Does Driving Affect Your Credit?
Unpaid tickets could wreck your credit score.

The 4 Judgments Every Lender Makes Based on Your Credit
Introducing the five C’s of credit.

Essential Personal Finance Lessons From Three Holiday Classics
Kevin McAllister, coupon king.

Ten financial don’ts this Christmas
Advice from the experts on what you shouldn’t do this Christmas.

Everything I’ve Learned About Personal Finance in 10 Sentences
Short and sweet advice.

Great money books to get or give

Christmas shopping woman holding giftsDonna Freedman was kind enough to include a couple of my books in her recent post, “The gift of personal finance,” which made me realize that there was an unusually good crop of money tomes that appeared this year.

I’m delighted to recommend the following for anyone who’s interested in making the most of his or her money:

The $1,000 Challenge: How One Family Slashed Its Budget Without Moving Under a Bridge or Living on Government Cheese,” by Brian J. O’Connor. How often do you laugh out loud when reading a personal finance book? Brian is flat-out hilarious, and his ultimately-successful efforts to trim his family’s spending are both entertaining and educational.
Confessions of a Credit Junkie: Everything You Need to Know to Avoid the Mistakes I Made” by Beverly Harzog. I wrote the forward to this book because its author’s message is so important: that you can bounce back from a credit disaster without forsaking plastic for the rest of your life.
The Smart Woman’s Guide to Planning for Retirement: How to Save Your Future Today” by Mary Hunt. Mary is best known for her Debt-Proof Living website and her books about saving money (which always teach me a thing or two). She brings her trademark approachable style to the often scary and sometimes complex world of retirement savings. She offers wisdom, practical ideas and hope to those who may be struggling with how to make their retirement dreams come true.
I’ll have more recommendations in the coming days. Stay tuned!

Should you bail on your 529 plan?

Education savingsLong-time readers know I’m a big fan of using state-run 529 college plans to save for higher education expenses. (Remember the mantra: if you can save for college, you should!) Money in these plans grows tax-free when used for qualified college costs and doesn’t have much impact on financial aid (which is going to be mostly loans, anyway).

But the plans aren’t created equal–in fact, they’re so diverse it’s kind of daunting to track and compare them. Investment research firm Morningstar does just that, though, and every year creates a list of the best (and worst) plans. That list gives us 529 investors a chance to compare our plans against a gold standard and consider whether we need a change.

I’ve changed plans once, from California’s then-middling plan to Nevada’s top-rated one, and was surprised by how easy it was. (We still have some money in California’s plan, which is now higher in Morningstar’s ratings.) Some people are tied to their state’s plan by tax breaks or other incentives, but many aren’t. If you’re not happy with your plan, it’s time to consider a change.

You can read more about it in my Reuters column this week, “Is it time to switch 529 college savings plans?

Thursday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: Mythbusting your FICO score. Also in the news: Steps retiring entrepreneurs should take, tax moves Boomers should make right away, and how retailers trick you into spending money.

5 Myths About Late Payments & Your FICO Scores
Mythbusting, FICO style.

10 Steps for Retiring Entrepreneurs
Using your company as a cash cow for retirement.

Tax Moves Boomers Should Make Now
Especially those on fixed incomes.

10 Retail Tricks That Make You Spend More
Reminder: Retailers are not your friend.

Ginormous Hack Targets 2 Million Accounts Spread 93,000 Websites Worldwide
Keep an eye on your email and social media accounts.

Wednesday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: Should real estate be a part of your retirement plan? Also in the news: How to avoid resetting the mortgage clock, finding the right financial advisor, and how to manage erratic prescription drug costs. Offering Advice

How Real Estate Fits Into Your Retirement
The risks and rewards of including real estate in your retirement plan.

How to Refinance Without Resetting the Mortgage Clock
Don’t turn the clock back 30 years.

5 Questions to Ask a Potential Financial Advisor
Making sure you find the right person to serve your financial interests.

The Zig-Zag Pricing of Prescription Drugs
What to do with erratic prescription costs.

Are credit cards more expensive now?
How did the CARD Act affect what’s in your wallet?

Tuesday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: Compiling your year-end tax list. Also in the news: What high schoolers need to know about personal finance, smart money moves for uncertain times, and what hip hop can teach us about finance.

Your Year-End Tax To-Do List
It’s not too late to add deductions.

What Do High Schoolers Need to Know About Personal Finance?
More than you’d think.

4 Smart Personal-Finance Moves for Treacherous Times
Preparing for possible impending doom.

10 Personal Finance Tips From Hip-Hop Lyrics
No, you’re not hallucinating.

5 Steps to Consider if You Can’t Afford to Retire
Whatever you do, don’t panic.

Monday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: Mistakes to avoid while holiday shopping. Also in the news: Maximizing your retirement goals, conversations to avoid during the holidays, and five store credit cards that are worth applying for.

5 Holiday Money Mistakes
Don’t let your purchases be driven by guilt.

Three must-dos to maximize retirement goals
Getting the most from your retirement planning.

5 Money Conversations You Should Never Have During the Holidays
AKA How to avoid a food fight.

5 Store Credit Cards That Are Worth It
Finding the cards with the most benefits.

Roth or Regular: Which IRA Should You Choose
Solving the IRA puzzle.

Wednesday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: Avoiding panic on Black Friday. Also in the news: Shopping strategies for Black Friday, how to earn the most credit card rewards during holiday shopping, and what to consider before applying for a medical credit card. Gift

How to Avoid Panic Buying on Black Friday
Keep Calm and Shop On.

How to Win Black Friday: Shopping Strategies
Getting your gameplan on.

5 Black Friday tricks to avoid
How not to fall for retail tricks.

Earn The Most Credit Card Rewards During Your Holiday Shopping 2013
Stocking up rewards as stuff the stockings.

What to Consider Before Applying for a Medical Credit Card
Pay close attention to interest rates and hidden fees.

Will you shop on Thanksgiving?

Mother and son outdoors at winterI once made a disparaging comment to a friend about people who rush the doors of their local retailers to snag Black Friday deals.

She told me I was being elitist. I had money to buy nice presents for my family. Many of those waiting in the cold, dark night for the Walmart doors to open didn’t, and Black Friday might be their only shot at getting something nice for their kids and spouses and parents.

She had a point. Maybe that characterization doesn’t apply to everybody caught up in the post-Thanksgiving frenzy, but it was true enough back then to make me shut my mouth about it.

Now they’re messing with Thanksgiving itself, which sucks for the employees forced to work and for the shoppers who are letting themselves be tricked into deals that usually aren’t. “The stuff on sale now will be even cheaper in a few weeks,” wrote New York Post columnist Nicole Gelinas who goes on to write:

There’s nothing wrong with marketing ploys. But there is something wrong with preying on people’s impulses to the extent that they are sacrificing time with their families for one day that shouldn’t be commercialized. Time is the real gift.

Because you know what’s next, right? After-Christmas sales…starting on Christmas morning.