This is a guest post by Ryan Glover, a devoted Thrive user as well as personal finance blogger. We asked him to share his extensive research conducted in order to find the “ultimate” savings account. If you enjoy this post, we hope you’ll go read his blog: Think, Plan, Save!

It’s Saturday morning, I jump on my laptop to check my finances (I do this daily), log on to Yodlee to see what has changed in my financial world, but something’s wrong. Today is different.

As I reviewed my finances I noticed that my main bank, ING Direct, was not updating. This may not sound like a big deal, however ING was MY bank. I had everything there: Orange Mortgage, Electric Orange Checking, Orange Savings, Orange CD, hell I was even using Sharebuilder. I was as Orange as they come! I was drinking the Orange Kool-Aid! Sure ING’s rates had gone down, but their support was top notch and I could sync up all my data with Thrive and Yodlee. Read More…

The housing market has been pretty overcast since the bubble burst; but you know the bit about silver lining: Interest rates have dropped drastically (and recently risen slightly), and President Obama’s stimulus bill has opened up some options for home buyers.

Here are some terms and changes you’ll want to know about if you’re pondering buying this year:

What does it mean when “the prime lending rate is low”?

Time for an economics lesson! The Federal Open Market Committee (part of the Federal Reserve) is responsible for maintaining a healthy financial climate in the United States. When the FOMC sits down and decides that an increase or decrease in the interest rate is best for the stability of an undulating economy, the federal funds rate changes. Read More…

Best Buy Cheerily Offers Crappy Service

I’m a natural worry-wart and indecisive being. When I was planning to buy my new shiny Macbook Pro back in September 2008, a friend of mine convinced me the warranty, which would be another $250 slapped on top of the already tear-inducing price tag, is worth it.

That warranty is for 3 years; I’m entering year 2 in a few months and haven’t used it enough for it to even possibly bug out or for some keys to pop out. What a regrettable purchase. And yet, when I went to buy a Wii and was asked if I’d like to purchase a $40 two year warranty to in addition to the $250 machine, I hesitated. Didn’t I learn that warranties are rarely necessary? Why was I still tempted to get one? Read More…

Renting a house is a terrible economic move; buying is the only way that makes financial sense. 

Or is it? As the housing market is changing, long-held perceptions about the infallible prudence of home owning are also shifting. What was once perceived to be akin to flushing money down the rental-tubes may actually be a sound financial choice for some of us.

Common knowledge says that money paid toward a mortgage is an investment, while money paid toward renting is never seen again. But here’s where common knowledge needs to take a closer look: Read More…

Confession time: I’m carrying a credit card balance. While it’s not very high, it’s more than I have the funds to clear in a single payment, or even two. I’ve broken a cardinal rule of credit card holders, and throughout the next few months, I’m determined to correct the damage.

I’m not alone, however, in carrying a balance. Many people with credit card debt find the high interest rates make the debt feel insurmountable.

The average college student will graduate with $2700 of plastic debt and the average American family carries around an $8,000 balance on their cards! Luckily there’s lots of good advice available for all of us who are working on paying down their credit card balances.

Read More…

In a nutshell, I took 10 of the 190 best budgeting tools, deals sites, rate comparison engines, and personal finance resources (as declared by Wise Bread) out for a spin. Here’s my thoughts:

The Consumerist

Equal parts snark and informative blogging, The Consumerist delivers news bites on anything and everything consumer-related, from morning deals, to the woman whose life savings got thrown out with her mattress, to the latest innovation in toilet paper handling (I have no words).

While I think it might be a stretch to call the blog a financial tool, The Consumerist does manage to keep you entertained while keeping you informed, which is a very good thing.

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Future newlyweds be warned: picking the right bridesmaids’ dresses and special music is not the hard part of getting married. The labor begins when the party ends, and for many it kicks off with an identity change.

• The good news for name-changers is that you could really legally change your name to Princess Consuela Bananahammock if you wanted to. The bad news is that it’s going to take quite a few steps. Take a full weekday (not a holiday), some good shoes, and all the documents that make you who you are: birth certificate, SS card, driver’s license and a certified marriage license. This site has a good list of places you’ll want to notify about your name change.

Read More…

Mortgages, pension plans, joint filings -it’s a whole new world out there. Are you prepared for it? If you are like most Americans, chances are the answer is no.

Advice on being financially savvy varies, but most professionals agree on one thing: Americans need a financial reality check. Check out this brief introduction to seven important financial topics that you need to know to be money smart. Read More…

Repaying my student loans once seemed to me like a distant, future problem. An e-mail from Sallie Mae sent my mouse flying to the “Next” button. I thought, “I’ll deal with that later.”

But even as I write, my loans are accruing interest. They’re a part of my life now, and I need to be prepared to pay them back.

What happens, though, if despite preparations and a clear understanding of my loans, I can’t make the payments? What are my options then? Read More…

In theory, debt consolidation—bundling all your outstanding loans under a lower interest rate loan—sounds ideal. For anyone swimming in debt, the thought of having to make only one low payment a month is certainly enticing.

How easy would it be if you could take out a new loan to pay back all your preexisting loans?

Many debt consolidation companies prey upon this very idea, and often look to take advantage of you and kick you when you’re down. No matter how nice their representatives are or legitimate their websites look, many debt consolidation companies are dodgy and unreliable, and will end up costing you your money, or even worse, your credit.

Debt consolidation companies often hide behind their nonprofit status and then charge hidden fees in the form of steep “voluntary” contributions. The Federal Trade Commission exposed AmeriDebt, Inc., for example, for deceiving its customers and collecting at least $170 million in hidden fees. Read More…