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Hi JD,
As a fellow weight-losing, debt-fighting, blogging Portlander, can I request a shout out to my own blog.
I’m not sure if you saw Steven Levitt’s (of Freakonomics) article on stickk.com, but I’m blogging about using the service in my weight loss.
I’m not affiliated in any way but my new membership, but I’m offering a prize drawing to feedburner-registered readers over at my blog.
TIA
Joe Kennedy

I love your blog. You’ve made some excellent advices. Keep it up. I’ve suscribed for updates and I’ll add you in my favorites. By the way, I haven’t searched through your archives, but have you made a list of recommended “must read” financial books? I want to empower myself by acquiring additional financial knowledge.

Hi JD -
I’m wondering what one must do to write a guest post on this blog. I understand that you have a gazillion readers (or, maybe, 54k, which is nothing to sniff at), and that you have loads of guest posts to sort through already… but that’s good, no? That means you can take a vacation sometimes!

ANYHOW – I would love to be contributing writer and have a guest post at some time on your blog. Should I just send one in and maybe see it in a year? Or do you prefer to contact only those writers that you’ve found yourself?

Any guidance would be great. I write about many topics over at my blog and would be happy to write on any topic you requested.

Thanks!

JD,
Every time I try to post some ING links, it gets marked as spam. Is it something I am doing? I posted other comments and had no problem. It is only in the last 2 weeks that I have had the problem. Can you help?
Thanks

I was wondering what software, now that you are self employed, you will be using to manage your finances? I am looking at Quicken Home & Business, but I’d prefer an online soulution. Got any recommendations or products you would suggest evaluating?

I am a 6th grade teacher who wants to do a month long lesson on financial education. I was wondering if you have any thoughts and/or ideas as to what you think should be stressed at such a young age? I have broken my lesson down into income, savings, and investing. I hear alot of people say it is important to teach financial education but I find hardly anyone doing anything about it. Do you have any tips or could you ask your readers to send in their thoughts? Anything would be appreciated.

Kindly,

Ryan

JD,

I’m having problems posting comments in ING referral thread. Every time I hit ‘submit’ I get redirected to a blank page. I tried from two different computers and the result is the same.

This is odd, because I was able to post in that thread before (my last post was on April 5). Do you have any ideas? Thank you very much for your help, and for maintaining this wonderful blog.

http://www.alternet.org/healthwellness/81773/

You might want to include this article in any discussion of the value of organic food. I hold an advanced degree in plant breeding and even I was startled by the differences in nutrition.

A while ago I read an article in either the NYTimes or Alternet.org about which organic foods one should buy which targeted the things we eat the most…potatoes, milk and eight others which I do not remember.

First of all – I absolutely love reading your blog. I discovered it a couple months ago and am addicted.

Luckily, my father taught me the value of saving money and making smart decisions and ALWAYS keeping your credit score high. That’s how I’ve managed to buy two homes on my own before the age of 27, both with extremely low APR (due to my high credit score and with a stable, but very average paying job).

However, my new husband didn’t grow up with the same values and has an extremely low credit score. He’s made $90K for the past few years, but has nothing to show for it, except for some great memories of fun trips. All of the damage was done in the past (he has terrible spending habits but is okay with me handling all bills and financial planning) but he’s not even sure where he went wrong to create such a problem.

Now we’re being paired together when we apply for things (house, car, etc.). I have a few questions about this:

- Is it best if I continue to make all of our purchases (big items like houses and cars down to smaller things like home improvement loans and utilities) since I have the better credit and can get us the best rate? Or should he take some of this on in order to build a better payment history?
- Will my credit be harmed because it’s linked to his?
- What’s the best way for him to begin to increase his credit rating? He has zero debt and only one credit card (with no outstanding balance). His car is paid off and the loan was in his name.

We’re clueless as of where to start, but know we’ll have many financial encounters in the near future so we need to get on the right track soon. We also see how this could hinder us in the immediate future as we want to start a family in the next year or two, but know that I can’t quit my job to be with a kid simply because we need my income in order to be approved to make any large purchases (even though he technically makes enough to support a family).

Any advice from anyone would be greatly appreciated.

JD,

I an always interested in energy efficiency. Althought I’m not a classic “tree hugger” I am a “wallet hugger”. Just kidding. Although I believe that global warming is a big sham, I TRUELY believe in keeping our air, water and land clean. But that’s a topic for another day…

On to my question… I live in Fresno, CA. Winters are pretty mild, but summers are HOT. Its not as bad as some places, but its enought to make cooling the house a major decision. I have a two story house (a mistake I would not make again) and the kids sleep upstairs. Last night it was 85 degrees up there when I put them to bed – its only April! Fortunately, it was cool outside, so I just opened the windows, but that won’t be an option much longer.

In the summer, out power bills SKYROCKET. Most of the usual advise does not help, because we already do it (I keep the thermostat at 85 degrees, we cook outside, I run appliances at night, I line dry…)

Two years ago I had our entire duct system pulled out and rebuilt to make it more efficient. Can anyone give us some “outside the box” ideas? Thanks!

I have enjoyed your blog for sometime now. I am a born again saver and find myself trapped in a situation and really have little clue as to how to get out. Read below:

Here is my situation. I am in a house that due to my own foolishness, I am paying more then I can truly afford for a mortgage. However I have not missed one payment. I am incredibly house poor. In any other market (michigan) I would have just sold the home, and moved, breaking even. However this market would cost me money I do not have to leave this home. I am in a mortage with a house that sold for 1/3 less its value across the street from me.

What I would like to know is what are some options I might have. Will I be able to move into another house if I were eligible for a short sale ect…With the bruising to my credit will a modest priced home be out of my reach due to a higher interest rate that I might be qualified for?

I emailed my creditor (Chase Bank) filled out a hardship form hoping for some creative restructuring of the loan. As of yet, 3 weeks, have not gained any replies.

Any suggestions would be helpful.

Thanks
House poor and imprisoned

Hi JD -

Your blog, in part, changed my life from living paycheck-to-paycheck to only having only one debt – my rapidly decreasing mortgage. I can’t thank you enough for your inspiration! I am an avid fan who reads every new article with my morning coffee.

I echo the question posted by Valerie (#7) about whether it is better to invest in a Roth IRA or an employer-sponsored 457. I fund my 401k to the tune of 10.5% (including my employer’s match). The only downside I see to a 457 is that it can only be rolled into another 457 if I leave this job (which, being so incredibly happily employed now, I probably won’t do).

I’m single, in my 50s, have my home (with a mortgage), a vacation home (with no mortgage), a Roth, a 401k, two annuities, a mutual fund invested in gold and precious metals, and a $5k emergency fund. Sounds good, but it isn’t enough to fund retirement.

Any guidance you can offer about the wisdom of funding a Roth IRA versus funding a 457 versus paying off my mortgage would be appreciated.

P-

I was looking to join a personal finance site like Mint.com, and was wondering if you preferred or would recommend a similar site over them?

Been a reader for a few months and love all the tips on saving. I also love all the number crunching that you do. I just graduated college and came into a “windfall” of about $500. What is the best thing to do with this money? My wife and I are both college grads with an acceptable savings account (can last about 3 months) and are planning to move to Mexico in August to do some work in an orphanage (minimum pay expected). Should we do something like ING Direct, invest somewhere, or just buy the guitar I’ve been looking at for a while?

Thanks in advance.

PS – I’m sure a lot of people this time of year could use some creative graduation money ideas

Hi! I was wondering , if you could do something about your pages. They all run together & very hard to read. I used to read every word on your site, but then it got hard to read because of the overlapping words. THe big letters. THanks,Lisa

I love, love, love your blog. Keep up the excellent work!

Is Free Online Cash System like MLM?? Can you look into it? Everything I try to find online has a gooney talking about how great it is yet they never disclose what it is

JD,
Love your blog! You’ve probably already seen this article. It reminded me of your post about identity protection marketing this company:
http://www.wvgazette.com/News/200805172662
Very ironic!!

Hey JD,

I was wondering if there were any money talk radio shows that you recommend.

Thanks
Jason

Hi JD,

I would like to let you know that Zilok.com has launched this week in the USA. It’s an online rental marketplace, where anyone can offer just about anything for rent: bikes, snowboards, bbqs, strollers, vacation rentals… We call it peer-to-peer renting. It’s a great way to make money, save money, while tacking over-consumtion and the accumulation of stuff.

I could go on and on but will keep it short. Let me know if you want to investigate the concept, and please get in touch with me if there are advertising opportunities on GRS.

Thanks,

Jeff Boudier, Zilok.com

JD:

I posted this elsewhere, but thought you might also like to take a gander if you missed it there:

http://www.howispentmystimulus.com/

Yep, you got it, a website (complete with photos for some) of how people are spending their stimulus checks. Enjoy and keep up the good work here.

Love the blog. Do you guys have any tips on how to deal with medical expenses that aren’t completely covered by insurance, like orthodontics?

Hi there,

I wanted to drop you a line about a book that a friend of a friend wrote, called “All the Way Home: Building a Family in a Falling-Down House.” It’s by a hometown writer, David Giffels, who, with his growing family, restored their dream home – a falling down house in Akron, Ohio. They rebuilt the crumbling pile by salvaging many materials from other people’s discarded bricks, railroad ties, and other building materials, and turned them into a treasure. This now family of four did with no loans, no credit cards–all over 12 years with just $65K out of pocket and the rest from sweat equity.

Anywho, the book goes on sale this Tuesday, 5/27. You can find details about the book here:
http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9780061362866/All_the_Way_Home/index.aspx

There’s also an article about the whole adventure here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/17/garden/17akron.html?ref=garden

He could use all the promotional help he could get and I just thought I’d drop you a line as it might appeal to your readers.

Thanks,
Alex

Hey J.D.,
I’ve been reading your blog for quite sometime now. I am 22, and I have lots of student loan debt (about $40,000). I am slowly working to get out of that debt. I just got engaged (on mother’s day) and we are planning a “frugal” wedding. Both me and the fiance are “artists” and we both do graphic design for a living. My fiance has horrible credit and because of my debt, I do as well. I was told to get a credit card and pay it off every month to build my credit (we do want to buy a house someday). Does that seem like a reasonable idea? I have had a gap card, but never use it and I also have a macmall card I used to get my computer, but paid that off as well. So I was looking into gas cards. What is your experience on them? I think it would be an easy way to build credit on something I already purchase and pay it off every month, because the last thing I wan to do is to get into credit card debt.

Thanks J.D.!
I love your blog, it is very encouraging.

Ashley

Hi J.D.

First and foremost, keep up the great work. Your writing is great and is very informative (even though I do not reside in the US!)

I was wondering what your thoughts were on margin loans. There is obviously some value/benefit in gearing but, how would you reconcile margin loans with returns from the market (I would likely invest in broad indices as opposed to individual stocks) especially at such a volatile time; this is probably more significant in Australia where the interest rates are quite high (margin loans @ around 10%, base rate at 7.25%). Further, there would be tax advantages as well but I would be motivated by building wealth as opposed to reducing taxes (although they could go hand-in-hand!)

I would love to hear your thoughts (and those of fellow readers of your site) regarding this.

Cheers,
Gerard