Retail analyst Howard Davidowitz says the economy has forced many retailers to again offer layaway. Most retailers had stopped because it was not economical for them. Davidowitz tells Ari Shapiro that layaway has some advantages for consumers — but they better make sure they will be able to make the final payment, or they will ...

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The following is a guest post from David at MoneyNing, who recently published his own budget travel book. He graciously wrote this post when I asked about this entrepreneurial pursuit. If you like what you see, I encourage you to check out his personal finance blog for more. In the good ole’ days, only ...

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‘Reading Rainbow’ had a good, long run Image from media.npr.org. When I first heard that “Reading Rainbow” would stop airing today, my first thought was “That show is still on the air?” My second thought was that, given that it is, or was, still on the air, I can’t remember a time before “Reading Rainbow.” Turns out, that’s ...

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Before you jump to an answer or nasty comment, please give me a chance to elaborate. Recently, I ran across an interesting article in the Bogleheads Wiki titled Placing Cash Needs in a Tax-Advantaged Account. Essentially, because of the way the U.S. tax code works it can often be better to ...

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How many of you consider the effects of compound interest (or “compound returns”, if you prefer) when you make financial decisions? I mention the concept from time-to-time — and I’ve even devoted whole articles to the extraordinary power of compound interest — but I don’t know if others keep the notion in mind when they ...

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