Financial Fellow

Written by J.P. Wicklein
     This past week I learned of a new coupon site, Groupon.  Due to its unique approach Groupon offers deeper discounts than many other coupon sites. 
How Groupon works
     Each day Groupon features a single, purchasable coupon for a local restaurant, retailer, or other business.  Here are several examples of recent Groupon [...]

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Written by J.P. Wicklein
     I picked up a book recently entitled “The 5 Lessons a Millionaire Taught Me” by Richard Paul Evans.  At 106 pages, it’s a pretty quick read.  For a small book it packs a lot of useful advice. 
Win in the Margins
     One of the author’s five lessons is to “win in [...]

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Written by J.P. Wicklein
     My sixteen month streak avoiding any illness has come to an end.  I was diagnosed with strep throat today.  While I was sucking on a throat lozenge I decided to write an article on healthcare flexible spending accounts. 
What is a flexible spending account?
     There are different types of flexible spending [...]

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Written by J.P. Wicklein

Complaining about a poor customer experience is an excellent way to save a few bucks. Often companies will offer you an incentive to keep you happy – whether you’re in the right or not. By complaining about a pair of bad experiences recently I received a $20 grocery store gift card and a $10 Amazon coupon code.

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Written by J.P. Wicklein
     I received an email the other day notifying me of a 90% discount Restaurant.com is offering on all their coupons.  This promotion means that you can pick up a $25 coupon to one of your favorite restaurants for only $1. 
What is Restaurant.com?
     Restaurants all over the country offer coupons for [...]

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Written by J.P. Wicklein
     My girlfriend and I decided to join the 21st century and replace our tube television with a new, 40” LCD television.  After much deliberation and research we settled on a Sumsung 40” LCD television with 1080p and 120 Hz (model #LN40B630). 
     I spent a couple hours attempting to find it [...]

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Written by J.P. Wicklein
     I caught an article by Erin Burt in Sunday’s Chicago Tribune that listed several common money wasters.  I’ve provided the more interesting ones below, along with my thoughts.
1.     Buying a new car instead of used one:  New cars lose a big chunk of their value the moment you drive them [...]

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Written by J.P. Wicklein

This is the 100^th post since FinancialFellow.com was launched in October 2008. In light of the milestone I thought it fitting to call attention to my 5 favorite articles. Some articles offer my perspective on retirement savings, others provide suggestions on how to save, or earn, hundreds of dollars with minimal effort. Enjoy!

10% Annual Return is Unrealistic When discussing how much money you will have at retirement age many financial articles assume that you will attain an average annual return of around 10%. This assumption is misleading for two reasons…

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Written by J.P. Wicklein
     Earlier this month I wrote about the “Cash for Clunkers” program through which the federal government will provide eligible buyers up to $4,500 toward the purchase of a new car.  Last week Chrysler announced they will match the government’s $4,500 voucher on select models - producing a total discount of $9,000.  [...]

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Written by J.P. Wicklein
     Last week I decided to buy anti-virus software for my laptop.  After choosing the software, Norton’s Internet Security 2009 by Symantec, I went about finding the cheapest price. 
Amazon
     First, I checked out how much Symantec charged through their website ($59.99). Next, I looked at Amazon ($29.98).  Although Symantec charges twice [...]

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