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The Best Credit Cards for College Students
Tweet Share on Facebook June 6, 2008 Comment (14)Dear Alpha Consumer,
I'm a college student. Should I get a credit card? Which one should I get? If I'll be able to pay off the card every month, does it matter what the interest rate is? Help!
Despite all the criticism about college students and credit, now is a good time to get your first card and start building your credit history, as long as you can be sure to pay off the card each month. Graduating with thousands of dollars of debt is a bad idea, especially when you're also paying off student loans and trying to make ends meet on an entry-level salary.
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Alpha Consumer Challenge, Day 2
Tweet Share on Facebook June 6, 2008 Comment (3)I asked Larry and Sherry at Cheapiosity to participate in the Alpha Consumer Challenge by answering the question: What is your favorite money-saving technique? To play, just share your own idea by commenting below before next Wednesday at 9 a.m. I'll pick the top three, with extra points going to those that sound enjoyable, and then hold a vote to pick the best one. The winner will have his or her name featured on this blog and receive a copy of Rob Walker's Buying In: The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are.
Here is what Larry and Sherry, aka Team Cheapiosity, had to say:
One of the founding members of Team Cheapiosity has been a longtime rabid collector of clothing and costume pieces for her job as freelance theatrical costumer, part-time hobbyist, and full-time cheapskate. She rarely throws anything away and has accumulated most of her impressive costume collection at thrift shops and on eBay. Few pieces cost more than $5; in fact, $2.95 is her magic price point for collecting random items. For specific garments, she's been known to spend as much as a ten-spot.
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Alpha Consumer Challenge: Best Saving Tip
Tweet Share on Facebook June 5, 2008 Comment (19)Welcome to the second edition of the Alpha Consumer Challenge. Here's how it works: Share your favorite money-saving technique by posting a comment below. I'll pick the top three, with extra points going to the entries that sound enjoyable, realistic, and creative, and then open it up to a vote, which will select the winner. (Practicality and resourcefulness seemed to win the last challenge.) The winner will have his or her name featured on this blog and receive a copy of Rob Walker's Buying In: The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are, which is also the first selection for the Alpha Consumer Book Club—more on that later.
To get us started, I asked the blogger at Lazy Man and Money and Ramit Sethi, blogger at I Will Teach You to Be Rich, to share their own favorite frugal strategies. Here's Lazy Man's answer:
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Podcast: Being Young and Thrifty
Tweet Share on Facebook June 4, 2008 Comment (1)I recently interviewed Nicole Mladic, aka the Budgeting Babe, about how she saves money, reins in shopping urges, and runs one of the most popular personal finance blogs for women. You can also hear the Alpha Consumer Tip of the Week on the psychology behind expensive wine. Listen now, download in
iTunes, or subscribe to the 
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Downsizing Those New Year’s Resolutions
Tweet Share on Facebook June 3, 2008 CommentWith the year almost halfway over, I asked the personal finance bloggers who shared their New Year's resolution goals back in December for an update. The year hasn't been so kind to those of us trying to save money. With the economy shaky and interest rates low, it's been hard to meet some of the more ambitious goals. Here's what the bloggers had to say:
• Pinyo at Moolanomy.com, who wanted to save for his newborn son's college education as well as make progress toward a goal of amassing an additional $1 million:
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Audio: Reducing Everyday Privacy Risks
Tweet Share on Facebook June 3, 2008 Comment (1)This weekend, I spoke with WTOP radio about how to reduce everyday privacy risks. Listen now, download in
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'Sex and the City' Meets Personal Finance
Tweet Share on Facebook June 2, 2008 CommentEven though the glamorous foursome have grown up, and in some cases partnered up, this weekend's box office hit Sex and the City offers a meditation of sorts on money and the single life. It raises the questions: Aside from the emotional ramifications of settling down or not, is marriage also a financial boon? Do single women truly spend outrageous amounts on shoes and clothes? And how do singles go about taking out a mortgage and making other major purchases?
I asked two single women, Deborah Pont, 40, a communications specialist in Connecticut, and her friend Paulette Song, 38, a communications manager in Cambridge, for their thoughts on the subject. Deborah recently bought a home, and Paulette took out a lease on a car. They offered to share their strategies.
