Christine was in my office today. She picked up our bankbook and was looking at it. Of course, she wanted to know how much was in the bank. That’s when I realized how many people just look at their bankbook or their account statement to figure out their financial situation. This is perhaps at best an inadequate view… Read More »
Identity theft is a serious and growing crime that inflicts serious damage on over 9 million people a year in the US alone. Identity theft can be placed on a par with break-in and robbery of an individual’s home in terms of psychological effects. The financial ramifications can be far more serious than the common burglary. What is… Read More »
A surefire way for me to break the monthly budget is to go to Costco! Taiwan is now blessed (or cursed) with five branches, including a newly opened one in TaiChung County. I’ve been a member for a few years now, and an advocate since I discovered their hotdogs a few years earlier! Of course, having a car… Read More »
Payday loans, when used sparingly and in true emergencies, can be financial lifesavers. A payday loan is funds borrowed from a lender with a promise of repayment, usually from the borrower’s next paycheck. Hence, the name payday loan. With a payday loan, there are no credit checks, no up-front costs, no sharing your financial information with others and… Read More »
After January’s stellar month, February has really settled back and results are only approximately half of January’s. That is of course to be expected. I had hoped that my free download would entice visitors to download the top twelve subscriptions. Well, it hasn’t quite worked yet. But I’m going to keep plugging it, because I think it’s a… Read More »
Or in other words, how to break the bank! My wife was standing over my shoulder last time I wrote my very uneventful credit card statement for January 2008. She said in pointed tones: “Who cares about your credit card spending?”… Well, of course, I do! I usually include the credit card spending report for three reasons: 1.… Read More »
Well, folks. I decided to get a new wallet! I outgrew my original wallet. I was quite delighted when I found this wallet in Carrefour! It was only NT$248. It has lots of pockets on the right hand side, each of which can take several cards. There’s a small pocket for change, too; though I use it for… Read More »
In this regular feature, we publish stories and experiences that credit card users face everyday. Our Reader writes: I never used to look at my credit card bill carefully because I used e-billing, but the amount a couple of months ago was so high that I checked the charges and found $7500 of airline tickets on it! Well,… Read More »
Our little business has been using the same phone for nearly three years: a base system with two handsets that are wireless. It’s a traditional analogue signal telephone system made by Philips. Just as we were clearing up for Chinese New Year, the units became less and less functional, and the base unit developed a cable problem: every… Read More »