No Credit Needed » Resources

Debt Reduction Tools And Calculators

NCN — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 11:00:35 +0000

For those who are ready to get our of debt, here’s a list of debt reduction resources -

Debt Snowball Calculator over at What’s The Cost – This free online tool will help you quickly create a debt repayment plan.

iPhone and iPod Touch Debt Snowball Application – Created by Blunt Money, this application, which sells for $2.99, will help you create a debt snowball using your iPhone or iPod Touch.

Debt Reduction Guide – I created this step-by-step guide to show folks how my wife and I got out of debt. The guide is available online – and you can also download a copy of it as a free E-Book. It’s easy to read and free to share.

When Will You Be Debt Free? – This calculator from CNN Money is very simple to use. Simply enter your current credit card balances, your interest rates, your minimum payments, and the date you want to be debt free. The calculator will calculate how much extra you need to pay, each month, to achieve your goal.

Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice Calc Debt Reduction Calculator – If you prefer to work with Word or Open Office, here’s a free debt reduction spreadsheet.

Mortgage Payoff Calculator – I love all of the calculators over at DinkyTown. This one will help you calculate the impact of extra mortgage payments.

Calculating Average Daily Balance Spreadsheet – I created this spreadsheet so that I could calculate how the timing of payments determines the amount of interest charged. The spreadsheet works Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice Calc.

These are just a few of the debt reduction resources I’ve found (or created) over the past few years. If you have a resource that you think would be of value to others, leave a comment and let me know about it. (Obvious spam comments will be deleted.)

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Debt Reduction Tools And Calculators

$4 And $10 Generic Prescriptions From Walmart, Kroger, and Target

NCN — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:00:35 +0000

Two weeks ago, I had a procedure to remove a kidney stone. After the procedure, my doctor gave me a prescription for an antibiotic. I had my local pharmacist fill the prescription. I am feeling much better and I am happy to be kidney stone-free.

The antibiotic that I was prescribed is covered by our health care plan and was available at our local pharmacy for a discounted price. While I mentioned my prescription to a friend, he told me that he gets most of his prescriptions through Walmart’s discounted prescription program. Interested, I did some searching, and found that Walmart, Target, and Kroger all offer discounted prescriptions.

Click here to view details about Walmart’s Discount Prescription Program.

Click here to view details about Kroger’s Discount Prescription Program.

Click here to view details about Target’s Discount Prescription Program.

My prescription was for the generic or brand name. The above mentioned discounts apply to generic prescriptions. I always ask my doctor if it is cool to substitute a generic for a brand name, and then I follow his / her advice.

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$4 And $10 Generic Prescriptions From Walmart, Kroger, and Target

Twitter Finds And Friends

NCN — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 14:00:42 +0000

I am a big fan of Twitter. It’s amazing how quickly information can flow, from tweet to tweet, and person to person.

If you haven’t done so, feel free to follow my tweets, and say Hello.

Today’s Twitter Finds And Friends -

Finds -

Do you like bean bag chairs? Do you like personal finance forums? Then, you’ll love Moolanomy’s current giveaway. Register for the new Moolanomy Answers and you could win a Sumo Bean Bag Chair. (Tweeted by @moolanomy)

We recently spent an entire week removing clutter from our home and organizing our stuff. I’m totally digging Being Frugal’s post – Why The Minimalist Lifestyle Appeals To Me. (Tweeted by @Zen_Habits)

Friends -

I am a big fan of @flexo from Consumerism Commentary.

I really enjoy @SunFinancial from The Sun’s Financial Diary.

I learn a lot from @mymoneyblog from My Money Blog.

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Twitter Finds And Friends

Social Media Sites That Help You Manage Your Finances

NCN — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 19:19:00 +0000

When I started No Credit Needed four years ago, there were only a handful of personal finance blogs. Now, there are thousands of them, with hundreds that update their content on a daily basis. Keeping up with all of the available information can be daunting, so I’ve gathered a few links that make it easier to connect to the information you need – and the people who write about personal finance.

Social Bookmarking Sites – Connect With Content

Tip’d – Tip’s is an online community, designed specifically for sharing financial tips, ideas, and and news. Users can submit and vote for articles related to personal finance, real estate, and stocks. You can click here to view my Tip’d profile. Tip’d has been around for a short time, but it is quickly becoming a go-to resource.

Digg – Digg users know that it’s a great place to find technology news, but it’s also a great resource for financial news. I have bookmarked the Digg Business and Finance section, so that I can click straight through to the information that interests me. This is where most of the information related to personal finances can be found. I recently created a new Digg profile, specifically for personal finance-related links.

PFBlogs – PFBlogs is a blog aggregator. The freshest content from around the personal finance blogging community can always be found at PFBlogs. The site breaks content down into three major categories – real estate, personal finance, and investing. If you are looking for the very latest from the personal finance blogging community, PFBlogs is the place to look.

PFBuzz – PFBuzz is a social bookmarking site designed for users to share interesting articles about personal finance. You can click here to view my PFBuzz profile. PFBuzz allows users to share articles and vote to promote their favorite articles.

Twitter – Connect With Writers

Twitter – Twitter is a social networking, micro-blogging site where you can connect with, and share resources with, your favorite personal finance writers. In some ways still in its infancy, Twitter has caught on with major media outlets, and is becoming a major source for breaking news and information. Twitter allows for the rapid sharing of information, opinion, and resource links. Please click here to follow me on Twitter. I’d love to hear from you – and if you are new to Twitter – you will be amazed at how quickly you learn to love it.

A couple of my fellow personal finance bloggers have put together lists of ‘must-follow’ personal finance Twitter users.

Bible Money Matters has a list of ten people all personal finance junkies should follow on Twitter. I’m humbled to note that I made his list. Click to follow @MoneyMatters

Mighty Bargain Hunter has a massive list of Twitter users who write about personal finance. Follow these people, and comb through the people they follow, and you’ll soon have your own list of influential personal finance writers. Click to follow @MBHunter.

Click here to view the people that I follow and here to view the people that follow me.

(Thanks to PoorerThanYou for helping correct the above links.)

StumbleUpon – Connect With Surfers

StumbleUpon – StumbleUpon is an amazing tool that allows users to share links and surf friends’ favorites. This tool helps users discover content that they might otherwise miss. Click here to view my StumbleUpon profile… and if you are a current user, feel free to stumble this very post!

Forums – Connect With Readers

If you have ideas of your own that you would like to share, or questions to ask, the personal finance community has some wonderful forums.

Get Rich Slowly Forums – My favorite feature on the GRS Forums is the section allotted to Fiscal Fitness Journals.

Bargaineering Forums – A relatively new place for connecting with other readers, this forumn has sections dedicated to personal finance, frugality, investing, and for those interested in their own personal finance blogs, blogging.

Wise Bread Forums – The Wise Bread Forums go beyond personal finance, and branch out into discussions about personal development and life-hacks.

Feeds – Direct Connection

Social media sites are great. They’re wonderful tools for connecting you with fresh content, interesting writers, and your fellow readers. However, there are times when you want a direct connection to content. You want it delivered directly to your desktop or your email. That’s where feeds come in.

I’ll bet that your favorite personal finance writer offers a blog feed. This is a direct link to a sites most recently published articles. All you need to read a blog feed is a feed reader – like the free Google Reader. Once you have signed up for a free Google Reader account, visit the site of your choice and click “subscribe to feed” or “subscribe via rss” button. Your browser will ask you how you want to subscribe, and you can then choose your preferred feed reader. You can see an example of this type of button on the top right-hand side of this page. Click it, or here, to subscribe to the No Credit Needed rss feed.

Alternatively, if you prefer a daily email of a sites content, many of your favorite writers will have a “subscribe by email” or “subscribe vis email” option. You can see an example of this type of button on the top of this page. Click it, or here, to subscribe to No Credit Needed via daily email. I have subscribed to several of my favorite sites via their daily email option, and this is my preferred option for keeping up with their content.

U.S. News Launches Your Money Personal Finance Page

NCN — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 11:30:07 +0000

U.S. News has launched a new personal finance section, entitled Your Money. Kimberly from the U.S. News Alpha Consumer blog announced the launch of the new section Tuesday, and I’ve just spent some time checking it out.

On the left-hand side of the page, the site lists the U.S. News money-related blogs. On the right-hand side, users can click to view money-related videos and click to listen to the Alpha Consumer podcast (an online radio program). The middle of the page features, among other things, comments from readers and a personal finance poll.

I really like the direction that U.S. News is headed – and it will be interesting to see how the site evolves, over time. As a blogger, I’m always impressed when old media embraces new media, and that certainly looks like what U.S. News is doing with this new section of its site.

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U.S. News Launches Your Money Personal Finance Page

Details About The New Making Home Affordable Program

NCN — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 03:30:38 +0000

President Obama announced the implementation of the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan, which will allow some homeowners to refinance mortgages via a streamlined process. The plan is also known as the Making Home Affordable program, and it will allow between 7 and 9 million people to refinance their mortgages, at today’s lower rates, and provides incentives for lenders and those home buyers who refinance their loans.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Obama Administration have announced the details of the new Making Home Affordable program. According to the Department of the Treasury website -

Making Home Affordable will offer assistance to as many as 7 to 9 million homeowners, making their mortgages more affordable and helping to prevent the destructive impact of foreclosures on families, communities and the national economy.

The Home Affordable Refinance program will be available to 4 to 5 million homeowners who have a solid payment history on an existing mortgage owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac… Under the Home Affordable Refinance program, many of them will now be eligible to refinance their loan to take advantage of today’s lower mortgage rates or to refinance an adjustable-rate mortgage into a more stable mortgage, such as a 30-year fixed rate loan.

The Home Affordable Modification program will help up to 3 to 4 million at-risk homeowners avoid foreclosure by reducing monthly mortgage payments.

The Department of the Treasury has created a dedicated website – FinancialStability.gov – with more information about the Making Home Affordable program. If you think that you might qualify for this government program, visit the FinancialStability.gov website, and use the provided self-assessment tool. Also, you might want to read this summary of guidelines, just to get an idea of what some of the qualifications for loan modification are.

If you are struggling to make your mortgage payments, you might want to take a look and see if you could benefit from this program. Also, as the FinancialStability.gov site reminds, please be aware of foreclosure rescue scams. Information about the Making Home Affordable program is free, as is counseling from a HUD-approved housing counselor.

I would be interested to know if any of you are thinking about utilizing this program.

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Details About The New Making Home Affordable Program

My Check From Upromise Arrived

NCN — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 20:00:17 +0000

As I mentioned a few months ago, I recently sent a letter to Upromise, requesting a withdrawal from my account. I am proud to say, I received a check from Upromise last week, and I’ve now deposited that check into my savings account.

I have been using Upromise to earn reward dollars for more than five years. Instead of investing my reward dollars with a 529 Plan, I withdraw my reward dollars, once a year, and deposit them into my savings account. Please click here to read more about how to request a withdrawal from Upromise, and here to sign up while UPromise is giving away 500,000 for College.

For someone like me, who doesn’t use credit cards, Upromise is a great way to earn a few extra dollars. I like the fact that I can register my grocery cards (those little things that hang on my keychain), scan those cards at the grocery store, and even when I pay cash, I’m still earning rewards.

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My Check From Upromise Arrived

PayPal Fee Calculator eBay Fee Calculator

NCN — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 13:41:04 +0000

There are dozens of sites that will help you calculate PayPal and eBay fees.

My favorite is PPCalc -

PayPal Fee Calculator

eBay Fee Calculator

Half.com Fee Calculator

Amazon Fee Calculator

BidPay Fee Calculator

ePier Fee Calculator

Etsy Fee Calculator

Overstock Fee Calculator

Throughout 2009, my goal is to clear $100 a month from eBay sales.

I use the above calculators to determine the starting prices of my auctions.

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PayPal Fee Calculator eBay Fee Calculator

ING Direct Savings Account $25 Referral Bonus

NCN — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:40:06 +0000

I have some new $25 bonus referrals for those looking to open an online savings account with ING Direct.

Click one of the referrals below to open a new ING Direct Orange Savings Account.

Features of the account -

The Orange Savings Account

No minimum balance required. Everyone earns the same high yield. (As of July 31, 2008, the yield is 3.00% APY)
24-hour access to your account – you’re always ready for opportunities.
FDIC-insured – your money is safe and secure.
To receive your $25 bonus, your initial contribution must be at least $250.
If you apply through one of the referral links below, I’ll receive $10.

Orange Savings Account Referral

Once these referrals have been used, I’ll post more. If you click on a link and the referral does not work, then it has been used by someone else. No problem. Simply contact me and I’ll send you your very own referral link, straight to your email.

If you would like to open an account, but you don’t have $250 for the initial deposit, you can click here to open an Electric Orange Checking Account or here to open an Orange Savings Account. You will not receive a bonus, but you’ll still get the same great rates!

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ING Direct Savings Account $25 Referral Bonus

Free Weight Loss Podcasts That Keep Me Motivated

NCN — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:06:27 +0000

Normally, I write about wight loss topics over at my fitness blog, No. Calories Needed, but today’s resources straddle the line between frugality and fitness, so I thought I would share them here, where they will find a larger audience. (Just reading the run-on-sentence that I just wrote burned five extra calories!)

3 Free Weight Loss Podcasts That Really Rock – And Keep Me Motivated

(New to the world of podcasting? Read my article – How To Listen To A Podcast - and introduce yourself to a world of free, on-demand, audio or video.)

Get Fit Pod – The producer, Skip, has broken fitness down into five, easy-to-understand, elements – Diet, Exercise, Knowledge, Music, and Journaling. Each podcast focus on one of these five elements. Skip is in the second year of getting fit. I just love this ‘cast.

Yell At Your Fat – A relatively new podcast, with only five episodes, I’m already a big fan. Wendy is hilarious, she has an awesome laugh, she makes up songs that rock, and she knows a lot about losing weight. Do yourself a huge favor – subscribe to this podcast.

The Livin La Vida Low-Carb Show – While I’m not technically following a low-car diet, I am avoiding sugars and starches. Jimmy has been podcasting for years, but I only just recently found his podcast. I especially enjoy the archives, where he talks about his own weight loss journey.

2 Videos That Rock -One Is About Running, The Other Is Just For Fun

I really like this video, produced by the folks over at realbuzz, about proper running technique. I began using this technique last week – and I’m already increasing my running distance by 50%! Plus, dude has a cool accent.

The next video has nothing to do with fitness or weight loss – except for the fact that when I saw this video, I really, really dug the music in it, produced by Ronald Jenkees, and now I listen to his music during every workout. Check out the video, and then head over to Amazon Ronald Jenkeesand purchase some of his music. It rocks! (Check your speakers before pressing play. Also, Ronald has a unique look, and outlook, and I just think his music is very cool!)

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Free Weight Loss Podcasts That Keep Me Motivated