Personal Finance and Money Management

According to a recent report from NPR, the Federal Reserve has $1B worth of dollar coins just sitting around. The production of these coins stems from a 2005 Congressional mandate to produce a new series of coins honoring past Presidents. Unfortunately, the general public doesn’t seem to like them and very few people are using them.

The argument in favor of these coins is that they’re more cost-effective than paper bills. These coins have an estimated life in circulation of 30 years vs. 4 years for a paper bill. Mor

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Modern Halloween costumes are fancy and in many cases, gorgeous. The downside to this is that they are also expensive. The only other options seem to be so poorly made and ill-fitting that no one wants to wear them. However, making some or all of your own costume can be an easy way to avoid bad costumes and huge price tags.

Getting together a sketch or photograph of the costume you want to imitate is the first thing you need to do. For dressing up as an object or animal, you’ll also need to consider what to make your costume out of. Depending on the weather, your personal preferences, and more, a perfectly satisfactory dog costume can be made out of fake fur, a sweat suit, or even a leotard and tights. O

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We realize that covering all of your expenses can be a challenge, especially when government loans and financial aid just arent enough. Private student loans can help you find the money you need to finance your education. Private student loans also offer a variety of borrower incentives. These can include co-signer release, graduation rewards, APR reductions and more depending on the lender.

Speaking of which, we are pleased to inform you that one of the major private loan lenders represented by the Student Loan Network, PNC Bank, announced earlier this year that PNC Solution Loans are now available with no origination fees.

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Back in March, I shared a killer deal from the Capital One Venture Card. In short, they were matching up to 100k of your miles if you applied for their card and spent $1k within the first three months. Throw in the 10k bonus miles for new cardholders, and that was the equivalent of (up to) a whopping $1100 signup bonus.

Unfortunately, that offer has since expired, but Cap One is offering a relatively generous bonus in its place. This time around, they’re offering 25,000 bonus miles in return for applying for the card and spending $1k in the first three months. Given that these “miles” can be traded in on a penny per point basis, that’s the equivalent of a $250 cash signup bonus.

There is a $59 annual fee, but it’s waived for the first year. Going for

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