Shaun Cassells at MyITForum.com

Money: Recap of Savvy Money moves

Emergency Fund

1. 3 to 6 months of all your expenses in easy to get at cash
1. See this post

Retirement Savings

1. Max out your company match (at the least)

a.       See this post for why

2. Max out your ROTH IRA

Stocks

1. Find some good low cost mutual funds

a.       Post coming soon

2. Find some good ETFs

b.      Post coming soon

3. Find a free stock trading website

c.       www.zecco.com

                                                               i.      Yes, you get 10 trades a month free.. try ETFs

Credit Cards

1. Rewards cards are great, if and only if you pay off all balances with every pay check (not per month)

2. Chase PerfectCard Platinum Mastercard
1. 6% rebate on all gas at any gas station for first 90 days. 3% after this period.
2. 1% rebate on all purchases
3. No Annual Fee
3. Chase Freedom Visa Signature Card
1. 3% on top 3 spending categories per month, 15 categories.  1% elsewhere
2. Free $50 gift card
4. Citibank Driver's Edge Mastercard
1. 6% rebate at supermarkets, drugstores, and gas stations for the first year.
2. 1% elsewhere. No annual fee. (Max $1000 a year back)
3. Also $1 in Drive Rebates for every 100 miles you drive
5. Citibank Diamond Preferred Rewards Mastercard
1. Free $50 gift card.
2. Lowest Price protection for retail purchases.
3. Pricematch those printed ads
4. Rewards points, 5 per each $1 spent at gas stations, supermarkets. Doubles Warranty
6. Discover Platinum Gas Card
1. Up to 5% cash back Bonus award on Gas purchases.
2. Up to 1% cash back Bonus award elsewhere.

Bank accounts

1. There are now high savings interest rate accounts out there
2. Some have requirements like 10 credit uses per month

a.       Warning: you miss once you never get it back

3. Some have great paybacks, but probably no local ATMs

a.       www.salemfivedirect.com

b.      Need a local free savings account to deposit, then ACH over

Reading Material

1. There are tons of books at your LIBRARY

a.       OMG, an actual reason to go, because it is FREE

b.      Don’t forget to pay late fees they go on your credit report, no really.  Google it

2. Blogs

a.       http://www.fivecentnickel.com/

b.      http://www.thesimpledollar.com/

c.       http://www.stopbuyingcrap.com/

d.      http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/

3. Sites

a.       http://www.smartmoney.com

b.      http://www.fool.com/

Thanks Tricia and Reed for this post suggestion