It’s likely that the photo of the Costa Concordia luxury cruise liner lying capsized in the water off the coast of Italy will become one of the iconic images of 2012. We’ve all been glued to the news as the heartbreaking and bizarre story continues to unfold. Vacationing via cruise ship has always seemed to [...]

In light of past health care discussions on my blog and the fact that it’s soon to be benefit re-enrollment period at your work, I thought I’d address a couple of tax-advantaged medical savings accounts: the Health Savings Account and the Flexible Spending Account. I used a Flexible Spending Account for some time when I [...]

We’ve all seen the commercials. According to the distinguished, gravel-voiced man who assures you that you’re in good hands, and the perky lady who wants you to compare prices with her company, being a good driver means that you can save a lot of money on your car insurance bill. See: 20 Tips for Affordable [...]

Austin, who occasionally writes here at PT Money, is in his 2nd year of teaching English in western Japan. With the Japan Tsunami fresh on his mind, he generously offered to write a couple of pieces on preparing for major disasters. You can check out his personal finance site for 20-somethings at Foreigner’s Finances. This [...]

Austin, who occasionally writes here at PT Money, is in his 2nd year of teaching English in western Japan. With the Japan Tsunami fresh on his mind, he generously offered to write a couple of pieces on preparing for major disasters. You can check out his personal finance site for 20-somethings at Foreigner’s Finances. One [...]

It happened again last week. In our mailbox were another two envelopes from our health insurance company, each one with a check for a seemingly random amount reimbursing us for medical coverage—although we couldn’t tell you exactly what visit the check was for. Ever since my husband started his new job and we officially changed [...]

Austin, who occasionally writes here at PT Money, is in his 2nd year of teaching English in western Japan. With the Japan Tsunami fresh on his mind, he generously offered to write a couple of pieces on preparing for major disasters. You can check out his personal finance site for 20-somethings at Foreigner’s Finances. I [...]

Every day, many people go from an individual health insurance plan to a group plan. That’s a good direction to be going, right? Most people worry (with good reason) about the opposite move: group to individual. I did this once, back when I quit my corporate job, and I can tell you that it’s not [...]

This is a guest post from friend and attorney, Robert Newton, who’s website, Bizbrook.com aims to guide you in your journey from employee, to self-employed, to employer. Check out his recent series, 10 steps to starting a business. It’s a daunting question. Each of us possesses a strong aversion to discuss our own mortality, much [...]

What does it take to get affordable auto insurance? As I mentioned earlier when I shared my story of getting more affordable auto insurance with GEICO, there are two main ways to go about lowering your auto insurance premiums: (1) reduce the cost of your current policy, or (2) get a new auto insurance policy. [...]

If you’ re like me, the idea of going over the details of your auto insurance policy can make your eyes roll back in your head. It may seem easiest to simply continue with your current policy, even if you pay for full coverage auto insurance. But adjusting your policy—which can be the most expensive [...]

Killer internet business idea: check. Business plan: check. Domain name: check. Customer base: check. Insurance: ch…wait, what? For many internet business owners, internet business insurance is not one of their first (or even fifth) concerns. While no traditional small business owner—with stock to lose, a storefront to maintain, and payroll to meet—would consider operating without [...]