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Negotiating rent prices can be an intimidating process. Most of us are used to the idea that we can negotiate the price of a home, car, or even our wages. However, when it comes to selecting a rental property, most of use look at that price as being set in stone. Last time, we took a look at 3 tips for you to use when trying to find lower rent.

Now, we will see how those tips (plus a few others) can help us to negotiate rent in many situations.

The first stop in negotiating rent (or anything for that matter), is to set priorities, and also establish a list of items/features that are not important to you. Once you have determined the things for which you are not willing to negotiate, and also the things that are not important, you can negotiate in a more logical and consistent manner.

You also have to understand what your counter-party considers to be important, or your negotiations will go nowhere.

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Tags: Negotiating Rent, Rent

The holidays are about six months away. Why wait until the last minute to shop? Answer: You shouldn’t. And you won’t have to if you have a decently stocked gift closet. Some people I know keep their eyes open starting on Dec. 26 and are finished by mid-summer.

It’s more than just the December holidays, though. A small selection of “evergreen” gifts (non-perishable, non-trendy) means you’re prepared for any birthday, anniversary or new baby that comes along.

Building your gift closet doesn’t have to cost much. I always trot out the example of the puzzle depicting the Sistine Chapel ceiling, the perfect gift for a jigsaw-loving relative. Still shrink-wrapped when I found it on half-price day at a thrift shop, it set me back a whopping 35 cents.

If you wait until the last minute, you’re likely to spend more.

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Tags: Closet, Gift Closet

Savings Accounts and Money Market Rates provided by 15 June 2011 For many younger Americans, the choice of banks is often a matter of convenience. A college campus might be flooded with ATMs from Bank of America, so the choice is relatively simple. As people start to look at their banking options, The Wall Street Journal points out that smaller credit unions actually offer benefits above and beyond many of the largest national banks.

Credit unions are essentially non-profit banks comprised of its own customers. Many are restricted to certain groups, such as the United Nations Federal Credit Union, which is limited primarily to U.N. employees. The Supreme Court decision in NCUA v. First National Bank & Trust and subsequent legislation have since expanded credit unions, with many open to residents in nearby towns.

Last years Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act will likely change the nature of competition between banks and credit union. Full Post…

Last week, while I was away on vacation, I received a call from Citibank about my credit card. Since I wasnt keeping up to date on the latest financial news and gossip, I wasnt aware that Citi had been hacked. Normally, when systems get hacked like this, Ive dodged the bullet. This time, I wasnt so lucky because my Citi mtvU card was a victim, part of the lucky 1% of North American credit card holders. While on the phone with Citi, they agreed to ship out a new card to me as soon as possible, which is standard procedure.

What gets a little annoying is that replacing a card, especially one so intertwined in my financial network map is time better spent elsewhere. This does, however, force me to update my map to reflect its current state something Id been too lazy to do. Thankfully, due to my desire to simplify our finances, the updated map has fewer lines on it.

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Tags: Card, Credit Card

Savings Accounts and Money Market Rates provided by 31 May 2011 The idea of a “bucket list” gained some cultural traction in recent years, but according to research from LIMRA, just 40 percent of workers have such a list for their retired years.

This research seems to indicate that many current pre-retirees havent thought that much about what theyll do once they finally leave the workforce – or how theyll pay for those years. Given the financial turmoil of recent years, the toll that the mortgage crisis took on the retirement accounts and home values of many Americans and the uncertainty of the employment situation, this is not entirely surprising.

“LIMRAs research indicates that less than a third of pre-retirees within three years of retirement have a written retirement plan,” said Paul Henry, managing director of LIMRA retirement products. Full Post…

Tags: Just, Just 10