Saving money

Credit cards can give you 1.5% back in cash on everything. Citibank’s 1% Rewards card is good plus they can give you one-use-only virtual credit card numbers anytime for dodgy internet purchases. Fidelity's card is 1.5% at the moment. Neither card has annual fees.

For car insurance, if you buy 11 or 12 monthly public transport passes each year you can send them in for a rebate. Photocopying pages from your car's manual showing it has a security alarm will lower rates by 20% on that part of the policy. Unless you get into accidents a lot, having a high deductible is usually worth it too.

It's usually worth opening a Roth IRA. You only need to save up $500 to start, and can have one even if you have another retirement plan. Roths are like a little handout from the Government to us, to encourage saving. They allow you to save up to $4000 a year in a special retirement savings account that is taxed less than a normal one. You can withdraw your contributions at any time before retirement without penalty, and even withdraw some of the earnings on your money tax-free to pay for special things like a downpayment on a house.

When doing your taxes, if you've got a regular company job, TurboTax does a really good job for cheap. If you launch it from Fidelity.com's Tax Center you get a 25% discount on fees even if you're not a Fidelity customer. TurboTax can calculate the value of stuff you've given to goodwill using data from eBay, and deduct it as a charitable donation.

If you're planning on living somewhere for a few years it's usually worth buying a place. You'll get a quarter of your mortgage back at tax time, rents increase each year but mortgages stay the same, and you’ll make money as your condo gradually increases in value (about 4% a year). Mortgage interest rebates are another handout from the government to us, to encourage people to buy.

Don't buy new clothes unless they pass the "Am I going to wear this all the time?" test. (From "Stuff" by Paul Graham.)

The major long distance phone providers are quite expensive, there are cheaper companies like PowerNet Global who are just as good.